Next Steps

The inevitable question after class is “what do I do next?” Obviously, working on a portfolio (this might help, by the way), cleaning up your GitHub repos, and working on job search tasks like resumes and networking are at the top of the list. Beyond that, though, it’s important to think about what you want to learn next.

One option is “more about Ruby.” There are a lot of references on the course website for this, and many many books. Sandi Metz’ POODR or Eloquent Ruby are excellent choices. Thoughtbot also has a Junior-to-Senior training program online which is new, but promising: Upcase. That might be worth checking out.

As an alternative, you might be better off in future positions (and even in interviews if you get to this in time) if you have experience in more than one language. Here are the candidates I’d suggest:

• Javascript. Yes, I know; there are at least four reasons why you might twitch when I say this. However, many developers say that “JavaScript is eating the world.” It’s a procedural, general-purpose language like Ruby, which will also make it somewhat comfortable. You know a bit about JS/jQuery/AJAX due to our time in class, but you can take it a step further and try to build something (anything) in a framework like Backbone or Angular. Ember is also an option, but it’s not doing as well at the moment. If this is the path you choose, you’ll definitely benefit from reading all the parts you missed in Eloquent JavaScript (free online).
• C/C++. C is the granddaddy of all (most) languages we use these days, and knowing C will give you a deeper understanding of how memory is allocated and how variables really point to values. You’ll also understand data structures in a more meaningful way.
• Clojure (or other functional language). Functional languages are a bit mind-bending, and are also all the rage these days. You’d be in good company if you dove in here.

Another possibility is to read a book called [“Seven Languages in Seven Weeks”] (https://pragprog.com/book/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-weeks). It’s a really good book and will give you an overview of a lot of languages (Prolog is the craziest in my opinion), but if you read it, don’t count it as “learning” those seven languages. Some are of the opinion that you reach “true” developer status when you know three languages, and you have to have taken a non-trivial app all the way from concept to deployed-in-production to “know” one.

Long-term, I’m a big fan of the Pragmatic Programmer approach: “learn” one new language each year. Obviously, 2015 is a different kind of year for you, but I’d suggest trying to live by this in 2016 and beyond.

Finally, I have two things to ask of you: * If you didn’t fill out my feedback survey that I sent out during the last week of lecture, could you please do so now? * Also, as you go out into the world and interview, could you let me know what questions you get asked? I would love to improve my Challenges next time to keep up to date with current interview trends.