The 5 Top Traits of RockStar Developers
I have spent over 15 years in software development. I have been an individual contributor, a technical lead, and have overseen building teams. I have played each of the key roles of a software team, and I have loved every minute of the journey. Make no mistake though, I’m not done. Instead, I’m at the reflecting part of my career, and I want to share what I see as the top traits of elite software developers. No one is born knowing how to code. Choosing to become a developer is easy. Persevering and battling long enough and hard enough to master your craft puts you into a very small and elite class of developers: I call rockstars.
Choosing to become a developer is easy. Persevering and battling long enough and hard enough to master your craft puts you into a very small and elite class of developers I call rockstars.
As software developer, the goal is to become elite — to be at the top of your game. A subject matter expert (SME), the one that everyone knows can and will get the job done — the Rockstar.
No matter how much raw talent you have, you can’t get to the summit without hard work. Many will try; few will get there. It’s more likely that after several years in the game, you will opt for management. Or worse yet, you could be content with never stressing your limits and pushing beyond. However, I think the journey is worth it. And if you’re curious about what it takes to get to the top, read on!
#1 Rockstars actively seek to learn and apply new things
The number one trait that Rockstar developers share is an active learning mindset. They never stop learning and are searching for ways to improve their skills. For example, as a mobile developer specializing in the Apple ecosystem, I spend at least 1.5 hours a day (on average) learning Apple APIs, watching WWDC videos, and applying what I’ve learned to work and side projects. I’ve watched over 90% of WWDC videos that focus on development. In fact, I’ve watched a good portion of those videos multiple times. I find reasons and ways to apply my learnings in my day job as well. Sometimes it means that create side projects to experiment with technologies that I don’t need today but might need tomorrow. The moment you stop learning, you’re done in technology. The sooner you accept it, the better.
How many developers do you know who spend their free time watching WWDC (Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference) and getting excited about the next developer conference? I’m guessing the number is small and limited to the truly dedicated. But that’s the rub! A passion for learning is what separates the truly good ones from the rest.
I’m not saying that you have to possess rocket scientist intellect to become a Rockstar. You don’t… instead you need to have more drive than the developers satisfied with relying only on their intellect and degrees. After all, it’s been my experience that high grades in school alone aren’t the best measure of future success in software development. It definitely helps, but I would hire the passionate and driven developer over the big school degree candidate any day of the week.
Rockstars commit themselves to their craft. They want to be the best in their fields. And while you may not aspire to be an MacOS/iOS developer, I believe that the same process and dedication applies to all developers and across all domains and disciplines. You don’t have to tell a rockstar to go learn. Chances are they are already ahead of you learning something new at this very moment.
You don’t have to tell a rockstar to go learn. Chances are they are already ahead of you learning something new at this very moment.
#2 Rockstars stay up to date on new innovations
Rockstar developers aren’t satisfied with yesterday’s knowledge and approved solutions. They are intellectually curious and are constantly proposing new ways to accomplish tasks. They evaluate new and promising ideas and adopt them quicker than most. If you’re a team lead or project manager, don’t be alarmed. You might be thinking that these developers are going to kill your project. Rest assured, this won’t happen. A true Rockstar wouldn’t risk your project simply to implement an unproven framework or new idea. Instead, a Rockstar would benchmark the new idea or framework in a separate project (probably one of their many side projects) before risking it in your production code. Searching for new innovations and contributing to novel new approaches are so ingrained in a Rockstar’s DNA that they are more than happy to do this work on their own time. However, no matter how it happens, a Rockstar will find a way to bring vetted best practices back their code bases and make the team and project better for it.
#3 Rockstars live to share, help, and teach others
A Rockstar lives for sharing sharing and demonstrating what he/she knows to help others improve. They volunteer for opportunities to share their knowledge with their peers. Think “lunch and learn” or “brown bag” lectures where a Rockstar will lead a discussion on new trends. They go to meetups, conferences, and are apart of development groups. Knowledge is like air; it’s that fundamental to a Rockstar. Once these folks obtain knowledge, they have to share it with others. A Rockstar will peer review another developer’s code and offer pointers to make the code better. A Rockstar can always be interrupted and is approachable for other developers to bounce ideas, peer program an issue, brainstorm to ideas to bypass obstacles, and will sacrifice their entire workday to help someone else get their work done. It’s just what they do.
#4 Rockstars take pride in every line of code they produce
If you really want to incite rage in a Rockstar, check in code that doesn’t compile and go home before the build finishes (or rather fails). This is so enraging to Rockstars because they don’t just sling code. Each line of code they produce is personal, and there is no room for shortcuts. Checking in code that doesn’t compile and then leaving it to the build server to find errors is a huge pet peeve of Rockstars. It screams that the guilty developer is not focused on code quality and is lazily trying to check off the task. It also states that the developer doesn’t care whether the code works and is leaving the task of testing to someone else.
A Rockstar treats every line of code as if it is their personal signature being introduced into the code base. From a Rockstar’s vantage, every line of code is judgement of their skills as a developer, and a Rockstar won’t settle for anything short of excellence.
A Rockstar treats every line of code as if it is their personal signature being introduced into the code base.
#5 Rockstars lead with their code over boasting about skills
Rockstars don’t have to tell you how good they are. In fact, they are the first to downplay their skills and probably have a hard time promoting themselves. Instead, they lead with their code. Their code speaks volumes, and every other developer on the team knows who to go to when they need help.
Wrapping Up
If you consider yourself a serious software developer, you should aspire to emulate this list. I won’t promise you that the path is easy or without bumps, but I will say that it’s worth the pursuit. We can all improve our skills; much of the requirement stems from our attitude and outlook. I’ve shown you the list. It’s up to you to make the change.
On a lighter note, I also wrote an article on why creating native apps is probably the best way to go in most of your mobile development endeavors. Please read that one and weigh in the discussion!
If you find this post helpful, please recommend it for others to read. You can visit me at www.gittielabs.com and subscribe to my RSS feed so that you won’t miss a post. I’m also putting together a video course to teach Swift development and could use your input on topics you feel would be helpful. Thanks for reading!
