My First Next Level Week at Rocketseat

At the first Next Level Week 🚀, beyond shipping a slick app with clean, well-organized code and a full fullstack setup (javascript, typescript, node, react, react native, css, html, npm, github, axios, express, celebrate, joi, knex, sqlite3, figma… phew!), I also walked away with some non-technical lessons I want to share with you.

Beyond knowing the development tools, we need to master them — and on top of that, keep up with their updates and evolutions. It's very hard, not to say impossible, to master every technology while also tracking its progress, given that our time is limited and we have to dedicate it to other areas of life too.

So we need FOCUS: pick a stack, get really good at it, and evolve alongside it.

Cool, but which stack? Well, IT DEPENDS! 😅

Now, answer for yourself: what moment are you living right now, what is your context, what is your goal?

I liked what Diego said in one of the videos, because it helps answer those questions:

💡 "So instead of thinking about which technology is best, think about which technology is best for you, for your moment, for your context, and for your goals. To do that, you now need to ask yourself questions like: What kind of professional is the market looking for? Which companies are using this technology? How is the ecosystem and tooling around this technology? How big is the community behind it? Does this technology make sense for your current career moment? How many opportunities exist for this technology? How much prior knowledge can you reuse with it? What problems does this technology solve, and most importantly, where do I want to go with it?"

💻 If your goal is to be a web developer, beginner or career switcher, Javascript is a great option. Every technology has its trade-offs, solves a specific problem, and has a market with salaries at every level.

Don't think only at the city, state, or country level. Think globally — anywhere in the world someone is going to need a web or mobile system. That's the golden tip.

Example, if you choose to be a mobile developer 📱:

You can work with native development only (Android or iOS), or go hybrid and target both platforms (operating systems):

We have Ionic, Cordova, Xamarin, Flutter, and React Native — you could probably throw PWAs in here too. All of these technologies solve a problem: shipping software to smartphones. Each has its pros and cons: tool complexity, learning curve, code reuse, platform limitations, performance, among others. What they all have in common: a market.

With Javascript we can build for web, mobile, desktop — we can discover ourselves across this whole range of possibilities in development, or even become a Full Stack Developer working with mobile, web, and desktop.

Experience gives us speed, speed comes with practice, and all of that is a matter of FOCUS — plus the confidence of always delivering projects with higher quality.

One of the things that surprises me the most about the development world is knowing that there are tons of people 🙋 in the communities helping each other regardless of skill level. You're only alone if you want to be. There are so many communities across many channels (Slack, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp…). Heads up here too: focus on the community you choose to be part of, you can't be active in all of them (remember, time is limited, and aim for quality). Pick at most three communities to be very active in, and follow the others when you can.

Tip to keep your inbox full of opportunities: help others in the community, or amplify something cool someone posted — liking, sharing, complimenting sincerely.

LinkedIn, Github, Twitter, and "recently" Instagram are excellent social networks to stay engaged and engage others. Show what you're doing, like what others are doing, get involved. Out of sight, out of mind! But be seen in a positive way, be positive. People are definitely watching. Personal branding and networking are essential. Now, with this pandemic we're living through, where many are losing income and jobs, this is a good time to be remembered and wanted by a company or business opportunity.

If you study English, you may have heard of the spaced repetition system. You learn a word today, and throughout the week you keep reading, hearing, and saying that word so you never forget it. To be seen and noticed, you have to keep repeating doses of sharing relevant things from your field on social media so a recruiter or company never forgets you. This isn't bullshit — it actually happens.

This week was incredible, full of learnings. Learning is continuous — I was very excited and happy to have taken part!

There's always a next level!!! #NLW thanks @Rocketseat!

Project link: Ecoleta

Image credits: an extra provided during the #NLW.