Between evolving technologies, shifting project demands and the persistent pull of innovation, software engineers have a host of reasons to keep improving their skills. The pace of the industry requires developers to continually keep up-to-date on emerging trends and pursue a deeper understanding of programming languages to stay competitive and effective.
Fortunately, learning is often one of the most rewarding parts of the job for many people. For companies, too — it’s a tool to help teams excel, which is why many provide their engineers with resources to strengthen their capabilities and opportunities to put their new knowledge to work.
At the office amenity platform Crafty, Software Engineer Ben Pohl said leaders have created an environment that champions professional development.
“Since joining Crafty a year ago, I’ve been able to level up my skill set thanks to the supportive environment and resources provided by the organization,” he told Built In Chicago.
He credited his close collaboration with more senior colleagues and their openness to sharing knowledge as significant contributors to his progress so far.
Kyle Stacklin, a software developer at the cybersecurity company Network Perception also acknowledged the influence of his teammates but said he’s also benefited from committing on an individual level to a deep study of specific languages — in his case, JavaScript and React.
To get the most out of this practice, he explained, “It is important to set personal goals that align with your interests and provide a step-by-step process for your programming journey rather than overwhelming yourself with the vastness of the field.”
Read on for further insights on how Pohl and Stacklin have pushed themselves to hone their code-writing skills and a roadmap for other engineers looking to do the same.
Crafty centralizes pantry, catering, café and supplies services for businesses, helping them create and manage more engaging environments for employees.
How have your code-writing skills improved since joining Crafty? How did the company help facilitate that improvement?
The collaborative atmosphere at Crafty has been a significant contributor to my advancement. Working alongside seasoned senior engineers has pushed me to further develop my coding skills. Observing their techniques, problem-solving strategies and thought processes has been a great learning experience.
Another factor is Crafty's emphasis on regular code reviews. This practice ensures the quality of our codebase and gives us a chance to get valuable feedback for improvement. Constructive criticism from colleagues has challenged me to refine my coding style and consider alternative approaches. I’ve added more tools to my problem-solving tool belt. Crafty also encourages continuous learning through resources, pair programming, group study and workshops. Overall, Crafty’s commitment to helping me refine my code-writing skills has made me feel more confident and secure in this career path.
Constructive criticism from colleagues has challenged me to refine my coding style and consider alternative approaches.”
Tell us about a project that you completed thanks to your leveled-up code skills. What was the project, and how was it made possible by your improvement in skills?
Working on Crafty’s new budgeting feature was a significant milestone in my career. The project aimed to develop a comprehensive budgeting tool tailored to our diverse clients' business needs. One of the primary challenges was ensuring real-time data availability so our clients could compare their expenses for pantry, catering, cafes and supplies against their budget allocations. This build called for something that many developers dread: recursion. We needed the budgets to be grouped together and those groups to be grouped together again repeatedly to meet the needs of our clients.
Solving the challenge helped me improve my SQL writing skills. I delved into advanced common table expressions and recursive queries that could handle the requirements of budget grouping. By utilizing recursive queries, I was able to navigate through the hierarchical relationships and dynamically group our datasets together based on specific data in real-time. Thanks to the support of the engineering leadership and the training at Crafty, I was able to level up my skills and play a large part in a major release at the company.
What advice would you give to other engineers who want to continue to improve their code-writing skills while on the job?
Seek mentorship: Find experienced developers who are willing to guide and mentor you along your journey. They can help provide valuable feedback and share best practices.
Take on challenging projects: Taking on a project that will push your current skill sets can be intimidating. By stepping out of your comfort zone, you will be forced to find new ways to solve problems, which will help you grow and improve.
Embrace code reviews: Welcoming feedback from your peers can be tough. Completing tasks during sprints while actively engaging with code reviews can feel like a lot to take on. However, code reviews provide an opportunity to learn from others’ expertise, identify areas for improvement and gain exposure to different coding approaches.
Continuously learn and explore: Stay updated with the latest technologies and coding practices. Invest time in self-study, online courses and attending tech conferences or workshops. This continuous learning will help you expand your knowledge and apply new concepts to your work.
Network Perception is a cybersecurity software company that provides solutions to visualize and manage cyber risk for critical infrastructure.
How have your code-writing skills improved since joining Network Perception? How did the company help facilitate that improvement?
Our company encourages regular code reviews as part of our development process. Every piece of code we submit to be added to our product undergoes review by our peers, who offer constructive feedback, point out areas for improvement, suggest alternative approaches and highlight potential bugs.
Each quarter we have designated goals for each employee, and some revolve around expanding our current skill set in the programming languages we use every day. Additionally, we are encouraged to extend our knowledge bank to other areas in which we may have less expertise. This has had the biggest impact on me personally since joining this company, as it allows me quality time to research and even implement useful examples that I can refer back to if needed.
Tell us about a project you completed thanks to your leveled-up code skills. What was the project, and how was it made possible by your improvement in skills?
My peers and I successfully transitioned a custom table component from its prototype stage to a fully functional production feature. This table serves as the primary source for our users to access and analyze thousands of data items related to their network configurations. We seamlessly integrated this table component with our application's data model through collaborative efforts, introducing new production features while significantly enhancing its performance and usability. I played a key role in this task, leveraging my improved JavaScript and React skills to deliver a fast and efficient data visualization table that our users rely on daily.
What advice would you give to other engineers who want to continue to improve their code-writing skills while on the job?
The best way to improve your skills is through focused practice with one specific language. A comprehensive understanding of a language's surface-level and underlying concepts will not only help you excel in writing code for that language but also enable you to comprehend the broader principles that underlie many programming languages. Additionally, learning by doing is crucial. While finding a good instructor on platforms like YouTube or Udemy can be beneficial, it is important to remember that you need to do more than just watch others program to fully enhance your understanding of a language.
The best way to improve your skills is through focused practice with one specific language.”
