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10 Unique Qualities of a Competitive Programmer
These can neither be learned in schools nor overnight.
Competitive software developers don’t just know how to code. They also have other qualities or skills that other good developers have. These qualities can’t be learned in school or picked up instantly. They are the result of years of experience working on different projects and with different people. Let’s take a look at these qualities.
1. You are not easily affected by stress
Although according to scientists, the profession of software development has a low-stress factor compared to other professions, it certainly does occur now and then. Think of the dynamics that agile and scrum brings, the continuous pressure to keep up with the further development of products and technologies, changing customers, and working environments. Or the long work days when something really needs to be delivered. These are all examples of recognizable stress factors.
Developers also have to make choices all day long. Which product stack am I using, what do I call this method, is this the correct algorithm, should I split and refactor my code? This can lead to decision fatigue: making choices becomes increasingly difficult the more choices you have made. And you have to be able to handle that.
2. You keep your knowledge up to date
No field changes and develops as quickly as ours. A good developer ensures that he keeps up. That means taking courses, reading professional literature, following blogs and vlogs, going to user group meetings and events, and talking to your colleagues about what is happening in the field, especially when it comes to your own specialty.
But it does not mean that you have to be constantly at the forefront when something new happens. That is of course allowed, but sometimes technologies are shared at a very premature stage with a select group of developers. To never come to fruition in the end. In addition, very few customers choose immature technologies or products. To avoid wasting a lot of time.
Young people often try to keep up with everything. It does not work. Choose your own specialty and focus on it. In addition…
