How not to become a non-specialist?

Question

ruby

For half a year I have been working (working out after university) as a Ruby developer in a small company. Those. I'm in it for another year for sure.
Of course, few people follow me, and I am often free to do what I want. I want to write tests - I write. I don't want to, I don't write. I forgot that I forbade nginx to process port 80, my problems, because nobody checks. Etc.
Yes, the range of tasks is wide and in the course of solving them I learn a lot of things. But no one tells me about any good practices and the like. All I know is that I found it myself or heard it somewhere by chance. And at the same time I hear stories like: "My path as a developer was like this: I came to the company, there was a cool technical director, he taught me everything."
How can I avoid sliding down my path to a low-grade mold-riveting developer?

Answer 1

read books, develop. Cool tech dirs sometimes live in all kinds of guitars. And also - learn to ask questions and look for answers to them. Questions like "where did the active record come from", or where did the objects come from and why are they needed if there are functions and so on. Sometimes in search of answers to these questions you can learn a lot of things and understand.

Answer 2

I became an excellent specialist and studied on my own,
apparently I’m just that cool tech director

Answer 3

> developer riveting molds?

As if it's something bad :)
Drawing a beautiful and comfortable shape is an art. And skill. Which very often is not enough for those "cool technical directors" and other specialists.
Everyone wants to be an architect. But if everyone is an architect - who will paint the walls in the houses? Lay wiring? Lay a roof? Install elevators?
Hindus? Jumshuts?
Okay, let's color it. But then don't be surprised by the consequences :)

Answer 4

How do I avoid sliding down my path to a low-grade mold-riveting developer?

A lot depends on yourself, read books, read someone else's code of cool developers, try to learn something new every day.
In order to understand your level, you can go to interviews (very motivating).
I also compiled a web developer development map , maybe you will find something useful. Good luck!

Answer 5

Don't expect to get a great mentor. Of course, this is a very good help, but you should not wait for him to meet on your way.
Be active, find specialized events, webinars, podcasts, blogs. Follow the trends, subscribe to those accounts of people and companies where you can get information useful for development. At events, do networking, learn about useful tools and ways to improve code, processes, etc. The more information you sift and process, the better information it will be, the faster you will develop. If you know English, this will open up opportunities for you to study world sources of information, develop as a specialist in the global market. In addition to self-education, it can be useful to join a startup. Startups usually give a lot of freedom in the implementation of ideas, and there is an opportunity to show organizational skills, try yourself in roles that are not directly related to writing code.
If you do not strive for anything, then most likely you will have enough for bread, but for caviar - only if you are lucky. And in general, in life, a passive strategy does not work well. If you do not build your own path, it will lead you to where it is beneficial for other people. And what is better for you, only you know. That's in the direction of what is best for you, and you have to dig. Then you don’t have to blame someone for what didn’t work out for you. Moreover, the IT industry is developing very quickly, and if you do not develop yourself actively enough, then after some time you can get stuck on obsolete technologies and generally remain on the sidelines of the market. So not developing is generally a rather risky strategy.

Answer 6

Try to organize a department at your work. This is no different from working with real customers. The same discussions of the volume of work and the allocation of budgets. Take on an apprentice and the next level will come.
Don't hesitate to work! Everything can be done remotely.

Answer 7

my problems, because nobody checks.

You yourself answered your own question: get a job where they will check your work, advise and train. Obviously, you can work surrounded by professionals in a large company (Yandex, for example). If your city does not have one, then move to St. Petersburg or Moscow.

Answer 8

Direct answer to the question : be in the trend of technology.

Answer 9

Maybe you are given simple tasks, then why sit for another year? Look at the vacancies, it may happen that you find a more interesting place, they become specialists when they solve more complex problems.

Answer 10

If there is a goal to communicate live with a "cool tech director", only moving will help.
In another way, self-education and the search for remote work.