34 Tips for Professional JavaScript Developers

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Michael Mangialardi

What is this article all about?

It might be easier to begin by saying what it's not:

1. This is not an enumeration of tips and tricks to land your first job (there is already plenty of stuff on that topic).

2. This is not a list of professional "networking" skills (I find that stuff boring, no offense).

3. This is not an aggregation of purely technical advice (because the role of a JavaScript developer is not purely technical).

Rather, I want to dish out practical advice for what to do when you've already landed your first gig.

In short, I want you to be feel motivated, driven, and confident in answering the simple question of "what's next?"

The Journey

Specifically, I want to provide an answer to that important question beginning at the start of a new job, and then work our way from there.

A Disclaimer

JavaScript is a broad enterprise, and there are so many different niches (and therefore positions) that one may find themself in.

I cannot possibly cover practical advice at that scale. Therefore, I will assume a specific scenario.

Even if said scenario does not describe your situation, I still hope the advice can be practical and helpful in a general sense.

I'll leave it to the reader to adopt and mold the advice to their specific circumstances.

With that aside, let's end this introduction and get started already.

Ok, I got my first job...now what?

You're now a JavaScript developer writing code for a web application product.

You work with a group of developers, some more frontend-focused and some more backend-focused.

You have a software developer manager that you check in with once a week.

There's also a product team composed of a Product Manager, UI/UX Designer, and a Technical Product Manager.

Tip #1

You were hired for a reason. Remember that.

Tip #2

You don't impress peers with your technical skills.

Tip #3

Make your first career milestone being able to complete assigned work with minimal help (but initiate asking questions until you get there).

Tip #4

Read PRs of more experienced PRs and learn from them (even if you weren't assigned to do the review).

Tip #5

Be yourself. A personable teammate is a very attractive quality.

Tip #6

Expect long code review feedback cycles. That's normal in this stage.

Alright, I can complete tasks with minimal help...what's next?

Tip #7

Make it your next milestone to complete assigned work with better efficiency.

Tip #8

Improve efficiency by paying attention to common points made when others review your code.

Tip #9

Improve efficiency by targeting and resolving bottlenecks.

Tip #10

Remember that, in part, improving efficiency just takes experience (which takes time).

Alright, I can complete tasks with improved efficient...now I should ____?

Tip #11

Make it your next milestone to improve the quality of your code.

Tip #12

Get very good at providing thorough code reviews.

Tip #13

Always take time refactor your code after you get it working, making your code easy to review.

Tip #14

Write clean code.

Tip #15

Get comfortable with reading open source code.

Tip #16

Imitate patterns found in open source code.

Tip #17

Imitate patterns found in your codebase.

Tip #18

Do pair code reviews.

I'm writing cleaner code so I should focus on ____ next?

Tip #19

Make it your next milestone to help improve the team's efficiency and culture.

Tip #20

Initiate meetings to help developers focus on professional development (I've always liked the format of doing a show-and-tell where developers can shared a recent thing they've learned).

Tip #21

Observe and address bottlenecks in the review and deployment process.

Tip #22

Observe and address recurring bottlenecks in project planning and execution.

Tip #24

Initiate suggestions for better coding patterns and technologies.

Tip #24

Initiate trying different ways of thinking and working (i.e. pair on all code reviews for one project).

Tip #25

Aim for initiating one technology improvement and alternative way of working for each project.

Tip #26

Observe and address needs for greater emphasis on career development.

Tip #27

Observe and address needs for greater ways to motivate developers besides completing a project.

Tip #28

Observe and address needs for greater ways to have fun as a team.

I'm clearly becoming a tech leader, I also should ____?

Tip #29

Make providing input during product meetings as high a priority in your role as writing code.

Tip #30

Share your learnings with a broader audience using a developer's content model.

Tip #31

Focus on a niche interest/skill in your realm of development and get really good at it.

Tip #32

Work on side projects that sharpen your niche skill.

Tip #33

Stay up to date with latest trends in the industry (via Twitter, Bytes, Dev.to, newsletters, etc.

Tip #34

Outwork everyone.

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Michael Mangialardi