Helping out Friends getting into IT - Mentoring
A friend from the master study days added me on LinkedIn the other day. After some "what are you doing ping pong" I found out, that she wants to get into IT for work.
During our master's, we were part of a learning group and became friends. I never saw any interest or even hobby in IT. That is why I was really surprised. But I was eager to help immediately!
Why? Easy, I was in that exact situation as well a few years ago. I remember thinking about how to get into IT during my bachelor time almost all the time. For me, it was the hobby that got me skills and a student job at a startup an opportunity. But I digress, that's a story for another time.
So I offered to help them with some mentoring sessions. I would have done everything to have someone to talk to when I tried to figure that out myself.
Their current goal is to get a job in IT. They are both participating in different course programs. To learn a programming language is one thing. There are so many things you have to learn when you literally start from zero which may or may not be touched by their programs.
Version Control
I think version control, especially git is really important. Also learning about the difference between git, GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, etc.
Basic git commands, what and how you need to search for what you want to accomplish with git. Just the names of workflows like GitFlow, GitHub Flow, feature branches, etc.
If you just want to start with git register an accountant GitHub (I think it is the largest community) and go through their Quickstart guide.
If you have any questions about git you can read the book "Pro Git" online for free:
Being Pragmatic
A lot of people will recommend books like Clean Code. I did not read that book yet, since I am also early with my OOP skills (It is on my list). The value you get out of the book will be higher or only be present when you already have run into problems in order to understand the solutions offered in the book.
Therefore I recommend beginners "The Pragmatic Programmer" by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt. Be sure to get the updated 20th Anniversary Edition.
I think if you code for a while this book has not that many new things to it. But if you are a beginner this will give you a lot more. Give it a try. It is a fairly easy read.
What do you think?
I have a few topics, resources, etc. up my sleeve but pasting a huge list all at once might be too much. But I want to know what you think.
Do you have any generic topic you wished you had learned early?
Any books or other recommendations you have for people who are just starting?
Anything.
Let me know in the comments!
