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Illia Diachenko, Head of Web Center of Excellence at Intellias, shares his experience and professional insights.
JavaScript is the most popular programming language in the 21st century, rivaled only by Java. Why? Everything is simple. JavaScript is an elementary web development language that anyone can master. It was developed by a single person at Netscape in just ten days back in 1995.
JavaScript has boldly infiltrated every corner of our digital existence. It’s the lifeblood of every website, the force behind every mobile application (think React Native), the backbone of server development as Node JS, the magic behind Telegram bots, and even the pen that writes desktop applications (Electron). Its versatility is boundless, and its potential is yours to explore.
It’s important not to be overconfident. Sometimes, simple things can turn out to be very complicated if you dig into them. To write high-quality applications, it’s crucial to understand the basic concepts in JavaScript. Only then should you move on to frameworks. The task of a junior developer is to cultivate the culture of a software engineer and not become a hostage of one or two frameworks. Therefore, I propose considering a developer’s evolution, the path from trainee to senior.
As a rule, young developers have yet to learn what they want from life. They try different programming languages and look for themselves in various directions. It is possible to start a journey with Java or Python but then find yourself in the front end or vice versa. In the beginning, the main thing is to find a project with experienced developers who can set the right task and answer all questions. Remember that you are not currently bringing value to the company, but it is the company that invests its resources in you.
Get to know the JS basics during this period:
A resource that you need is a well-known textbook “The Modern JavaScript Tutorial” covering the most critical topics for learning the language. You will also need David Flanagan’s “The Definitive Guide: Master the World’s Most-Used Programming Language 7th Edition” — the JavaScript bible everyone should have on their bookshelf. Invest time in your knowledge of web scripts because these investments quickly return according to professional growth.
Learning HTML and browser operation is also important:
What to pay attention to when learning CSS:
Usually, three months after completing the internship, you become a full-fledged part of the team because a junior is a person who can already fully close small tasks with the help of more experienced colleagues. Be bold and ask many questions. No one expects perfect performance from a junior developer yet. The main goal should not be the quick closing of a task or ticket but a quality one.
The world of programming is a vast and exciting one, and as a junior developer, you’re just beginning to explore it. It’s not enough to know just the fundamental theory. You also need to familiarize yourself with one of the frameworks used in the project. While there’s no universal advice, one thing is certain — always read the official documentation. It’s a treasure trove of knowledge. Popular frameworks like Angular, React, Vue, and others have comprehensive documentation on their official sites but don’t hesitate to explore additional courses and sources.
CSS is the cornerstone of front-end developers’ work. So it’s crucial to:
If you go the back-end developer route, get to know:
The most famous representatives from the world of SQL are PostgreSQL and MongoDB from NoSQL. By the way, Mongo helps developers train. You can find many exciting courses at MongoDB University, such as MongoDB for JavaScript Developers.
Middle is a level that requires completing 80% of the tasks independently, sometimes with the help of colleagues. This position is typically suitable for individuals with 1-3 years of experience in programming.
Middle’s musts are:
Understanding the use of unit tests is a significant part of the process. You can read a book such as “Unit Testing Principles” for a detailed understanding of test writing approaches.
It’s also worth learning the details of the framework the developer is working with and looking beyond existing tasks to understand how the development process works, how CI/CD is set up, what the surrounding infrastructure is, etc. Continuous delivery is a crucial topic, so it is worth finding the material closest to the infrastructure of the existing project and reading the documentation. For example, “Learn Continuous Delivery with Bitbucket Pipelines”.
Seniors are independent units capable of completing a task from zero to one without facilitation from a manager. On the contrary, they are expected to be proactive. If there are problems in the project, a senior should bring them up for discussion and plan improvements. A so-called technical debt must always be on the project because ideal projects do not exist. However, it is essential to stop on time because the project’s main priority is business requirements, which are necessary for the project to exist.
Usually, senior positions are held by engineers with 4-5 years of experience. The tasks they perform on the project are most likely solved on previous projects and more than once. Even if there is a new task, the experience already there helps to find answers to difficult questions.
A strong senior is a person who looks beyond the framework on which the project is built, understands all its weak and strong sides and adheres to the KISS (keep it simple) principle. A lot of attention must be paid to the quality of the code, so the ability to use existing tools is precious. The book SonarQube in Action provides more information.
It is very important to understand the project’s architecture, how all components interact with each other, and participate in its development. In this position, it is expected that a person can and wants to write documentation and keep it up to date, in addition to code.
Senior’s skill checklist:
In addition to writing code, it is increasingly necessary to devote time to mentoring. Senior and higher levels can conduct interviews not only on the project but also in the company as a whole. For this reason, Intellias has the Center Of Excellence, which involves developers in conducting interviews and assessments.
In the development industry, the main thing is to improve daily. It is the only right way to grow. Curiosity is the key to success!
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