10 Professional-Development Tips for Programmers

Editor’s Note: The following article was written by Rich Hein and first appeared on CIO.com.  MVP Mentors can help high school and college students sharpen their technical and professional development skills.  Fill out this short form to request your MVP Mentor.

Breaking through the glass ceiling as a developer requires more than great programming skills. It requires a commitment to self-improvement and lots of work in other work key areas. To help straighten the learning curve CIO.com asked long-time developers and hiring managers where you should focus your professional development resources.

Great developers are the rock stars of the tech world: They are always in demand, they get the best perks and they work with innovative companies of all sizes. However, achieving this rock star status is a long journey. Along the way there are skills you need to add to your toolbox and habits you need to develop if you plan on moving into that corner office.

With IT unemployment at 2.6 percent, competition for development talent is fierce and opportunities abound. However, you still have to work to land top spots. Like most IT professionals, programmers have several areas they should focus on in order to keep their careers on track and their skills sharp. To identify the key areas, we asked developers and hiring experts for advice on professional development and the skills necessary to keep moving up the corporate ladder 

 Click here to continue reading full article