Coding on the Sunny Beaches of Greece — The North Sprint Review with Golfo V.

In this North Sprint Review, we’ll talk about how contributing to open-source projects can lead to remote job opportunities, staying healthy and guarding against burnout while working remotely, and a remote dev’s road to success with Golfo V.

After her one year stay in her hometown became permanent, she thought her dream to become a developer was lost. In reality, it was just delayed a few years until an open-source project helped her find the confidence and motivation needed to land a remote job. She’s since worked as a Frontend Engineer and Software Developer at Xtensio and Hikey Resources.

David: Could you introduce yourself? What’s your background? What do you do?

Golfo: I’m Golfo, a computer science graduate and frontend engineer. I’ve spent the last three years working remotely for SaaS companies.

David: When did you get interested in computers and programming?

Golfo: I got interested in computers as a child when I discovered video games and got interested in coding a while later as a teenager. Throughout my school years, I was the go-to IT person for my friends.

David: Did you always intend to be a programmer?

Golfo: As a kid, I switched between wanting to become many things: A paleontologist (I loved dinosaurs), a veterinarian (I love animals!), or a meteorologist (predicting the weather is cool). But in my teens, I decided I wanted to be a programmer and haven’t changed my mind since then.

David: What was your first computer?

Golfo: That was more than 20 years ago, so I can’t remember the exact model, but it booted in ms-dos, and you could either load windows 3.1 or play a game like Kyrandia and Prince of Persia.

David: Do you remember the first program you wrote? What about the first professional program you wrote?

Golfo: The first program I wrote was a small quiz in QBasic that asked you for your name and then asked you a multiple-choice question, and you had to find the correct answer.

The first professional project I worked on was a reservation system for an airline company pursuing my master’s degree. It helped me dispel my notion that I was a master programmer just because I finished university.

David: Can you describe beautiful code?

Golfo: Code is beautiful when you can achieve your purpose by writing the least amount of code while remaining readable.

David:- Do you have a routine? What does your day-to-day work look like, and what motivates you to do it each day? What are your favorite tools for working remotely?

Golfo: I like reading a book in the morning while having coffee (these days, it’s “JavaScript: The Definitive Guide”) before starting work. And then I like working in chunks of 2–3 hours.

What motivates me to do it each day is my desire to constantly become better little by little.

Also, I love the thrill of problem-solving and like to feel the satisfaction of fixing or creating something.

My favorite tool is definitely Slack, followed closely by google meets and Trello. Plus, a video recorder like Screencastify so I can share screencasts with the rest of my team.

David: What do you consider the most challenging part of programming?

Golfo: Working with a large codebase and trying to insert your changes while making sure that you don’t affect the rest of the system negatively.

David: What sort of processes do you go through when you design or develop software? Do you think there’s a right way to write code?

Golfo: I try to understand and analyze the requirements of the program I’m trying to make and make sure to read the documentation of the tools/libraries I’m using but I don’t spend too much time on planning because I want to quickly try things and see what works and what doesn’t before I wander off in the wrong direction.

There is a right way to write code in each situation. Code for a hackathon or a programming challenge will be different than code for a SaaS or enterprise product. In any case, if your code is (mostly) bug-free, then you did it right.

Finding the right community.

David: You’ve been a Telepat North member for months now. How was your experience?

Golfo: Very positive and engaging, and there is constant encouragement. I love that there is a gamified system with clear and actionable ways you can take towards improving your hard and soft skills.

I have always struggled with my soft skills, and North pushed me out of my comfort zone and brought me out of my shell.

David: Any tools or languages that you like to use or are excited about?

Golfo: I can’t praise code linters enough. There’s something magical about typing your code and then hitting the save button, and everything automatically gets indented and beautified.

I also like VSCode. It’s a wealth of extensions and built-in terminal support.

David: What’s your overall favorite programming language?

Golfo: That would be javascript. Versatile and easy to get started with, but extremely hard to master with all its constantly evolving parts. There’s never a dull day in the javascript ecosystem.

David: How do you see the future of JS?

Golfo: Well, javascript started out as a simple scripting language to add basic interactivity to websites, and now it’s used for everything, from web apps to space ships, so the sky isn’t even the limit anymore.

David: How do you go about learning new programming languages?

Golfo: I haven’t learned a new language in quite some time because I have my hands full with javascript, but I constantly try to learn new javascript frameworks and libraries. My usual tactic after following a starter tutorial is starting a small project and trying to find the information I need myself. I generally prefer to read books and articles vs. watching video courses because they are easier for me to follow along.

David: How will writing code change in the following years?

Golfo: I don’t think it will change much. I believe that text has and will always be the best way to write code. Our tools will become more intelligent; our machines will definitely become faster. We will probably have higher-level languages, but typing text will be the most efficient way to describe a program accurately.

Well, that is until we have machines that translate our brainwaves directly to code 😄.

“For programming to be automated, the client needs to know exactly what they want. “

David: How will the rise of automation impact the role of a programmer?

Golfo: No-code platforms are on the rise lately, so many things that you needed a programmer for in the past, you can do yourself now. But every time one thing becomes automated, a programmer is required to work on that tool or something even more complicated.

Plus, according to a meme, “For programming to be automated, the client needs to know exactly what they want. We’re safe for now”.

David: What type of project do you enjoy working on the most?

Golfo: I especially like working on projects where I learn new things and collaborate with other people. Discussing your project with your team is as fun as actually coding.

David: Who in the industry do you follow and read?

Golfo: One dev I follow is Miranda Limonczenko and her blog https://booksoncode.com/ with curated lists of coding books, which I then read through my O’Reilly Learn subscription, kindly provided by North. Besides that, I follow a few newsletters, like Javascript Weekly, Frontend Focus, etc. to keep up with the ever-changing javascript ecosystem.

David: How do you guard against burnout? What do you do to make your life healthier?

Golfo: That is a real challenge, especially when you work from home. As a friend of mine said, you have to be careful that you work where you live and not end up living where you work.

I try to set boundaries and time limits when working and remind myself that although coding is important, it is not everything in life. I especially suffer from FOMO, so I try to remind myself that we can’t know everything, and that’s OK.

Lately, I’ve also found out that a task tracker like Todoist helps me avoid overwhelm. I can offload all of my tasks there, so I don’t constantly worry that I forget something important.

I’m not in top shape right now, but I try to cook healthy meals as much as I can and walk a bit with my dog every day.

David: What’s the best advice you’ve received about being a developer?

Golfo: That you should manage your manager’s/boss’s expectations and not overcommit.

”There’s no shame in asking for help or admitting that you don’t know something.”

David: What advice do you have for people who want to pursue a career in programming?

Golfo: There’s a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips at every time of the day, so it’s easy to lose focus and follow the next shiny thing. Keep focused on what you like, join communities around coding as it’s a lot easier to get motivated with other people.

Don’t lose faith when trying to get your first job. It is the most difficult to get; it gets easier after that. Most importantly, when you’re starting out, pick a company where you can grow and learn.

David: What do you wish you’d known before starting your career?

Golfo: There’s no shame in asking for help or admitting that you don’t know something.

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