Becoming a successful developer requires navigating a landscape of technical skills, persistent habits, and adaptive thinking, all shaped by the rapid pace of technology. To chart this path, we asked 19 thought leaders: “What is your advice for becoming a successful developer?” Their responses weave a tapestry of wisdom—spanning foundational knowledge, daily practice, problem-solving, teamwork, and resilience. We’ve organized their insights into five categories—Foundational Skills, Practice and Persistence, Problem-Solving and Debugging, Collaboration and Communication, and Mindset and Growth—offering a roadmap for aspiring coders to thrive.
Foundational Skills: Build a Strong Base
A developer’s journey starts with a solid foundation, a principle the experts champion unanimously. Dhari Alabdulhadi, CTO and Founder of Ubuy New Zealand, sets the stage: “Build a solid understanding of core concepts like algorithms, data structures, and software design.” These essentials, he argues, ensure code that’s efficient and scalable, not just functional. “You can’t skip this step and expect to thrive,” he warns, a lesson drawn from watching shallow skills collapse under real-world demands. Bijal Shah, Senior Business Development & Digital Marketing Manager at WP Plugin Experts, agrees: “Master the fundamentals first—programming languages, algorithms, data structures—because without knowing how things work under the hood, the rest feels like quicksand.” She recalls early struggles with advanced tools, overcome only by grasping the basics, a process resources like MIT’s OpenCourseWare on algorithms can accelerate.
Robbert Bink, Founder of Crypto Recovers, offers a practical entry: “Master the basics—Python, JavaScript, whatever fits your goals.” Small projects, he says, turn theory into skill. Natalia Lavrenenko, UGC and Marketing Manager at Rathly, insists on depth: “Start with one language and go deep.” Her choice of Python, with its clean logic, unlocked back-end, front-end, and databases. “Don’t rush to frameworks—learn what’s behind the scenes,” she advises. Danilo Coviello, Founding Partner at Espresso Translations, reflects on his unglamorous start: “I mastered translation memory and terminology management early on—it made everything else click.” He’s seen others chase trends and falter, reinforcing his stance: “The basics are non-negotiable.” Together, they underscore that a deep grasp of fundamentals is the launchpad for all else.
Practice and Persistence: Hone Your Craft Daily
Theory is the seed, but practice makes it grow—a truth the experts live by. Doug Crawford, President and Founder of Best Trade Schools, cuts through: “Skip the pressure to be perfect out of the gate. The folks I’ve seen succeed started with consistent practice.” An hour a day—building a website or calculator app—compounds fast, he says. “It’s not about fancy projects—it’s about doing the work,” he adds, recalling a student whose buggy calculator taught him more than tutorials. Bryan Vasquez, Head of Sales at LinkBuilder.io, doubles down: “Practice every single day. A 30-minute grind beats a marathon.” He cites data showing daily coders boost problem-solving speed by up to 40% in months, a finding echoed in this Medium article on coding habits, rooted in platforms like LeetCode.
Gary Hemming, Owner and Finance Director at ABC Finance, keeps it real: “Theory’s great, but real projects shape you. Start small, finish them, and the challenges you face are your best lessons.” Lavrenenko adds grit: “Write code every day—fix bugs without Googling first. That’s where growth happens.” Wrestling errors solo, she says, forged her resilience. Roman Surikov, Founder of Ronas IT, ties practice to evolution: “Consistently expand your skill set and stay curious.” Mastering one stack is a start—tracking trends keeps you relevant. “The tech landscape changes fast,” he notes, a call to blend repetition with exploration. Practice, they argue, is the heartbeat of skill-building.
Problem-Solving and Debugging: Think Before You Code
Coding is thinking as much as typing, a refrain that resonates here. Marc Hardgrove, CEO of The Hoth, learned this from his team: “Solving a problem isn’t enough—you need to understand why it exists.” His best developers ask thoughtful questions—challenging assumptions and reframing issues before coding. “They read between the lines,” he says, recalling a project where weeks of work were mooted by an upstream tweak, a lesson in pausing to think. Shah aligns: “Focus on solving problems, not just writing code. Break challenges into chunks and approach them systematically.” For her, it’s a mindset that outlives tools.
Debugging marks the great from the good. Vikrant Bhalodia, Head of Marketing & People Ops at WeblineIndia, is direct: “Get good at debugging. The ones who stand out can figure out what went wrong and fix it without guessing.” Tools like logs and profilers—explored in Mozilla’s guide to browser dev tools—are allies, but logic rules. “Teams trust developers who stay calm when code breaks,” he adds. Shah reinforces this: “A good developer isn’t just someone who writes code but someone who can debug efficiently.” Late-night bug hunts, she says, built her speed. These insights highlight that success demands sharp problem-solving and steady troubleshooting.
Collaboration and Communication: Connect Beyond the Code
No coder thrives solo, and the experts elevate teamwork and clarity as essentials. Daniel Haiem, CEO of App Makers LA, insists, “Treat collaboration like part of the craft. Writing code others can understand and improve is pro-level.” Humility, he argues, beats ego—sharing trumps hoarding brilliance. Robert Chen, CIO at DataNumen, Inc., takes it further: “Communication is crucial—it’s not just about great code, but explaining it.” He’s seen brilliant coders falter without it, while those bridging tech and business shine. “They don’t just code—they contribute,” he says, citing a developer whose clarity saved a feature.
Spencer Romenco, Chief Growth Strategist at Growth Spurt, agrees: “Writing clean code matters, but explaining it keeps projects moving. Confusion kills timelines.” Denise Murray, Marketing Manager at Microdose Mushrooms, links it to growth: “Explaining tech to non-coders builds trust and opens doors to better projects.” Clear communicators, she’s seen, rise fast. Robbin Schuchmann, Co-founder and SEO Specialist at EOR Overview, touts open source: “It’s underrated. Messy code and blunt feedback sharpen you fast,” a perk of platforms like GitHub. Loris Petro, Marketing Manager at Kratom Earth, credits Discord: “You see real problem-solving—it’s like endless dev meetings.” Hone John Tito, Co-Founder of Game Host Bros, extends this to users: “Build a strong community. Making users feel heard boosted our retention by 20%,” a strategy backed by Forbes on customer engagement. Collaboration, they argue, amplifies impact.
Mindset and Growth: Embrace the Journey
Success is a mindset—resilient, curious, open. Murray advises, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Most of the job is solving problems you haven’t seen before.” She’s lived it, digging through broken code unflinchingly. Haiem sums it up: “Chase progress, not perfection. Ship, break things, fix them—that’s how you level up.” His scrappy apps taught him more than polish could. Bink calls it a growth mindset: “Mistakes are your teachers,” a view aligned with Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindsets.
Katie Breaker, Sales Director at BirdieBall, ties it to curiosity: “Stay curious and keep learning. Tech evolves fast—focus on the bigger picture.” A side project taught her grit books couldn’t. Alabdulhadi concurs: “The tech world moves fast—patience and consistency turn potential into success.” For these experts, growth is a habit, forged in discomfort and fueled by a thirst to evolve.
From foundational skills to a growth mindset, these 19 voices—spanning founders, CTOs, marketing leaders, and seasoned developers—paint a vivid, multifaceted blueprint for achieving success in the ever-evolving world of software development. Their insights weave a rich tapestry that transcends mere technical know-how, blending the concrete with the intangible in a way that resonates whether you’re a beginner staring at your first line of code or a veteran navigating complex systems.
It’s not about mastering a single skill in isolation or chasing fleeting trends; it’s about cultivating a holistic approach that balances mastery of the craft with relentless practice, sharp problem-solving, effective teamwork, and an unyielding resilience in the face of challenges. Each expert’s perspective adds a layer to this foundation, offering a chorus of advice that’s as diverse as the tech industry itself yet united by a common thread: success is a journey, not a shortcut.
