Programming and IT development are constantly changing. The growth of artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity issues, and the popularity of DevOps and DevSecOps approaches are continually evolving the roles and missions of developers. Technologies, programming languages, and development environments are also constantly changing. In this context, staying up-to-date and competitive can quickly become complex.

The complexity first shows itself at the beginning of the programming way. A novice might need help with c programming or another programming language, especially when dealing with challenging assignments and coding projects. Fortunately, they can easily use an online service for professional coding assistance.

Whether you’re a beginner in IT or an experienced developer, discover five practices to keep improving your programming skills!

Set Up a Technology Watch

Technology watch is essential to follow the many evolutions and trends in IT. However, this “task” is often neglected or even ignored by developers. Many beginners and IT professionals consider implementing a technology watch too tedious and time-consuming.

However, Simple Solutions Allow You to Stay on Top of IT News in Just a Few Minutes a Day:

• Subscribing to RSS feeds of specialized IT websites;
• Using a monitoring tool or an aggregator like Feedly or Flipboard;
• Share a watch with your team thanks to collaborative tools like Trello or Notion;
• Follow an IT news blog;
• Subscribe to IT newsletters;
• Follow the social network feeds of IT specialist sites.

Have a Continuous Thirst for Knowledge

Continuous training in programming also allows you to stay abreast of developments in languages and technologies. But, good developers are distinguished by their knowledge of other IT sectors. Technically, coding in React can be done without understanding how networks or DNS systems work. However, having transversal knowledge helps develop a more global vision of projects and better understand the functioning of programs, their prerequisites, and the underlying technologies.

In IT, business and functional skills are increasingly required to translate business needs and requirements into effective software solutions. Finally, development skills combined with operational knowledge are the pillars of the DevOps approach.

But how do you continue to learn when you’re already on the job? You can find out about the training programs available in your company or follow online training courses, etc.

Practice Programming

To progress in programming, the three pieces of advice that come up most often are to code, code, and code again. In this discipline, experience is as necessary as theory. In interviews, it is also experience and different achievements that will take precedence over the level of study or the degree.

So, How do You Train to Program? Here Again, You Have Several Possibilities:

• Participate in open-source projects on GitHub, for example;
• Register on competitive code or gamification sites;
• Develop volunteer or personal projects;
• Take online courses that include practice, threaded projects, etc.

Working on personal programming projects has many advantages. First, you can learn tools and languages not used in your current job, which multiplies your skills and boosts your resume.

By scheduling volunteer or community projects, you can also expand your network and develop new accomplishments to bring up in future interviews. Finally, on collaborative projects, you will work with other programmers. You will have the opportunity to read their code and discover different programming methods and techniques.

Refactor Your Code

Most programmers have a busy schedule, and only some clients or employers will assign them to refactor.

Yet Rewriting Code Allows to:

• Identify possible performance problems or vulnerabilities ;
• Adapt the code to the evolution of languages by deleting deprecated functions, for example;
• Add new functionalities;
• Add comments or documentation;
• Improve your programming skills.

Generally, Good Programs Write Their Code 3 Times in IT

The first time quickly gets the desired result, either in a TDD (Test Driven Development) approach or to check that the solution is possible. The second writing then allows making the code work by optimizing it. Finally, the last touch is used to make it work by improving reusability and security.

Improve Your Programming Skills with a Team

Improving your programming skills requires time and motivation. An ideal solution is to train in a team to make it easier.

Several Methods Allow You to Collaborate, Such As:

• Code review, i.e., the systematic examination of the code by a third party;
• Peer programming or pair programming;
• Tutoring or supervision of trainees to progress by training a beginner and discovering new Technologies or programming patterns that they may have learned;
• Bootcamps organized by some companies to get additional certifications;
• Team building on competitive code sites.

Don’t hesitate to participate in forums or join IT communities. You can find solutions to your programming problems and progress by helping other developers solve bugs or blockages.

Conclusion

You can undoubtedly find more bits of advice and resources to progress in programming. It is only a matter of your motivation and enthusiasm. But these five tips will be handy if you apply them properly. And as a result, your progress in programming will get better and better.