[Interview] How to Build a Successful Career as a Developer?

With the boom in digital & Internet technologies, the role of programming languages and coders has increased in the corporate World! Every corporate is looking for the next nerd to step up in their company and make a revolutionary update in the products!

But, developers face tough competition and struggle on their way to successful careers

Meet Anjali Singh! She is currently working at Dell Technologies, solving challenging problems across the spectrum of the Machine Learning space to drive critical decision-making.

Here in this interview article, we will directly hear from Anjali Singh on how to build a successful career as a developer or coder. Her answers would be valuable for beginners to guide themselves in their journey!

Let’s get started.

But before that, let’s know a bit more about Anjali.

About Anjali Singh

Anjali is currently working as a data science practitioner at Dell Technologies. She was born and brought up in Punjab, where she completed her schooling. Her undergraduate major was Electronics and Communication Engineering.

During her relatively short span in this industry, she picked up a lot of technical and interpersonal skills. She had the opportunity to research cutting-edge NLP technology, productionize Data science solutions, and lead teams to achieve milestones. Overall, a pretty good ride till now.

Interview

Q1. Why did you pick coding as your career option? And, why should one pick it?

I never picked coding as a career option. Coding is just another tool for me to create innovative & creative solutions. I had been exposed to coding since school, but it wasn’t until college that I began to take it seriously.

I was interested in engineering design and animation, which is why I started learning Python. Then, I came across Data Science which intrigued my curiosity.

As everyone is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all. If coding ties down to one of your passions, then why not??

Q2. According to you, what are the 5 key traits of becoming a good developer?

Five? That’s too many 🙂

First and foremost, I would say the problem-solving aptitude.

Ability to make decisions given a set of requirements, timelines, and constraints.

Ability to effectively communicate your ideas.

Always drive the development decisions with the end-user in your mind.

A TEAM PLAYER, TOO!! Of course

Q3. Tell us about your struggle in terms of learning to code and searching for jobs, in this highly competitive era of coding.

Coding, like any other skill, requires practice.

Yes, it is very competitive out there, but I think if you devote yourself to your work and projects, knowing where and why you made certain decisions, you will be able to defend yourself in job interviews.

Q4. Among all the professional posts like CEOs, Managers, Digital marketers, Content creators, social media managers, and HRs, how do you see a developer in this ecosystem?

Developers, like every other role, play a crucial role in any organization.

From the genesis of any business idea, they are the ones who check the feasibility of the implementation. Some of these are the roles that a developer grows into, which again depends on personal preference.

For example, an experienced developer can be a better manager since they have been on the same road as their team and can empathize with them.

Q5. If Artificial Intelligence comes into action, do you think it will risk the job of programmers? [Because I believe Tony Stark never needed a programming team just because he had JARVIS]

Le Tony & Pepper without JARVIS

Haha!! It’s a good one.

AI has not surpassed human intelligence, and until it does that, it will not eliminate programmers but it will assist in the rapid development of solutions and help spare time to venture creative ideas.

Because the IT industry is now investing extensively in automation and AI, professions with mundane and redundant tasks will be eliminated eventually.

Q6. My 5 years old cousin once asked me what computer programming is? Can you help me to make her understand that!

Just like your mom follows a recipe to make your favorite dish, your computer follows a set of instructions and works for you to give a result.

Q7. What are the 5 Top Programming Languages to learn in 2022? And, Why?

You don’t need to learn a lot of languages, simply pick one and understand the data structures and design decisions of that language. As you gain experience, you will be able to see past syntax and work with languages according to the problem at hand.

If you still can’t decide, go with Python.

Q8. What would the World look like without programming languages & coding?

Prehistoric

Q9. What are your thoughts on the Future of coding and programming?

The industry is growing faster than ever. Daily, new solutions and technologies are built to capture the market, and it is difficult for anyone to keep pace with the technology.

We are almost reaching a future where there will be an abundance of services for the consumers, and programming will play a significant role in this.

Q10. What is your advice to college students who are aspiring to make their careers as a developer?

Experiment with different things to see what you like.

I myself explored a lot of different career paths before committing to one. If you have a passion for computer science, there are a lot of technologies to work with, like human-computer interaction (UI/UX), cryptography, blockchain, data science, etc.

Similarly, you might be interested in transforming specific industries like agriculture, education, finance, etc.

Try finding internships in those domains. Create your own unique path.

Wrapping Up

We express our hearty thanks to Anjali for sharing her career journey and the lessons she has learned on her way as a developer.

A lot of young minds are lost after graduating, and struggle to streamline their career ahead. This is common! However, we hope that this interview will help them to take a better decision.

Thanks for reading!
Drop your opinions in the comments!