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self study

 
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Hi Fernando,
I am so glad to be able to collaborate at this site. Do you think a self study regiment can produce a capable developer, and if so what advice do you have for people like me please? I debated a bit about posting this since I am not sure if it is as relevant to the topic of your book. I myself have found great resources online, but i believe the challenge is finding and implementing projects that show one can be successful. I finally focused on back end development, and improving my Java and knowledge of databases. I also struggled with decisions on what material to use, how to validate my work, how to select the right level of material for where I am technically. Is it possible to focus on how to build better resume? Currently I have links to the projects I have done so far, as well as bullet points like tools, technologies, and languages I am good at.
Thanks in advance
 
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Hey Sam, thanks for the great question, and yes, the topic is quite relevant to the book, I even talk about how every person learns through different means in it. The learning process is key to becoming a successful developer. But the focus shouldn't be on how you go about it, but on never giving up.
If you feel comfortable learning through videos, or books , or articles, it doesn't really matter, just as long as you keep learning.

When you're learning alone it's hard to know if you're doing it right, like you said, validation is important. So my advice to you here would be to validate your progress by building projects (which sounds like you're doing already). Now, that doesn't mean that if you struggle with your project you're not progressing. That's not how you measure your progress. The fact that you manage to finish the project is the validsation you're after.

In other words:

- Yes, self learning is a very valid way of becoming a successful developer. Although it would't hurt to work with others from time to time to learn from their experience as well.
- You can definitely validate your progress, and the best way to do so is through building projectcs. They'll be hard, but they'll also teach you stuff in the process. IF you're building something to validate your progress and it turns out it's easy, then you're validating your progress incorrectly.

As for your question about improving the resume. There are tons of people who can speak about this more than me, in fact, if you're not already, I would recommend following (and potentially contacting) Danny Thompson (https://twitter.com/DThompsonDev), he has  done great work advicing new developers to improve their linkedIn profile to get their first job as a developer. But the main point here is that if you don't have work experience, the best is to upload your projects to Github, and list them in your CV, make sure you have a single paragraph for each one explaining what they are, list the technologies used and make sure that's one of the first things (after your personal information) shown there.
Other than that, I've seen a lot of great results from people going with the "learning in public" strategy in Twitter. They share their progress and their problems, and the tech community jumps in to help them progress. Through that process they also get great connections that eventually pay out by helping them get an opportunity.

This is definitely a long answer,I hope it makes sense and that it helps somehow! Let me know otherwise!

Sam Muller wrote:Hi Fernando,
I am so glad to be able to collaborate at this site. Do you think a self study regiment can produce a capable developer, and if so what advice do you have for people like me please? I debated a bit about posting this since I am not sure if it is as relevant to the topic of your book. I myself have found great resources online, but i believe the challenge is finding and implementing projects that show one can be successful. I finally focused on back end development, and improving my Java and knowledge of databases. I also struggled with decisions on what material to use, how to validate my work, how to select the right level of material for where I am technically. Is it possible to focus on how to build better resume? Currently I have links to the projects I have done so far, as well as bullet points like tools, technologies, and languages I am good at.
Thanks in advance

 
Sam Muller
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I so appreciate your reply, and so many items resonated with me. I'll follow your great advice on the rest also.
 
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