Michael TharringtonThis weekly roundup highlights what we believe to be the most thoughtful and/or interesting discussion of the week. We're also be highlighting one particularly cool comment in each installment. 🙌
The DEV Community is particularly special because of the kind and thoughtful discussions happening between community members. As such, we want to encourage folks to participate in discussions and reward those who are initiating or taking part in conversations across the community. After all, a community is made possible by the people interacting inside it.
NOTE: I forgot to choose winners for last week. I was busy assisting with CodeLand in the CodeNewbie Community and this completely fell off my radar. Sorry folks! 😅
Discussion of the Week
This week, the winner goes to @duhdugg for the excellent #discuss prompt "What piece of tech do you regret choosing for a project?"
This prompt is particularly interesting because it's a window into the past — so many folks looking back on the tech they've wielded and explaining why they wished they had taken another route. This isn't just a thread of complaints either, the comments here are thoughtful and offer up fantastic context. And props to Doug for both writing a concise discussion prompt and commenting in full in the comments section, if you read the submission guidelines for #discuss, you'll see that this is what we hope for! 🙌
Comment of the Week
Gotta give it up for @leekeith's fantastic response to @westernal's fantastic prompt "What was your mistakes in your career path?" 👏
Keith's comment is a 2-parter that offers up some really great advice to all. On the note of "being reluctant to change jobs", Keith's advice to not sell yourself short and avoid trapping yourself is important to keep in mind. If you feel yourself stagnating and don't see opportunities for growth, then you need to ask yourself honestly if this is where you really want to be; if the answer is "no", then formulate that exit plan.
Likewise, "keeping my creativity to myself" is something that I'm sure plenty of folks can relate to, but we should really try to break this habit. While sometimes it might seem futile, taking the time to communicate your good ideas can make all the difference to both you and your organization! For the org, it can mean improved efficiency, a better product, and more profit. For you personally, it can mean feeling more accomplished in your day-to-day, receiving recognition from your team, and even potentially getting a raise. Don't hoard your ideas, get them out there!
What are your picks?
There's loads of great discussions and comments floating about in this community. These are just a few we chose to highlight. 🙂
I urge you all to share your favorite comment and/or discussion of the past week below in the comments. And if you're up for it, give the author an @mention — it'll probably make 'em feel good. 💚
Being reluctant to change jobs
When I realized that I was coding myself into a corner where I knew that:
I should have developed my exit strategy immediately.
Be realistic about your prospects and your self-worth. Don't trap yourself because you still really like your job.
Keeping my creativity to myself
I often find myself coming up with great ideas from which my company could really benefit or I will have an epiphany about how to drastically improve one of my projects. Sometimes I've kept these to myself in case I can turn them into something on my own time, or I'll do little more than mention them in passing to my supervisor.
A better approach would be to write something up. Flesh out the details, do a cost/benefit analysis, approximate number of person-hours required, and so on. If you don't champion your ideas to the right people, they'll never see the light of day.