New Year is coming, and the year 2022 gave me a lot of new things like opportunities, learnings, experiences, selections, rejections, and many more. In this Dev Retro Blog, I will share everything I did in 2022 as a developer. So without wasting a bit. Let's get started.
Introduction
Hi 👋 I am Shivam. Before getting started with my 2022 retro journey, let me introduce myself to you 😉
I am a recently graduated BCA student.
I am a Full Stack Web developer, love Open Source, like Technical Writing, and am a DevOps Learner.
I contributed to some good open-source projects -->
[EddieHub],[ReactPlay]and am a part of some good open-source communitiesI am GitHub 2022 graduate student and was selected for SSOC 2022.
And currently doing a job as React JS Developer.
Now let's get started with my journey. Here's a list of everything I did as a developer this year.😊
FullStack Web Development
This year I started focusing on FullStack web dev and DevOps. I started learning DevOps from Kunal Kuhwasha's DevOps Playlist. I learned about Docker and K8s and got to know about:
containers, pods, clusters, node, microservices, shedulers, control ler manager...and many more.
On the other hand, I was focusing on learning new libraries and frameworks. I started learning React JS, Redux, React Query, React Routes, Axios, TypeScript, Firebase, GraphQL, Nhost, Next JS, and many more. To learn all these things, I followed different-different guides:
I always follow the official documentation.
To learn the backend part, I followed Angela Yu's Udemy Web Dev course
For React concepts, I followed Tapas Adhikary's YouTube videos
To learn new and unique things about Git, I followed Eddie Joude's YouTube channel and Twitter threads
To learn and practice DSA, I followed Leetcode and Kunal Kuhwasha's DSA playlist
And to learn DevOps, I followed Kunal, Code with Nana, and Anais Urlichs's Youtube Channel.
Open Source
OpenSource is one of the best things that I did in 2022. There are many projects to which I contributed this year. In the middle of February, I had the opportunity to speak with Tapas Adhikary about his latest open-source project, ReactPlay. Since joining ReactPlay in April, I've learned about FullStack web development, community, public learning, real-world experiences, and many other things.
Along with ReactPlay, I began working on projects such as EddieHub's LinkFree, Susmita Dey's Sukoon, Kanika's Amazon-clone, and others. This year, I made my first Hactoberfest contribution and was chosen for the Social Summer Of Code.
Learn In Public
As we all know, Learning In Public is one of the best ways to share and gain knowledge. I did the same in the year 2022. I started my Learn In Public journey from ShowwCase. After posting some threads about my projects, I got a good response, and I also got a chance to learn more from industry experts. I created a Twitter account and started posting threads about my learning experiences. I didn't get much response in the first two months, but once I started posting about my open-source contributions, I got some decent interactions on my threads. Then, in April, I joined Hashnode to begin my career in technical writing. I started writing blogs on different topics for different communities.
Like Fueler, CommunityClassroom, Kubeworld, and ReactPlay. Then, to do more networking, I joined LinkedIn, which also helped me connect with good people.
Rejections
After getting familiar with FullStack WebDev, Open Source, and Learning In Public, I started applying to companies for jobs and internships. My first target was to get a job where I could learn and grow more with the latest tech stacks. I applied to some companies but didn't get any response from them. Some companies responded, but I didn't get selected for those. Then, I tried to improve my Resume. I improved it by getting involved in communities and their open-source projects. I improved my social media profiles and started writing more blogs. These things were helping me, but still, for a few months, I continuously got rejections. Some rejections are from my favorite companies, and those rejections got hurt.😫
After studying more, I got selected for the interview but didn't get selected due to a lack of confidence. I knew the answers, but due to nervousness, I got rejected. 🙃
Selections / Opportunities
Every rejection comes with lots of learnings and experiences. The same thing happened to me. After failing to be selected in some interview rounds, I identified my flaws and began working on them. Instead of building local projects, I started creating projects for open-source communities. I started contributing to open-source projects, which helped me to gain new skills. Open Source contributions have strengthened my Resume and provided me with numerous new opportunities.
After two months of continuous open-source contribution, I resumed my job search. This time I had some unique and different projects that all come from open-source. I applied to 5 companies and got a callback from 3. I had my interviews and was selected, and got my first job.
That moment was special 😊. After that, I deep-dived more into the world of open source and got a chance to become a student of GitHub Graduation 2022.
- This year I won my first dollar 🤑 in the Global Developer Showwcase (GDS) in August 2022 held by showwcase.
In August, I got selected for SSOC(Social Summer Of Code), during these three months, I contributed to some good projects and learned a lot.
This year I also won my first MLH init GWH hackathon.
I also had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people from the ReactPlay and 4C communities.
- And I also got some great swags from around the world.
Learnings
This year I explored many new things; everything gave me a unique experience and learning. Here are some points that I have learned from my 2022 journey:
Don't wait to be perfect
Learn In Public
Always try to document your learnings
Do open-source and be humble with folks
Get involved in good communities
Don't overthink it before starting something new.
If you find anything complicated to do, attempt to do a small portion of it every day.
Build your skills then, network with peoples
Help Others
I hope you enjoy this blog; please share it with others and remember to like it.
Socials
You can also join me on my socials to share and learn more.