A day in the life of a Software Developer

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Many roles in tech are less understood than in other professions. For example, if someone was to ask a software developer what it is that they do, they may be impressed by their answer but not fully grasp what the role actually entails - heads up, it doesn’t involve fixing computers all day!

So, what does it really mean to be a software developer?

A Typical Day:

One of the advantages of a tech role is the flexibility to be able to work in either an office, from home or both. Regardless of a software developer’s working environment, their morning routine will ultimately depend on both how the company operates and the individual’s preferences - but a typical day looks like this ⬇️

First things first, it’s best to have a clear understanding of how the day needs to run. A plan of action will be made, either by a senior developer or as a team, and tasks will be prioritised based on completion deadlines (no matter if a company works in sprints or not).

A great way for the team to sync up is to have a brief catch up in daily standup, with the main topics of discussion being: What did I work on yesterday? What am I working on today? What issues are blocking me?

Software developers tend to work alone, or in very small groups, for the most part of the day, however, being able to collaborate with others is great quality and skill required in order to succeed. After a brief round-up from the rest of the team, developers can get to work on their coding projects. But, as with anything, things can go off track - bugs in code can become an issue and take a little longer than expected to fix!

After a well-deserved screen break and a quick stretch of the legs, the afternoon may involve moving away from coding to discuss and check-in with colleagues on shared projects. Working collaboratively is another great skill trait for a developer, so quite often a typical day will involve meeting with peers (either in person or digitally) to ask questions, provide a more in-depth update or even just check in on how things are progressing before returning to independent work.

Towards the end of the day, it can be best practice for a software developer to review and revise their code before switching off for the day. But, let’s remember that being a software developer isn’t a 9-5 job - they continuously put in hard work to make sure that deadlines and customer expectations are met!

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