HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

There's a great presentation on the topic by Angelina Fabbro www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TFmdO4ZP0 with matching slides http://afabbro.github.io/jsconf2013 . The title says javascript, but it's really a platform agnostic guide that sketches out what mastery looks like and lays out actionable steps to get there.

Seriously, listen to the talk and/or check out the slides.

But 90% won't, so here's her actionable steps:

  1. Ask why obsessively
  2. Teach and/or speak at an event
  3. Work through a suggested curriculum*
  4. Experiment recklessly (the code doesn't care)
  5. Have opinions
  6. Seek mentorship
  7. Program a lot
  8. Stop fucking programming sometimes.
  9. Write Javascript* a lot
  10. Write in another language for a while
  11. Think like a programmer when afk
  12. Know what feedback is good feedback and reject everything else.
  13. Break free of imposter syndrome

* These are the two points you'll need to adapt to your choice of language

⬐ notduncansmith

13 is easier said than done. Maybe this is just me trying to rationalize, but it feels like if you don't have some level of impostor syndrome, it's almost hubris.

⬐ cgislason

I think the trick is to shed your imposter syndrome, but remain humble. You can be confident and humble at the same time. It can come with accurate self-assesment. Keeping your weakness in mind helps a lot.