How To Not Lose Your Developer Job In This Upcoming Chaos
Are you prepared?
Noah didn’t build his ark during the flood
The world is in chaos, even if you are the type of developer who never goes out of your cave, you probably heard about it by now.
Actually, developers are very smart, they know events and news first before it reaches the majority of the population because the technology we have today is as fast as a blink of an eye.
And we are the technology itself, technology is information, and it controls the communication, in our fast-paced developer world, everything connects.
Wherever we are, in every country, state, or city, we are experiencing inflation, and supply chain issues, some even are already experiencing famine, extreme weather, job losses, and uncertainties.
The fact that we are working under the technology umbrella, job safety is quite high compared to other fields.
There are so many people who recently just lose their jobs, even though some big tech companies are also feeling the hit, cutting off some of their employees, majority of those employees are probably from a non-tech position, big companies whether its a tech company or not won’t easily cut their developers unless they are bankrupt.
With all the uncertainties, the best move to save the business is to make sure that the company can adapt to the changes that are coming, and regardless of their feelings, the only way to keep it afloat is to make sure that its fundamentals are built around technology, from automation, making sure that it can run even at its minimum resources that are left.
The goal is to be irreplaceable
That person who the managers go to when disaster happens, that person who the other developers go to asking for help or ask for some expert advice, the developer who gets called when something needs to get fixed asap, that developer who is always on the top list when the Project Manager needs something, be that person.
I know it sounds annoying and all but you don’t need to kiss their as*** just to be that person, you don’t need to be that desperate to get their attention, what I mean is let your work and skills speak for themselves.
You don’t need to show off, you don’t need to kick others off just so you can be that person, even if you are the shyest and the quietest person in the room but your skills and work ethic is at their finest, you don’t need to speak, your skills and talent are loud enough to kick the others out.
I know it's a bit intimidating and does require a lot of work but being that person makes you the best in what you do.
I’m not saying you should dedicate your life to your job, at least its a choice, being a developer should equal freedom, freedom from the box (office), freedom from time, (you choose your own time frame), and freedom to stay and leave your job in an instant just because you can.
But all those privileges come with a price, and it's something we need to pay for in the beginning, but hey this I promise you, all those sleepless nights and hard work pays way better than you can imagine.
With everything that is happening today, becoming a developer years ago was the best decision I ever did, if I didn’t leave that non-tech job I’d probably be jobless by now, I have a lot of friends who recently lost their job since that pandemic.
Being a developer had safeguarded me in every way possible, and I am so blessed to be where I am today, and I am paying it even after 8 years since I made that decision.
In the beginning, you would find it really hard, you’d probably are thinking of quitting by now, and when I say beginning I mean the first 2–3 years as a developer, but just hang in there, once you get past in that stage, and everything starts to make sense, you won’t even notice it until one day you'll realize you are actually doing it.
Be a masterpiece yourself
Enhance your skills, it's now or never.
There are so many tools, programming languages, and third-party technologies nowadays, and it is a bit overwhelming when it comes to choosing which is best.
In my experience, when it comes to building your stack and choosing which ones to add, instead of looking for which is best, ask yourself which ones compliment your current stack?
Start with that way of thinking, and then build your skills up.
Picking up those tools should have the purpose of building your own system because it will become your weapon, your legacy, your masterpiece, your entity so make sure that when you decide you should be on your a-game, be smart about it because you don’t want to waste your time in learning something and ended up leaving it behind.
Your stack should work together to enhance your skills, you can’t just randomly choose just because you heard from a Youtuber that it is a good one, or it is the latest trend, some technologies come and go, and your priority is to make sure that tool will push your skills up to the maximum.
Your stack is you, it will be your identity as you move forward in your developer journey so make sure to choose and build it wisely, and smartly.
Do more
Do more than what they expect you to do.
Seize the opportunity while you are there, take as many experiences as you can on that project, and learn as much as you can possibly can.
Every project has its own requirements, every project will require a different approach from you, just take every challenge one at a time.
I must admit, that programming has become my addiction. Last 2020 I had the opportunity to be part of this huge project that up until today we are still in the final part of building
Building our project has become one of the reasons I wake up early and stay up late, it is just so fulfilling.
I know I am just some random developer in a company but I enjoyed it, which is also one of the important things to survive and thrive in every career you choose, you should enjoy what you do.
It will not come right away, it is a process, especially in the beginning, just keep doing what you do, keep pushing forward, keep moving forward even if it's just an inch, take a rest if you have to just make sure that you don’t lose your eyes on the goal.
Be money-wise, use your math
Developers are driven by logic and math especially when it comes to choices, and we should use our special skills in practice in the real world.
Chaos is everywhere, and the world has become more dangerous and scary than ever, there are so many events that are happening altogether, and eventually, it's going to pop, logically it is better to be prepared than to get caught in it all, the bad things are starting to build up, from natural disaster to civil unrest, from food shortages to world conflicts.
By using the game of probability and the power of numbers, we should all be aware, definitely not scared but prepared.
Be smart enough to know better, be wise enough to protect yourself from every scenario, the truth is we will never ever be prepared but doing the best we can to safeguard not just ourselves but our loved ones will give us peace of mind.
Noah didn’t build his ark during the flood, he built it even before the population realized what it is to come.
Do the math, apply critical thinking, and always use logic on it all.
So save up, be mindful and stay safe fellow devs!
Thank you for reading!
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