We created the Ruby on Rails Development Hub to keep new developers motivated.
Rather than getting stuck with issues with no one to turn to, we’ve created a nurturing environment for newbies to come along to hack and get mentored by the awesome Developers in the Sydney Ruby on Rails Community. Last night we had a huge turn out of over 50 new and professional Developers (check out our pics on our Facebook Gallery!). So, I thought I’d find out what other tips they could share on staying motivated with Ruby on Rails.
1. Attend Community Events
Coming along to events like Development Hub and RoRo Sydney can really help you stay motivated. You’ll meet others out there that are learning (and struggling) just like you and you’ll soon realise that you are not alone on this journey. More importantly you’ll meet some really awesome professional Developers who are happy to help you make things work! Nothing keeps you going like seeing your code work.
2. Always Keep Learning
There is plenty of material on the web to help you keep learning. If you’ve already setup your ‘15 minute blog’, why not continue on the InstallFest tutorial guides, learn AJAX commenting with unobtrusive JavaScript, [test your Blog] (http://railsinstallfest.org/guides/installfest/testing_the_blog/), discover admin and markdown, understand migrations and read up on assets and errors.
3. Work on Your Own Project
Pick a project and make it about you! It is much easier to stay motivated when you are working on something that you enjoy. For example, last night someone told me that he was building an app to work out the statistics of basketball and the NBA. He decided to make this project about something he enjoyed, and once complete he can use the same code for other data.
4. Ask Questions
The Ruby on Rails Community is unique in that there are so many professional Developers who love what they do! They are excited by Ruby and Rails and are passionate about sharing what they know. There are many online forums where you can ask questions, or meetups to attend where most devs will be happy to answer your questions. You are more than welcome to comment on any of the reInteractive blog posts or guides with questions and one of our team will answer you. It is important to get your questions answered so that you can keep going and learn the reasons so many Rails devs love what they do.
5. Set Aside Time to Learn
Set aside time each day or week to learn a little more and to build on what you already know. Book in for Development Hub and set out what you’d like to achieve by the end of the night. Doing a little bit each day, will grow in to a lot over time.
What are you waiting for? Get coding!
