Thoughts on being resourceful as a programmer
Being able to find answers quickly will help you standout in the world. You’ll be the person your peers can rely on to get shit done, and the person your supervisors will be happy to have on their teams.
You’re only as good of a programmer as you are a Googler.
Embrace the internet in all its glory. I’ve found similar solutions to a majority of coding problems that I’ve been stuck on. Don’t be embarassed to look up the small things that you feel you should already know, because it’s expected in this industry. Time is money, and it’s quicker to find a solution yourself than to wait around.
How you phrase a specific coding question can alter your search results greatly, and is an art of its own. You will get better at searching for the right question over time.
When approaching teammates with a problem, come prepared with a list of potential solutions, or even rough ideas that you might have thought of. This groundwork will save people time, and build your competence.
Forums
Join a subreddit that deals with similar types of work, and ask questions! Make a throw-away account if you are scared of people judging you for simple questions. You’ll be surprised at how many people want to help if you just ask!
StackOverflow. You’ll probably end up here without even trying, but that’s a good sign.
Documentation
Become best friends with documentation. Whether you’re learning how to use a new package for your application, or trying to remember the paremeters of a specific method, make sure you read the official documentation first. As helpful as YouTube videos & tutorial articles can be, I often find that they get outdated easily, whereas an attempt is made to keep documentation updated. It’s written for a reason, so use it.
This is #4 in a series of articles intended to document my self-taught journey into the world of computer science. I’ll be sharing my experiences and tips that I’ve learned over the past couple of years. Check out #5, learning to code takes grit, or have a look at all of my posts!
