Latest / DevQuestions with Tim Corey / 064 When Is It Time To Give Up Being A Developer?

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064 When Is It Time To Give Up Being A Developer? · DevQuestions with Tim Corey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Dev Questions Podcast with Tim Corey.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Join us each episode as we tackle the questions you are asking about a career in software development, understanding the industry, and new technology.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're just starting out or you want to grow stronger as a developer, this is the place to get your questions answered.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's your host, expert developer and online educator, Tim Corey.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: When is it time to give up being a software developer?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: This is a question that came across my Twitter uh DMs recently, and it it's really a depressing question.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's a question that I really wanted to answer in today's episode of Dev Questions because it comes from a place of being ready to give up, being feeling hopeless, like it's your dream is slipping away.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so I want to talk through how it's not or doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about this on today's episode of Dev Questions.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: The answer to the question, when is it time to give up being a software developer, is really a personal one.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's one where everyone's gonna have a different line.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about some key things to know first and foremost.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, it's okay to quit.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't want you to if you don't if you don't want to, but it's okay to quit.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to say, you know what, I don't like this.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Or I don't feel like I'm good enough.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now, be very careful on that one because almost certainly you're underselling yourself.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: But if you feel like, man, I just don't like this, I've tried and I just can't get into programming, it's okay to quit.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, quitting is a good thing in daily life.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: The idea that we pursue things because we feel obligated to is really harmful to us.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: We we think through this idea of the sunk cost fallacy, which is I've already put so much time and effort into this, I have to keep going.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, I'll lose all that time and effort.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And really, all you do is just sink more time and effort into something that's a lost cause.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I want you to right up front be okay with the idea that quitting is not failure.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's a difference.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Quitting is saying this is not for me.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Quitting is saying I can do better somewhere else, or I have a different opportunity.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, my when I graduated high school, I went right into college, and my college degree was not in software development.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, my college degree was in electrical engineering.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was what I wanted to do.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And even though I really struggled with the math, and that's all that engineering is, it seems like it's math.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I still kind of pushed through that.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: I say, you know what, this is what I want to do, even though in the back of my mind I'm saying, well, no, it's not.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: A part of this is what you want to do.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So when I dropped out of college to pay for after my freshman year, I still felt like a failure for giving up for not going back even after I became a software developer full-time, almost right away.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I loved it.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: I loved that job.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: At the same time, I felt like a failure, but I quit on electrical engineering.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: I kept telling myself, I'm gonna go back and get that degree.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: But why?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's not what I wanted to do.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to quit.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to say that wasn't for me.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to say I tried something and it just didn't fit the way I thought it would.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: I need to move on.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: So that's number one.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to quit.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: But number two, not being hired does not mean you should give up.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is not a sign saying it's over, time to quit.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: This just means you're not being hired yet.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Good people don't get hired.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's and some good people do, but I'm saying some good people don't get hired.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And part of the process, and I'm gonna go over this in a full course at some point.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, part of the process of getting hired is just getting noticed.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe you're not being noticed because of something small, or just because of the language you use in your resume, or maybe your portfolio is not the best, whatever it is, you may be overlooked because there's a sea of people that appear to be better than you are.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: I spent a period of about four years applying for jobs as a software developer.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: At this point, I was already an accomplished software developer.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I had won awards for software development and I couldn't get a job.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: It happens.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: That wasn't my cue to quit being a software developer.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: That was my cue to change how I was approaching getting a job.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll talk about that in a minute.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, number one, it's okay to quit.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Number two, not getting hired is not a sign that you should give up.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: And number three, just because you have to get another job doesn't mean you should give up either.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are trying to provide for yourself or for your family, there may come a time where, yes, you're not being hired as a software developer, and another opportunity comes up that's not software development, but you can do, and it's going to provide for your family or provide for you.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: You may need to take that opportunity.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean that your dream or career in software development is over.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, that can be a great opportunity as a future software developer.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: The idea that you have a job in another field, another area, can round you out as an individual, can give you a bigger and broader life experience to pull from when you are a software developer.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely not an indicator that you need to stop pursuing software development.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: It just may mean you need to do it on the side while you provide for yourself and your family.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, with those three things in mind, let's talk through four action steps.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you're evaluating, should I quit, or how do I become a paid software developer?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: How do I progress from just learning into actually being paid to do?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, action step number one, this is a hard one, but it's one you need to do, and that is evaluate yourself honestly.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be able to identify what your weaknesses are.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: So look at yourself and say, Why am I not getting a job?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Why am I not succeeding as a software developer?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: What is it that's holding me back?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is it my skills?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Are my skills not up to speed with what the industry wants?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Is it my resume?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Am I just not showing off what I can do?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is it my portfolio or lack thereof that's maybe not showing off really the best part of me?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: What is it that am I just not good at?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: You have to evaluate yourself honestly.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: It helps if you have an outside person that can help you with this.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: For instance, if you do apply to a job and you get turned down, ask the hiring manager why you got turned down.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of them won't tell you because they're going through hundreds of resumes.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: I recently um hired a web developer, and that process with just a couple of days on the market looking for a web developer, we had over 300 applications.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: Why I turned down 300 applications or 299, whatever it was, um that's a that's an overwhelming number.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes hiring managers don't give you a response because they don't even remember.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: They they just knew that they just culled big groups of them, and sometimes for pretty poor reasons.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: But when I went through there, I try to give each person some feedback.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if you get maybe a smaller company, or if you uh have a friend that's hiring, give them your your resume, your portfolio.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Try to have them act like a hiring manager and work through your information.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Are you presenting yourself well?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: What are the areas where they go, ooh, you need some work there.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: You need that honesty.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: First, try to be honest with yourself and then try and get some outside perspective on why you you aren't succeeding.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Number two is work on your biggest weaknesses.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Put the most effort where you'll do the most good.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're struggling with maybe you just feel like you can't build an application from scratch, well, then try.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Start doing it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Start really small and work your way up.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: But work on that area.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it is your biggest weakness, isn't one specific, you know, part of programming.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's the idea that you just don't have a great resume.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, work on making it better.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Quick tip here, I'll cover more of this in the full course when we go over it, but quick tip here: if you want to improve your resume, take out all of the soft skills and put in hard skills and then make sure that you talk about outcomes.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hard skills, outcomes.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: All right, those are the two things.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, what me by soft skill versus hard skill?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, a soft skill is something like uh diligent.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care if you'd say on your resume you're diligent.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care if you say that you're honest.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, that's kind of a red flag.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: When you say I'm honest, that sounds like no, I'm not, but I'm gonna say I am, okay?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Don't say those things because I'm not looking for that as a hiring manager.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Most hiring, in fact, I can't say almost no hiring manager is looking for those words on your resume.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: So take them off, get rid of them, cut down the clutter of things that are meaningless.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because what it does is it really hides the rest of your skills, those those hard skills, things like C sharp and ASP Net Core, and those things that are specific and that the hiring manager is going to look for.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then when you when you have that resume, don't just say generic things like worked on C sharp for five years.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: That can be okay, but really doesn't tell the hiring manager much.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So instead, focus on what you did in those five years and make sure it's it's something that made an improvement.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh fixed a thousand errors in or fixed a thousand broken things or a thousand help tickets in you know 30 days, something like that.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, really outcomes where you're showing off what you did to help the company.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so that's a little side note there.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Show off what you can do, though, is the main point.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Show off what you can do to um help a company out.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that's number three, show off what you can do, and number four, never stop improving.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: So don't just say, okay, I've got my resume, I've got my portfolio, which everyone should have a portfolio, just so you know.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh show off what you can do.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: And resume, portfolio, and I've learned these topics, therefore I'm done.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Keep improving, keep going back to the start and evaluate yourself honestly.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, what am I weak in now?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: May I fixed my biggest weakness, but now I have a different biggest weakness.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: So evaluate yourself again, work on that biggest weakness, show off what you can do now, and then keep improving.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Go back to the beginning.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Those action steps will really help you grow in your development, they'll help you grow as in your presentation to companies and to hiring managers, they will help you grow in your career.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: So follow those four steps, keep growing.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: If software development is right for you, even if you have to get a job that's not in software development, even if you're struggling to find a job, you can do it, you can keep pushing forward, you can succeed in this field.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna take some work.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: However, also don't be afraid to say, you know what, I'm just not cut out for this, or this is just too exhausting.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like it.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay to say, I'm gonna move on, I'm going to quit software development.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid to say that if you need to, okay?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: So those action steps will help you if you want to grow and if you want to give it one more shot, do that.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: But then also don't be afraid to don't feel like a failure for saying it's I need to move on.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: So that's my advice.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: It really is a up to you when you say, you know what, I'm done.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think I need to move on.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: But I would hope that you don't feel like a failure.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you don't feel like this is not for you because you're not good enough.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: You can be.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's just how hard, how much struggle do you want to put into it, how much effort do you want to put into it, and is it worth it to you?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's not, that's fine.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: But you can do it if you want.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening to this episode of Dev Questions.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you have a question about being a developer, maybe check out the past episodes.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's a whole library full of questions that have been answered on this podcast.
• 14:26
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• 14:36
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• 14:41
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• 14:45
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• 14:47
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• 14:54
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• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: Comes out every Thursday.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, I am Tim Corey.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us for this episode of DevQuestions.
• 15:09
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• 15:12
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• 15:20
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• 15:25
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• 15:32
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