Want to listen to the full episode? Check the bottom of the post!
Andrew Brown (CEO of ExamPro.co) joined us recently to talk about a load of topics that would be helpful to anyone looking to get a job in development.
A recurring theme we talked about was how bootcamps (and from what we see, university) tend to set everyone up with a very similar skillset in what are extremely competitive job markets.
That's why a lot of graduates can apply to 200 jobs and hardly get any responses, let alone interviews.
So how do you stand out from the crowd?
Pick a highly demanded skill to add to your technical hamburger 🍔
If a company has to pick between full stack developers, one of the easiest way to decide is to go with the developer with skills that complement their role. Particularly if the skill adds real value to the business.
We like to call this "Supercharging Your Skillset" because it opens up a bunch of new opportunities for your career and even the projects you work on.
In this podcast snippet, Andrew talks about how cloud computing is one of the best choices. Here’s a visualisation of this he posted recently:
And there's many others you can pick from, such as:
UI Design
Most developers think they are terrible at UI Design. The truth is, you just need some simple, actionable principles to follow to level up your designs.
If you can really get a more theoretical understanding of UI Design and what makes a good and bad design, not only will your personal work stand out, but you can bring tons of value to a company you work for by being able to produce better quality prototypes and even giving them a hand in other areas.
User Experience
We all have instincts on what feels right and wrong with our own user experience journey on applications and websites we've used. There are however a set of techniques and research methods you can learn and implement on projects to work towards excellent user experience, and this is something companies really want.
Here's a fantastic post from Emma Wedekind on the "UX Engineer" job title and what it means.
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Data Science
As companies collect more and more data, and our computing power and availability with cloud and the tools becoming available become far more advanced and accessible, we've moved into an age where we can use that data to improve so many aspects of our products and businesses. And companies pay a lot of money for people who do this as a specialization.
Also, check this awesome A-Z post out from Helen Anderson, she’s an experienced Data Analyst and Advocate for the industry, and really this is one of the best comprehensive top-level references available
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Copywriting
Ever used a great looking website to feel like some of the buttons, sentences, documentation and other pieces of text just didn't make sense, went on too much or just didn't feel right? That's where copywriters come in.
Not only can understanding copywriting principles help your own projects, it improves your resumé, portfolio, cover letter and can be an invaluable asset to any company you work for.
Security (not just the basics, there are specialisations that pay a lot!)
Security comes in all shapes and sizes - from basic security, to penetration testing, to cloud-specific security practices. Learning some more advanced principles can not only get you a much higher paying job (especially when it's your main skill-set) but you'll have a skill set that a lot of CTO and VP of Engineering types will be very impressed to see on your list of skills.
Andrew recently gave a talk on how to implement security in AWS and posted it here on DEV:
34:20
The Fast Track to AWS Security - Feb 26 2019
Andrew Brown 🇨🇦 ・ Mar 30 '19
Unix
Learning more advanced Unix principles and how to actually set up servers locally rather than just through the cloud is something that a lot of developers struggle with - particularly because it's one of those weird things some of us tend to avoid.
Learning it more in-depth and understanding your way around Unix on a more than just basic level is another big way to set yourself apart.
The list goes on but these are some of the things companies hire entire teams of experts for - and if you can pick one or more of these to really stack up those technical skillsets, you massively increase your chances of being considered for the jobs you're applying for.
Check out Andrew on DEV 👇
Andrew has written some epic content on how LinkedIn is a hidden gem full of opportunities, and loads of great AWS-related stuff too. Check his stuff out below.
Listen to the podcast here 🎙
If you want, you can listen to the full episode from the embedded player below. Andrew has tons of unique left field tips that can really help you accelerate your career progression.
My top skill right now is probably Javascript. But, I'm having fun constantly exploring all sorts of tech.