Pinned — 28 Oct 2025 #codingStreet-Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding Without Losing Your Mind
I spent five years in college learning to code.
A stupid dissertation delayed my graduation. But that’s another story.
Most of my five-year program didn’t prepare me for real-world coding. My real coding journey began at my first job, with one Google search: “how to get good at coding.”
I found a lot of conflicting advice:
“Use comments”
“Don’t use comments”
“Do this”
“Don’t do that”
Arrggg!
It took years of trial and error to learn what worked.
I had to survive on-call shifts, talk to stakeholders, and say “no” politely. More importantly, I had to learn that coding takes more than just syntax.
That’s why I wrote Street-Smart Coding— a roadmap of 30 lessons I wish I had when I started. For every dev who’s ever typed “how to get better at coding” into Google or ChatGPT. (Back in my days, I didn’t have ChatGPT… Wait, I sound like a nostalgic grandpa…)
Preview of the first ~12 pages
Inside “Street-Smart Coding”
This isn’t a textbook. It’s a battle-tested guide for your journey from junior/mid-level to senior.
Some lessons are conventional.
Others were learned the hard way.
And a few are weird.
One lesson comes from a TV show. Nope, not Mr. Robot or Silicon Valley. That’s on Chapter #29. It will teach you about problem-solving.
You’ll learn how to:
Google like a pro
Debug without banging your head against a wall
Communicate clearly with non-tech folks
…and 27 more lessons I learned over ten years of mistakes.
Here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. After a long wait, C# union types are here (10min). Well, in the next C# version. If you’re new to union types, I wrote this guide (9min) when Microsoft announced the feature.
#2. If you’re new to a codebase, run these Git commands (5min) before reading any code. Treat it like a crime scene: gather evidence before touching anything.
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding, 30 lessons to help you code like a pro. From Googling to clear communication, it shares the lessons to help you stand out in the age of AI.
Its main lesson was to write every day.
It was a webinar pitching a writing course.
But it made me revive my blog after abandoning it for months.
Since November 1st, 2024, I’ve been writing daily.
If I miss a day, I write two posts to recover the streak.
More than once I’ve thought I’d run out of ideas.
Writing daily makes you pay attention to the world.
You see the world through your writer’s glasses.
This is my favorite side effect.
“Sorry, did I mishear, you said you’ve been here 35 years?” I asked her.
While waiting, I skimmed the books on the shelves and overheard the cashier talking to the client in front. When it was finally my turn, I couldn’t help but ask her.
“30! I have 30 years,” the cashier told me. “The girl at the bakery section has 35. She was about to leave last year. She’s leaving next May.” It was April.
Staying for so long at a place…
Curious and surprised, I asked her, “How did you manage to stay so long at a single place?” To me, 30 years at the same job sounds like a life sentence.
“Take it easy!” she said while smiling. “Don’t let anyone ruin your day!” She kept scanning items without pause. “How long have you been in your job?”
Earlier that day, a pointless task from a freelancing client made me want to throw my laptop against the wall. Her words came at the perfect time.
“I got bored or they got bored of me. The longest I’ve stayed at a place is 5 years.” That was at my last full-time job as a coder. I burned out while waiting for a promotion. Months later, the company laid off almost everyone, including me.
“You have to take it easy. There are clients that…“ she said while shaking her head.
When someone does it…
“There’s only one who ruined my days…“ The smile on her face disappeared.
“A boss?” I asked her while expecting to hear some gossip or horror stories from working at a grocery store.
“My first husband… That one sucked the life out of me. That’s why I left him.” Beep… Beep… She kept passing the products all that time. “I was skinny… When I left him, everybody said they could see the change.”
Years ago, 30 years in one place sounded like a career wasted. Now I know some people thrive in structure. Others in change. Others take a boring job to fuel their hobbies. Whatever your path, smile, take it easy, and never let anyone suck the life out of you. And if it’s your partner or your job doing it, leave them.
