209. Using Outside Experience as a Software Developer

Can I use my experience from previous jobs as a software developer, or are those skills useless? How can I take advantage of my previous work experience outside of software development? These are the questions we will answer in today's episode of DevQuestions.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Dev Questions Podcast with Tim Corey. Join us each episode as we tackle the questions you are asking about a career in software development, understanding the industry, and new technology. If you're just starting out or you want to grow stronger as a developer, this is the place to get your questions answered. Now, here's your host, expert developer and online educator, Tim Corey.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Can I use my experience from previous jobs as a software developer, or are those skills useless? How can I take advantage of my previous work experience outside of software development? And I love these questions. Because I often see people underselling themselves because they don't understand just how valuable their previous experience is. So let's talk about in today's episode of Dev Questions. One of the most valuable things a software developer can do is look beyond the problem that's right in front of them. So looking beyond to see a bigger picture, to have, you know, and having previous experience can be an amazing asset in helping you be a better developer. So let's talk about some examples of where this might be the case. And let's start with the obvious one. If you work as a had worked as a real estate agent before becoming a software developer, you'll bring a lot to the table if you're building software for real estate agents. Okay? That's kind of obvious. So whatever field you previously worked in, if you're working now as an application developer in that field, you'll bring a lot to the table in building an application for it. So you're going to know what the pain points are. And you're going to know where other software fails or where the frustrations are with other software in that field if there isn't even is software to fill a particular gap. And you'll know what information is most valuable to the client. So maybe as a real estate agent, you know, there's all this information you could know, but what's most important? And knowing that will allow you to make your app more valuable to the client. Now, in fact, this is how the best software gets written. If you look at some of the best software in whatever field you're in, typically someone worked in the industry, saw a need, and built software to fill that need, which also means that's where a lot of developers can start their career. Is they say, hey, I'm not a developer, but I know there's this need here. And I'm going to learn how to be a developer to fill that need. That can be really valuable and it's a great way to get started. It also, by the way, gives you a great portfolio piece, even if you don't build an application to sell for millions of dollars. But let's go a bit deeper beyond just the kind of the one-to-one. I worked in a field, now I build applications for that field. So there are individual skills that you picked up that will be beneficial. For example, if you worked as a server in a restaurant, you may think, well, how would that relate to software development? It actually relates quite well. There's quite a few valuable skills here. Let's pick out just a couple. First of all, customer service, knowing how to talk to people, especially people who aren't the friendliest, who aren't the nicest, knowing how to get the best responses you can and knowing how to deal with sometimes difficult people. That's really valuable. And you know what? Working in software development, you're gonna meet people like that too. Unfortunately, that's how it works, but having those skills can be really valuable. But then there's also the skill of knowing how to ask better questions. For example, my wife has a lactose intolerance. So she might say, hey, does this particular meal have milk in it? Because for her it's really milk and butter. Well, they the server might say, No, it doesn't have milk and butter, but then she might say, okay, I like that and like the mashed potatoes. And the server might think, wait, wait, wait, I need to ask the question. Okay, you said you have a milk and butter allergy, those mashed potatoes are made with milk and butter. Okay, so you kind of ask better questions. Well, the same is true with software development. The the client may ask for something specific, and you say, but over here you asked for that. Are these two related? Because if they are, then we should make a different choice here because of the again, bigger picture. Okay, so asking better questions, knowing how to not just take things at face value, but evaluate them and make sure that you ask the follow-up thing. So that's a couple of things. Another one might be work optimization, knowing how to handle having different tables in different sections and balancing when food comes out and how you deliver that food and how you go through and check on the different tables to make sure you're checking at the right time for drink refills or for taking care of the check or anything else. So knowing how to optimize your work environment so that you are being the most efficient as well as being the most helpful as a server, well, that can be really helpful when it comes to being a software developer. There's lots more, but they're just a few examples of how even a job that seemingly has no connection to software development can add some very valuable skills when it comes to being a software developer. But that's not all of the ways that you can use a previous job to benefit your software development career. There's other benefits to having worked in another industry before being a software developer. Here's just a few more. You'll be able to prove your ability to work hard. Maybe your previous job was digging ditches. And yeah, that has nothing to do seemingly with writing code, but being able to stick with it and work hard and have your boss say they did a great job. Well, if you're writing code in the office, and you know it's an easier job in a lot of ways, but I can start thinking through and say, hey, you know what? They were a hard worker when it was not a pleasant environment. I think they'll be a hard worker for me. That you can prove your ability to work hard. Also, you can build working relationships with people. Yeah, you may have worked in the construction industry, you may have worked in the service industry, you may have worked at cleaning floors, whatever it was, you probably came in contact with other people in other positions. Having those connections can be very valuable when it comes time to getting a new job. Maybe you're a software developer now and you know that a former manager works at a company that also has software developers. You can ask for a reference. There's many other things you can do to try and utilize a network of people you know. Also, understanding where others are coming from. So again, when you work in whatever industry you are in besides software development, you're going to figure out, you know, learn how to deal with people. And people, again, can be hard, kind of like that, that server example. People can be hard, but learning where they're coming from and knowing, you know, that the strolls they go through can be valuable. Then as you become a software developer, you remember the strolls they they go through and the things they have to work through. And you can first of all be empathetic, but you can also then create software that helps them and thinks about them. Because often, when I would get specifications for software, I would get it from management. But you know who the most valuable person is to give you a software specification? The person at the bottom of the totem pole, the person who is at the bottom rung of the ladder, the person who is doing all the hard work, maybe even for minimum wage, because that person knows the struggles. They know the things that hold them back, they know the things that could be changed to make things better. Having already known about those people and known, you know, having worked with them or even been those people, well, you have a much better opportunity to make better decisions as a software developer. Or maybe you figure out that you know the industry you previously worked in did something well, but your current industry is weak in that area. You can bring those skills over. So maybe when it comes to, I don't know, education. So maybe the actual education industry does things well, but you know, when it comes to your job as a corporate trainer, working with the corporate trainers to train people on how to use your software in the real estate area, they might not be great at education, but you came from an industry that was great at education. So you can bring some of those knowledge points that you've learned into your new industry and say, hey, you know, it looks like a genius, because you say, these are the things I've seen that works. And they go, wow, that's revolutionary. We never thought about that. Because their primary job isn't education, it's real estate. But you came from a previous area where you worked in education. So the other thing, and this is one that is really valuable for software developers. I see a lot of software developers that come right up from college and they go right into software development. They've never worked anywhere else or barely worked anywhere else. And they say things like, oh, it's such a hard job. It's such a hard job. I just want to, and the the one that really you know tweaks me a little bit is I just want to quit and become a farmer. I've heard that quite a bit. Um, but there's, you know, I want to, you know, quit and do something else. I want to quit and do this other thing because they think that it's such a hard job to be a software developer. And there is a lot of things that are hard about being a software developer. And it may be the right choice for you. However, having a broader perspective on different jobs and how different jobs are different in how they're hard. Maybe some jobs are more physical, but they're less mentally draining. Whereas software development is more typically mentally draining, but not necessarily physically draining. And so you might say, you know what? I do better with physically drained jobs. Or you may say, I never realized how physically draining a job could be. So again, the farmer example, if you've never been on a farm, farmers work really hard, really hard. They work long hours, they do hard jobs, they do things that are messy and difficult and painful at times. And when you when for me, you know, when I look at that and I compare that to what I do, because you know, I grew up around farmers. And so I saw that and went, yeah, I don't want to do that. So I have you know, family that loves farming. That's what they do. But for me, I saw that and went, I could do that, or I could work in a climate-controlled building in my nice cushy chair with my drink at one side, and I can have my two monitors, I can work for eight hours and walk away. For me, that's a much easier job, but not having that perspective could make me look and say, the grass is greener on that side of the fence. So even just having worked in other industries can help you have a better perspective on what's really hard and what is maybe even harder that you don't realize. Okay, so those are just a few of the reasons why your previous work experience is so valuable to you as a software developer. At the end of the day, you can turn your work experience in other industries into a benefit for your career as a software developer. It just takes approaching it with the right mindset. All right, so thanks for the question. And as always, I am Tim Corey.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Dev Questions. Tim is committed to making it easier for you to become a developer. If you would like to help make more content like this possible, please like, subscribe, rate, and share Dev Questions. You can also send your questions to questions at IamtimCore.com. Until next time, remember, you are too smart and your time too valuable to waste it making all the mistakes Tim did. When you're ready to learn to think and code like a professional developer, head over to imtimcorey.com and enroll in a course.