Best career advice for a software developer to earn a higher salary

I am Amit Shekhar, Co-Founder @ Outcome School, I have taught and mentored many developers, and their efforts landed them high-paying tech jobs, helped many tech companies in solving their unique problems, and created many open-source libraries being used by top companies. I am passionate about sharing knowledge through open-source, blogs, and videos.

Originally published here.

Here goes my learning from starting from ground zero:

1. Enthusiasm matters: I studied civil engineering at IIT BHU, however, I started getting fascinated by software developments and by the end of my engineering and realized this is the field I always wanted to be! I always loved solving problems and being innovative! It did take a lot of courage to switch from Civil engineering to software development, but it was worth transitioning.
2. Upgrade skills: I was at ground zero until 4th year of engineering, and started with learning Java. Compared to my friends, who were in computer science, I knew almost nothing. I learned Java, then data structures and algorithms, and then Android!
3. Hunt for relevant knowledge and resources: This was probably the toughest phase of my life where I had no mentors to guide me and placement was on the head. I anyway needed a job. I started reading books. Headfirst java and the Internet were my Bible.
4. Give a shot: I knew someone would ask me in an interview about studying Civil Engineering and opting for software development. I was confident about my answer i.e Software development makes me unleash my full potential, and it interests me a lot. Nonetheless, I got placed in Bobble!
5. Switch at the right time: After 2 years and 7 months, I switched to Hike. Bobble was an amazing experience, so was Hike, but with 2X plus salary hike.
6. Listen to the inner callings along with constantly upgrading skills: I loved teaching too! I started realizing why it was fun to teach my friends one day before the semester! It was a challenge to make people understand topics. I started educating developers through my blogs, video content, and open-source projects.
7. Feel the sense of accomplishment: I started realizing, money can make us happy, but after a point of time, it stops fascinating. If you have started a career in development, you may start feeling this too. I was on quite a decent package but decided to quit the job and start teaching software development.
8. Find bigger challenges and expand yourself: I decided to quit my jobs and focus totally on my startup. I worked the hell out of my energy and to be frank, it was such an awesome feeling to give back to society in the form of teaching Software Development. I faced challenges when I started with learning, without mentors, but somehow I found my way. I made mistakes, I learned from them and realized the mistakes which I made, should be something newer generations shouldn’t make. They must make new mistakes!

Returning to our question: Best career advice for a software developer to earn a better salary: Just try to unleash your full potential, everything else will be followed!

That’s it. I would love to have your opinion in the comment section.

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