Transitioning from asking to answering questions in Stack Overflow
- General
What developer or technology enthusiast does not know about Stack Overflowopens a new window nowadays? It's the best place to go if you can't figure out those hard to solve problems on your own. Ask any developers you may know if they have ever searched Stack Overflow for solutions; if the answer is no, they are most likely just lying to you. If they are actually being honest, then make sure to show some sign of admiration and respect, I know I would.
All of us have been in that situation in which we don't know what to do. You've tried every possible solution, you've done a lot of research, and then some more... But nothing, nothing at all. There is just no way to make it work, and you get frustrated. You're not alone, I know how you feel. Sometimes you just need a different perspective, a different approach, or to think outside the box. It's probably at this point that you head straight to Stack Overflow and ask a question (by the way, please take your time to write an actual meaningful and descriptive question).
A few hours or even minutes later, BOOM. Someone answered your question and gave you THE SOLUTION, a solution that probably makes you think something like "Wow, how did I not think of that? It's brilliant. I want to be like this person".
And that's the main subject of this article, sorry for keeping you waiting by the way.
Recently I have started making the transition from simply asking for help to offering myself to help others.
It has always been my main goal to become a better software developer, and helping other people with their problems has helped me expand my own knowledge. Also, I discovered that I actually enjoy the feeling of being useful to others.
Let's suppose you find boring or a waste of time to answer others' questions, you just want that oh-so-hard to find first developer job. Why waste time and energy in helping others? Isn't it a better idea to put that time and effort into actually finding that job?
Well, if you think that way (and it's totally valid to think that way, don't get me wrong), let me just tell you; companies and recruiters perceive as a very valuable asset the fact that you're able to be helpful to other people. Also writing good answers is an excellent way of improving your communication skills, and this is really important for most companies. Most of the time you will be working with a team, so you need to have good communication skills in order to express your ideas or if you are having some issues, you should also be able to point out your problems in a proper and understandable way.
We rise by lifting others – Robert Ingersoll
That's all for this article, hope you found it useful and/or entertaining. See you in the next one.