What to do when you are stuck as a developer or software engineer

Hello good readers, in this rich article I will be reeling out my experience of getting stuck as a developer/software engineer, what I actually do to solve the problems, and Which online communities are most helpful to reach out to.

In everything you do as a human being, you actually face challenges, and software engineering as a career can be quite challenging from trying to grasp certain concepts to debugging, to solving real-world problems and writing algorithms. So in many cases, I have had challenges and had to find solutions.

I would be classifying these challenges into two broad cases:

• A technical problem: It is simply the problem encountered when you are using particular software and you write a program but it doesn't perform the way it should.

• The algorithm problem:

It is simply turning an idea or a real-world problem into an algorithm. In order words problem solving.

Why do we encounter these problems?

1. Errors encountered due to a technical issue or error.

2. When a software is used for the first time and isn't quite familiar, it tends to look ambiguous and we find it difficult to get along. When I started learning JavaScript, I wanted to build a simple counter with increment and decrement, I didn't know what to do initially with all my knowledge on events listeners and handlers, I knew there was more to that,

so I first listed out the algorithmic process of what I wanted:

• Create two buttons.

• One for increment, the other for decrement.

• It will have a click function.

• If it's the incremented one is added, if it's a decrement one is subtracted.

This served as a guide to what I really wanted to do and it solved a major problem of no direction, using Google and good resources, I followed the algorithm process systematically and came up with my solution which worked.

What to do when you get stuck?

Here are some steps I use when I get stuck:

• Use a debugger: A debugger allows you to stop your code’s execution at a specific point and then step through the code line by line, inspecting the values of the variables. This can be hugely helpful, particularly if you’re working in a dynamically typed language like JavaScript.

• Ask Google/Stack overflow:

I would say google is a university on its own and you can actually search the internet for various solutions. probably someone might have encountered a similar problem which will be a guide. copying and pasting the error message will bring up relevant answers and a possible solution to your problem. You will get meaningful insights and directions to solve the problem. The aim is to see various solutions to the problem as codes aren't wrong or right but should follow best practices.

• Rest or go for a walk:

Sometimes, as developers/engineers, we tend to push ourselves beyond the limit without giving the body its rest. So our brain begins to be saturated and not perform greatly again. When you encounter a problem, know it is important to rest or take a walk to refresh your brain and take fresh air. We find out that the majority of the time when we come back to the problem, clarity and direction comes.

• Reach out to a fellow developer/engineer:

I know as a Developer you will like to learn and solve problems yourself. but it is wiser to reach out to a fellow who is in your niche. A popular adage says a problem shared is half solved. so for proper examination and for better understanding reaching out to a fellow will save you time, frustration and energy.

• Write a test:

Write a quality test that will identify the bug, and you can change the code to fix the bug to pass the test.

• Read a related book:

Developers/Engineers are good readers of documentation, release notes, and papers. We read books because we need to garner enough knowledge to be able to understand a concept or topic. So reading a book will be great to see a wider scope to be able to fix your bug.

• Join student or coding community: Being part and active in a community, will help a developer to be able to ask questions and receive guided feedback.

Some helpful communities in Nigeria:

• Google Developers Circle

Google Developers Circle is a community that consists of a group of people and passionate leaders in their tech community that is dedicated to helping others learn and connect.

• ShecodeAfrica

SheCodeAfrica is a non-profit organization focused on celebrating and empowering young Girls and Women in Technology across Africa.

• WomenTechMakers:

WomenTechMakers, Google’s Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.

• Dev Career Community:

Dev Career Dev Career Community is a non-profit tech community that creates opportunities for people who are held back due to a lack of resources to pursue a desired career in software development in Africa. Dev Career is a non-profit Tech organization to support the rising Tech Ecosystem in Africa.”

Conclusion

My final bit of advice is to be patient with yourself and don’t get discouraged. For those who are just starting out in the craft, it can seem like really skilled developers never get stuck. Based on my I can bet you that everyone gets stuck sometimes. Skilled developers have just found their way around. Getting stuck doesn’t mean you don't know, it’s a part of the journey, part of the joy and pain of turning ideas into tangible, working software. And when you do figure out how to solve that knotty problem, it feels great and motivates you to keep developing.

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