Top 10 Must-Have Skills To Become A Great Software Developer

So you want to become a good software developer. Wait! You want to become a great software developer. In this article, I share my experiences, thoughts, and advice on how to become a great software developer.
Today, software development is more than just writing code. When a company is looking for its next developer, they look for more than just a good coder. This article applies to all software developers, software engineers, programmers, coders, tech leads, and anyone else who wants to improve their software development.
A software developer is a person who builds software. The software starts with user experience, with some middleware services, and a data storage.
Here is my list of the top 10 skills a software engineer must possess to become a good developer.

# 10. Good writing skills

If you’re reading this, you likely want to become a good software developer. Some believe that to achieve this one only needs to become an accomplished coder. This may be a part of the equation, but a software developer must know more than just good coding. A developer must also have good writing skills. A developer must be able to develop good documentation, emails, and event comments. Furthermore, developers are often involved in user interface designs. I often find bad content in demos, explained by the lack of proper writing skills of many software developers.
Writing is one of the skills that helps you increase concentration of mind. Writing is also one of the best ways to learn new things. There is a proven fact that writing helps you retain more knowledge than just reading or watching videos.
Writing on public community websites and blogs gives you exposure to millions of potential readers and business leads. I remember, I got my first book writing contract in 1999 after a publisher read my article on C# Corner. I have gotten a number of projects after people read my C# Corner articles and blogs.
Writing eventually may lead you to fortune and fame. Continue reading Why Every Developer Should Write.

#9. Good communication

Another important facet of software development is to have good communication skills. A developer is a team member, often communicating with clients or end users. I’ve seen so many developers miss out on business opportunities due to miscommunication issues.
Both reading and writing helps improve communication.
For developers, public speaking at local user groups, meetings, tech events, and conferences are highly recommended. Public speaking not only improves communication skills but also helps you gain more confidence before an audience. Public speaking also gives you a greater exposure and eventually may establish you as a thought leader in the space.
Continue reading Why Developers Should Focus on Communication.

#8. Be a full-stacker

You may be solely a back-end developer or a front-end developer. However, to improve your development skills, you must understand both sides of the software. If you are a back-end developer, you may not be building front-end software, but even so, you must understand what the end-user expects. It helps move development faster and write better back-end code. The same principle applies to the front-end developers. One should also understand how databases are created and managed. I’ve seen projects delayed because of a communication gap between a database administrator and a front-end developer. Understanding all aspects of the software makes a difference.

#7. Be open-minded

A developer should know more than just one programming language, framework, and even stack. This helps them compare various technologies and make decisions. Today, the majority of large corporation’s work is in multiple stacks and frameworks. A developer who can work with more than just one stack is always better than one who cannot. There will be times when your manager may ask your opinion on something the company is potentially interested in. Be open minded. Read more. Learn more. Try to be open minded about new technologies.
I often see developers debating which languages, frameworks, libraries, and stacks are better. There are discussions on C# vs Java, Azure vs AWS, Angular vs React, PHP vs ASP.NET and more. Developers regularly argue about which of these are best. However, remember that it’s not the technology that makes developer’s code better; it’s the developer who is responsible for the software quality.

#6. Good testing skills

Let’s face it: Most developers don’t like to test their work. Always remember that this is a mistake if you wish to become a better software developer. Being a good developer also means being a good tester and thinking like the end user. Now, I’m not saying go and learn every testing tool out there. As a developer, all you need to do is, make sure to have unit testing in place in your projects, learn what integration testing and user acceptance testing are and how they matter to the end customer.
If you write code using Visual Studio, learn more in this detailed article, Inside Out Live Unit Testing.
Continue reading Why Every Developer Should Be A Good Tester.

#5. Be a problem solver and think outside of the box

Writing code is all about problem solving, therefore, you must be a problem solver. You must become skilled in developing optimal solutions. If you work in a large corporation, you may follow existing software development practices, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t propose and utilize new methods as well.

#4. Coding best practices

Learning and exercising the most effective coding practices and following recommendations by experts helps make a “great developer.” One of the best ways to improve is to read and learn from code written by experts. For example, if you’re a .NET developer, read articles written by Microsoft’s .NET product team and see how they write code. Learn how the latest version of C# code is written by using its new features.
Here is an article that explains basic concepts of coding best practices, Best Practices to write C# Code.

#3. Use new features of a tool and language

I can’t believe the number of times I’ve seen a C# developer using Visual Studio 2019 and .NET Core 3.0 without ever having used the new features of C# 8.0. Some developers don’t even bother learning new language features, continuing to write code they have been using for years. This is like buying a brand-new sports car and then refusing to use its sports mode.
Developers must pay attention to the new features released in the latest version of a tool or language and try to implement them in your projects.

#2. Continuous learner

Learning how to code is not something that is one and done. As technology evolves, there is a new version released every few months. Therefore, a developer most be a continuous learner. They must continue to update themselves every 6 months or so, while also keeping an eye on changes in the industry. One of best ways to keep up to date is by following a website with tech news and information such as C# Corner.
Reading daily tech and dev news is an important part of being a software developer. There is a reason Why Developers Should Read News.

#1. Pay attention to the minor details

I can’t emphasize enough how important this point is. This is absolutely the number-one item in my list, as I hate to see developers miss out on the minor details. Paying close attention helps to increase productivity and hence release timelines. Furthermore, attentiveness to detail will create a polished software that end users will love.

Conclusion

In this article, I shared some of my tips on how to become a good software developer. Here is another recommended reading, Top 10 Things Every Developer Must Do.