Software skills to pursue in 2013

The software industry is renowned for moving at breakneck pace, sometimes even a 3 week holiday can see you returning to work and be neck-deep in new terminology, technology and techniques. It has become so critical as a software engineer to stay abreast of technological advances, tools, processes and platforms as it puts your in the right position to be able to make decisions on what is really the best tool for the job, and be able to justify why.

It also means that you are an attractive hire because you show that you are pro-active in your research and awareness, that even though you may not have 2 years experience in a language or toolset, you do know what it is, where it came from and why it exists.

Justin James from Tech Republic describes the software environment quite accurately (it's also quite accurate down here in RSA). He aptly points out the general trend towards splitting platforms between Enterprise (Rapid, tested, best-of-breed) and Consumer (enthusiast, cutting edge and typically open source) segments.

Check out the article here: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-skills-for-developers-to-focus-on-in-2013/3525

We have noticed much of the same emphasis on things like UX (user experience) and responsive design and the notable trending of NoSQL data stores like Mongo and Raven, which will be on our shores in force this year.

Keep these things in mind, so when you're asked in an interview what technology you are interested in, you actually have an opinion on them (not to mention some of these are really fantastic to play around with anyway, win-win).

Investing in your career

Some of the best developers we hire crack the nod not because they have a particular skill-set, rather because they are well rounded smart-thinking problem solvers who have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of object orientation and computer science. What this boils down to is - if and when you are pulled from your comfort zone, will you be able to cope ? It's easy to get cosy in a job that doesn't offer much challenge but the consequence of staying could have a much larger impact on your career than you might imagine.

When the going gets tough at your company and you start seeing warning signs of instability - will you be in a position to make a move and sustain your income? These are tough questions to ask, but investing early on in the right skills and education can put you in a better position to navigate your career through tough times.

Some warning signs to look out for are highlighted in the following article by Rich Hein

Realities of Your Industry

I came across this article recently. Some of the advice comes across as quite harsh and the article will not appeal to all personality types, but it's worth a read if you're in the software industry. I certainly wouldn't take all the advice as gospel, but there are some useful things to take away such as being technology agnostic, understanding that most systems you'll work on will be line-of-business and taking an interest in networking. 

When is it time to change jobs?

So you went to the interview, you got the job, started working, made a name for yourself from day one but now you are not happy or you are thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. I am sure that most people got through this from time to time and they wonder if moving would be the right move or not. I have always believed that this should be a really easy decision and after spending some time searching Google, there seems to be a lot of people who agree with me:

1. Is your current job no longer challenging you?
2. Is your current job no longer assisting you to reach your longer term career goals?
3. Are you no longer gaining transferable skills?

If you answered no to the questions above, then it is probably time to make a move. The quicker you do this the better, the last thing anyone wants to do is stagnate…