Is it even worth becoming a “web professional” now and what does that even mean?
It can be strange how we categorize our positions and professions. For example, what one person would call a web developer, another would call a web designer. Then there are web programmers and specialties like “front end”, “full stack”, “back end” and “mid-thigh carver” ( I made that last one up, and yes, the last place I came from was the butcher’s…). So then what is a web professional?
And there are other questions, like is web development going to be obsolete with products like WEBFLOW and the like (products that will take away the need to code)?
With these titles and questions swirling around it can be very easy to throw up your hands and say what am I doing?! Is this even worth my time?!
The answer is: yes, yes it is and as far as ‘what is a web professional?’, well, that is a little more complicated…
First off, shameless plug: We offer kick-ass, detailed, and laboriously designed courses that will help to answer this question. So a web professional is kind of all these things combined in different ratios: designer, developer, front end, full stack, braised tenderloin ( I think I’m getting hungry…), etc, etc. Some devs may specialize in specific things (ex: back end or client side whatever), but it’s all in there. Hodge-podge is not necessarily the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind…
And how do you, as a web professional, ensure you know all these things or have a passable knowledge/experience with them? You learn. Either from having “been around the block” or by taking our course <another shameless plug, I know!>… But seriously, web development or whatever you want to call yourself is not going anywhere, in fact if the rate at which things are becoming more and more technological keeps growing, we’re going to need more and more devs at all kinds of different strengths and experiences.
Check out the vlog for a way more detailed and in depth explanation of this subject and quick side dig at RUBY… -Enjoy!
Should you learn it now or is Rust and Wasm an amusing diversion?
Alright so I’m not gonna lie, when I read “RUST”, the first thing that came to my mind was some kinda terrible alternative rock band from an even more terrible ROM-COM movie where the guy is like this pseudo tortured soul that looks like a Kurt Cobain knock-off and he’s so cynical and a drunk, but a “hollywood” drunk and not a serious one, cuz he’s still gotta be attractive to the ladies and he meets one of the bartenders (new hire), at the bar they play at and they start a casual, friendly relationship but it starts to become something more and he can’t get his act together cuz he’s been hurt and he’s scared so he drinks and ultimately chases the bartender away but one night he gets really drunk onstage and improvises a song where he basically uses all the most played out and cheesy mellow-dramatic cliches and everyone loves it and RUST have their first hit and they become famous and some more sophomoric crap happens and they end up getting together because love conquers all and he sings the bartender an acoustic version the infamous song but it has a whole new meaning now and they kiss and roll credits. Oh, and the movie is called “(t)RUST”…
…sorry…
“Rust and Web Assembly (wasm) allows you to write ultra-performing browser-based applications, because it basically compiles your code down to a binary format which all the major browsers today can run; so then it’s much faster than browsers reading JAVAscript code.” Rust is the programming language, and Wasm is a binary format that basically allows you to write super fast performing client-side code. But with all the other languages and frameworks out there, is it worth your time or just a fun distraction?
Well, “you would only really use this when you have client-side applications (meaning in web-browser applications), in web-browser processing that has to be done that is a little slow with JAVAscript. So it’s a pretty niche tech in my opinion…” Most people have computers that can handle the processing needs of most web apps when it comes to JAVAscript processing, so it sounds more like a fun distraction. “…maybe do a ‘hello world’ just to see what it’s about, understand the ecosystem, …where RUST and web assembly might come in handy”… so if you ever run across that situation where you need it, you can use it, but “it’s pretty niche, it has it’s uses and consider it a secondary thing: a tool that you have in your tool belt that you can pull out at the right time”. And as a general rule, people are going to have different opinions and that’s fine too.
Checkout the rest of the vlog for a more articulate explanation and stick around til the end to see a boat on the water from what looks like a scene right out of the (straight to DVD) movie: ‘(t)RUST’. I think I have a script to write… Enjoy.
Super quick vlog… Just wanted to say that I love all the questions I get from you guys, especially the really interesting ones that inspire me to make a new vlog. But alas, I am only one man. And I’m one man who also has to run a business… I sometimes can’t answer the sheer amount of questions I get asked. Please don’t feel like I’m ignoring you, chances are I may not even have seen it yet… Please feel free to repost questions on the comments section of the video; I do read those…although, sometimes I wonder why (the comments made can be ‘interesting’)… Keep asking your questions, I do love seeing them and answering as much as I can with the given time I have… Thanks so much and keep ’em coming!
Some criteria to consider when selecting a programming language to learn…
We get this question all the time in some form or another; “I really want to be a developer, but what language (programming) should I learn?” Well, let’s jump into it:
1- Consider the Job: The type of coding or kind of programming you want to do. For example do you need to do/want to build an iOS or android app? Web for small businesses? Etc… These decisions will play a role in what language you choose. 2- Consider the Ecosystem around the Language: You don’t necessarily want to jump into a technology that was not yet well enough established. Generally speaking if there’s no support/community for that framework/language, it might not progress or evolve with the “times”… 3- Consider the Job Opportunities Around the Language: Kinda relates to #2, if there’s not a lot of cross-platform support or community base, then generally speaking, you’re going to have a hard time finding a job with a more obscure language… Sometimes the “niche” market pays off but those opportunities are few and far between. 4- Consider the Market Forces: Competition can play a big role in choosing a language. How many other devs will you be competing against? What’s their experience? What is the Language that the majority of the market uses? All these things should at least be considered when you’re choosing a language.
Now that we’ve wound you up tight with anxiety and nervousness for choosing the right language (or failing miserably right out of the gate), let us offer you calming and relaxing idea to soothe you mind… It doesn’t really matter what language you pick… “Most of the modern languages share 80-90% (depending on language) of the same principles and constructs. The syntax or code that you write may be different, but at the end of the day…it’s the underlying architecture that makes the language…” so don’t worry about nailing your choice right outta the gate.
Check out the vlog for a more in depth explanation of how to go about choosing a language. And when in doubt, choose an open platform over a closed one; they tend to win out in the end. Enjoy.
People are people and people move around. And historically speaking, we do it a lot; sometimes for good reasons and unfortunately sometimes for tragic reasons… But for whatever reason you’ve decided to move abroad as a developer, here are the two things you’re going to need:
1- Assets: That is to say skill sets (technically speaking it’s what you can actually do) and “soft” skills (how you can communicate with people). 2- Reputation: Literally your online reputation. “You want to start building a profile so that people can evaluate who you are.” Most countries have a “merit” based system, which means you have to show the work you’ve done and are capable of doing in the country you’re applying to get into.
Bonus Points: -If english is a second language for you, you might consider polishing up on it (getting better), because english is the international business language and it would be advantageous for going abroad. -In regards to “reputation”, when building your profile, please be professional. Keep religion, politics and most personal opinions to yourself; stick to your skill set/soft skills, etc.
Checkout our vlog for a more detailed and nuanced dive into the subject. Feel free to checkout our links below to some great courses to “polish up on”. Safe travels!
I often laugh when I think to myself that even in a digital world, we still need a place to put all our stuff. Whether it be .txt files, videos, or pics, as long as we have a place to put stuff, we can let our digital hoarder run free!
But what’s the best option for “backin’ dat work up?” Well, for those of us who still remember the days of totally NOT downloading illegal mp3s, there were backup drives that you could buy and that took up physical space. They ranged in storage size, price and quality but they did the trick…until that is, they were lost, destroyed, or even (dun, dun, DUHN!!) corrupted.
So, this should come as no surprise: we recommend “cloud storage” for a few reasons: 1- It’s Automatic: “if you have to manually backup your backup, it’s not a good backup.” There’s going to come a time when you forget to backup and that’s when files will be lost or corrupted. Automatic is nice and easy and most times, seamless. 2- Affordable: If you’re coding, generally speaking your work isn’t going to take up much space and even if it does, the price of a 2 terabyte (TB) hardrive (that you will have to replace in 5-10 years, if it hasn’t blown out already) is wayyyyy more than a cloud service that costs you 10-15$ a year for that kind of space. I mean most cloud storage services offered are free as long as you keep them under a certain amount of gig (GB)… 3- Peace of Mind: “…the chance that Apple’s cloud drive goes or that Google’s cloud drive goes, are a billion to one.” And yes, we have heard of celebrity’s cloud drives being “hacked”, but some major fail-safes would have to be breached for that to happen and security is already pretty tight and getting tighter everyday. Also, for the average person who’s backing up their work, we’re pretty sure you have much less to worry about…
Check out the video below for deeper look into the subject as we try and figure out what to do with all these fried back up drives we have that bring us NO joy…
So when we’re writing code, do we prefer the almighty desktop or the versatile laptop? Great question, and one that has two answers:
First, the general answer: It doesn’t matter so long as you do the work in a comfortable and productive environment… And the actual answer: We like laptops. Why? They’re flexible and you can take them anywhere, which means you can work anywhere. And, “these days computers [laptops] are so powerful, that writing code will not even put pressure on a five year old laptop (or desktop); you don’t need much horsepower to write code…”. Of course there are some exceptions (ex: code compiling, etc.), but as a general rule laptops offer way more flexibility and even the slightly older ones still have the horse power to get the job done.
Check out the video for more in depth discussion and the specs on the laptop we’re currently using to write code. Plus stick around til the end of the video to see what is either a beautiful shot of the clouds parting and the sun gently taking back the day…or the beginning of the day the dragons flew in, took over and made us their slaves… all hail CRTHYXSIS: great and powerful lord of the horde!! Enjoy!
Stop playing games, learn to code for the real-world:
Ok guys, let’s separate the fun n’ games from the work. That’s not to say that work can’t be fun and rewarding like a game would be, but I think we can all agree work is work, yeah? Great.
Now that we’re all on same page; competitive coding/programming: that is where you have to write a certain amount of code in a certain period of time, or figure out some little algorithm/mind-teasers of coding or snippets that you have to solve (sometimes while timed), does not necessarily make you a good programmer.
I know, I know where the hell do I get off? But hear me out, this is fun n’ games, that’s all. Since when does being able to do something fast, make you good at it? In fact, I think we can all think of many instances in our lives when the exact opposite was true…
“At the end of the day what makes a professional coder…[they] know how to write clean, reusable code that is decoupled from everything else (decentralized, if you will)…and very readable and maintainable.” “Speed coding…might be good if you’re doing some light scripting maybe for MAYA or some video game or video game processing…and even that is very debatable…” I think we can all agree that it doesn’t matter if you can write code 30, 40 or even 50% faster if the code sucks. Usually you would more than double the actual time spent on edits and corrections…
So here’s the hot take: At the end of the day fun n’ games is fun: we get a little challenge, we get a laugh, we might even make a friend or two and feel embraced by a community, but it’s not serious, it’s not planned or deliberate: it’s not work.
Check out the Video where we go into more detail about this and <Shameless Self-Promotion>, we offer some kick-ass courses on coding/programming that are both fun and deliberate 🙂 Enjoy!
Alright, shameless self-promotion time!! We offer a kick-ass course in FREELANCING. It’s super informative and affordable.
Now before we go any further, let’s talk about the difference between freelancer and contractors: Contractor: Typically brought into an organization and you have a particular task that’s assigned to you/ have to show up at specific time. It’s usually pretty structured/you are an employee without any benefits. Freelance: Also have no benefits but maximum flexibility in terms of your work hours. Essentially you chose when and how you’re going to work.
Now the nature of freelance and why it’s so alluring is that generally speaking you don’t have to be anywhere at any one specific time. You have the freedom to plan your day according to what the demands are: for example you can go meet a client and you can decide what tools you are going to use for the job they have, and generally speaking it’s up to you when you do it and how you do it… So let’s say you work 30 hours a week (guess) at a full-time brick and mortar job, you can easily budget out another 10-15 hours in that week for your freelance job (whatever that may be).
The hard part, of course, will be managing your time when you’re starting out and really being disciplined enough to do that freelancing job after a tough day at work, but maybe someone’s been through that experience already and is just dying to share it with you!
Check out the rest of this vid for some more insight into the subject plus a tight little drum intro in the beginning, AND a winter wonderland walk that culminates in a peek into my past dating life…
Another breaking discovery from the Department of Urban Humanity or ‘DUH’: “You are a flesh and blood human being and the software “tools” you choose do not define you. Whatever programs, hardware, etc. other people use is their own business and has nothing to do with you. Go live your life!”
The main reason for this VLOG is because we had the audacity to mention that some lifelong MAC users were switching to WINDOWS for a bunch of reasons, hardware inconsistencies, etc… And some people (and one in particular) practically pooped a kitten!
Now, trolls and general sh*t disturbers aside, we know that most people either have too much common sense or not enough time to care about this statement. But for those of you who genuinely have your back up: “it’s just an opinion, man. Who cares!”
Check out the VLOG below or if you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, checkout the links to some great courses that we offer, that way you can learn coding and then spew your opinion all over the internet…or take those amazing skills and become a highly paid and respected DEVELOPER SUPREME!!
