Where Coding and Project Management Skills Excel
I joke around with my wife frequently that project management is the answer to life. But I’m only half joking. Once you understand project management, you can apply it to anything to get yourself organized and stand out from the rest.
One of the main reasons that I’m confident that I can land a job in most companies is for my project management skills. Understanding that most people do not know project management well enough is an advantage that I take everywhere with.
I’ll start at a new job, organize the company within a few months, and enjoy the job from that point on along with everyone else. It looks like a mess from the outside, but it’s actually pretty straight forward when you know what you’re doing. It really is that simple most of the time.
The other aspect is coding. Rewiring your mind to complete tasks in an extremely organized fashion seems like a cheat-code that the majority of the population doesn’t have access to. Knowing how to break down a problem into manageable chunks is an advantage that resides with most software developers.
Developers can apply those skills to anything that they do. And they actually succeed in most of the things that they do. For example, I’ve never done floors, but I have a developer-trained mind. I knew how to break the problem down enough to install floors inside of my entire house. Pretty perfect if I may toot my own horn.
How did I accomplish this? Breaking down the project into manageable chunks and then recording those steps. I tackled each step at a time until it was complete. Don’t believe me? Here’s the result of one of the rooms. I did all 4500 square feet of the house. Below is the photo before I put down the quarter round.
How about painting? Never did that before either. Painted the entire house one room at a time. Came out perfect. Electrical work? Not a problem.
How about something more challenging? What about rebuilding your Corvette? Creating a custom interior? Custom suspension? Custom Engine? All in your garage? Not a problem. Never did any of the work and I spent 6 months on it. After I was done, I cranked it up and it worked just fine. More difficult to believe? Check out my YouTube channel devoted to it.
https://www.youtube.com/c/CarModGuy
It’s an Unbelievable Advantage
This isn’t just me. Every developer that I know accomplishes anything that they put their minds to. In one company, every single developer played an instrument! I mean, we could have formed a band. Why though? Most didn’t start playing an instrument until after they became software developers, myself included.
It’s because we know how to break the problem down. When you see a person playing a guitar, you think, “wow that’s pretty impressive.” When a developer sees a person playing a guitar they say, “I’m pretty sure I can do that too. What are the steps?”
Clearly the person knows chords and how to transition between them.
OK. Let me do that.
I’ll spend the next 3 months learning only chords.
What’s the simplest chord? E major? OK. Let me do that one.
What’s the next chord? C? Let me learn that one too.
I’ll start off slow. Holding the chords and strumming to a beat.
I’ll increase the beat until it becomes effortless. 30 bpm seems like a good start. Not going to stop until I get to a 120 bpm.
Next, I’ll lift my fingers slowly off the guitar.
I’ll keep lifting my fingers more and more off the guitar until I get it.
I got it! Now let me try to transition between these two chords.
Got that too.
Time to learn the next two chords and transition between each of them as well.
After about 6 months, you would be surprised at what you can do. Below is me playing the guitar after about 8 months.
Should You Learn Both?
I absolutely think you should. Coding, especially, is going to be one of the most difficult tasks that you undertake. However, once you’re done, you’ll rewire your brain enough that even the most difficult tasks will become simple. Prepare to spend the next few years learning.
The tasks listed above are just a couple of examples from my life. There are a ton of others. If you want to learn more, I’ve written a few other articles that may assist you with your journey. Good luck!
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