A simple Jekyll site for information about Dev Together

Clone the repo and run

bundle install

To run the local dev environment,

cd docs
jekyll serve --config _config.yml,_config_dev.yml

To create a production build

jekyll build

Github Pages is super case sensitive. If something works locally, but doesn't work once deployed be sure to check your case (e.g. image.jpg vs image.JPG)

• Jekyll

• Mercedes Bernard

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details

Dev Together connects people starting their development career with technical mentors through low-commitment, high-value, human interactions.

After the recent apprenticeship interview process at my company, I realized there is a gap in support for recent college and bootcamp grads looking for their first job. Many of the candidates I interviewed told me they were doing web tutorials or working on personal projects to continue to work on their technical skills while they searched for a job. But looking at their code repos, I realized that many were focused on learning new frameworks or syntax at the same introductory level as the first framework they learned. And that's through no fault of their own.

Many tutorials and online classes focus on the basics and the concrete features of a framework or language. Communicating what is good code design, let alone teaching it through a blog post is extremely difficult. I believe complex and abstract programming concepts are best taught and learned through personal, human interactions. Code reviews on personal projects would go a long way in increasing technical knowlege and would help these junior developers gain the necessary skills for their first job. It would give them real examples to use in interviews for architecture, refactoring, and pairing experience.

Another gap that I've noticed is in companies that don't prioritize mentorship and leadership skills. It's very common for senior developers to be promoted into management without the necessary experience to be a good manager. Communication, feedback, and empathy aren't often prioritized skills that companies look to coach and improve in their mid to senior level employees.

Code reviews are a structured opportunity for practicing all of the skills that good technical managers need: communicating complex ideas, providing feedback, and encouraging positive outcomes. And with the trainings and resources that this Meetup seeks to provide every step along the process, I hope that the Mentors would leave their Meetup experience feeling more prepared and better equipped to manage other developers.