How to ask questions as a Nigerian student developer
For you to get to a position, no matter how “unicodeveloper like” you are now or “codebeast like” you might have become, one sure fact is that we were all students at sometime and we have all had to ask questions from superiors or colleagues that know better . Asking questions doesn't make you dumb, or slow to catch-up, or even stupid. In fact, it shows that you are willing to learn and you are making a wonderful effort towards it which is all you need to make a life for yourself in anything you want to do. It will also help to broaden your scope of understanding and give you better confidence on that topic of choice. But then again, everything in this life has rules that you should try to follow to get accurate results, its why every programming language has its own syntax and every new equipment you buy has that little”how to use it” book in it.
Some questions can be very very annoying and irritating. Also, the way you ask the question really matters. So i came up with suggestions of a few rules that i think should work for any software engineering student as regards asking questions.
The first and most important of all is.
- Always ask Google first!!: There are a few questions that instead of disturbing the peace of a senior developer, you can easily ask google and google will link you up with a few badass platforms like stackoverflow or even give you links to some blog posts that address your question. If for any reason you dont see your answer or you dont understand what has been said. Then and only then should you later ask a senior. Questions like “what is the difference between console.log and document.write” bros.. seriously? Like seriously?
- Be polite: Don’t talk rudely.. Do not treat the person as if it is his duty to help you. It is not at all. Just know how to ask the question that you wont be too demanding or annoying. Starting the convo with a quick greeting wont be bad either. Something like: Hey sir, good day.. I am having an issue with….. Blah blah
- Go straight to the point: See ehn. Most of these bad guys do not have time for play. They are usually very busy trying to create things, solving problems, or making cool cash. Never should you be beating about the bush whenever you ask a question. Just be clear and concise. Something like: Hey sir. I have a problem with understanding how a callback differs from a promise. Can you please help clarify? And not: Sir.. I picked up this JavaScript book and i read it up to the callbacks chapter. I tried to use the callbacks in my code and i realised i dont know how it works. But then i later uderstood it sha. Then there was this time i was reading and i came across promises. The guy said it is the elder brother of callback i laughed first ehn.. Elder brother. But now i am trying to understand two of them and its not working……. Blah blah blah….. Too long mehn.. Tooo long!!
- Don’t ask to test the intelligence of the developer: Personally, i see this as a very rude and Insulting character. If truly you dont understand something, ask. But if you are just playing with the head of the person you are asking, trust me.. If he finds out later on. He might never want to answer you again.
- Don’t over do it: Okay so because i said you should be polite doesn’t mean you should now start overdoing it. Just be precise, no too much greeting, no too much talking, no too much thank you. Just do it reasonably. Not like: Our big daddy in code, our coding irunmole.. Code for breakfast, code for dinner. Baba o! Abeg i have a tangible question….. Blah blah blah Too much mehn! Too much..
- Make sure to research first: For every problem you might encounter, always make sure you have done a thorough research on the topic or question you are finding difficult. Its way better if you construct your question in that manner.. You show the person you are asking that you actually made an effort. Nobody likes a lazy learner.. Trust me!.
- Dont ask for code: So try so hard not to ask the person to write code for you. Make an effort, try to writing your own and show it. If he feels he should write for you, then he will, if he feels you should get it from an explanation, he will give you the explanation. Just dont ask for code, ask for help.
Its a different case if you are in a group chat or tutorial session and you want to ask a question that quickly pops into your head. These rules are for whenever you want to ask someone for assistance one on one.
They work for me, they might also work for you.
Thank you.