Making a Master Developer - Phillip Jackson

On this episode of Smash the Bug, the one and only Phillip Jackson, Chief Commerce Officer at Rightpoint and industry mentor is here to discuss the process of going from Junior to Master Developer. Phillip started as a developer and has certainly grown into an attractive role in the community! There are tons of golden nuggets in this episode so grab a seat!

Key Takeaways

Phillip's story from being a young child, interested in computers and point-of-sale systems, to overcoming the odds and proving a lot of people wrong. He "fought and clawed" his way into the career he wanted and you can do it too.

He "decided" that this was the career he wanted, and he had "the grit" to accomplish his goal, all while he didn't even understand what the potential was with computers.

Writing code on a graphing calculator?!

The connection between Phillip's initial determination and the quality of his work as a developer.

Your mindset is key to transforming your career.

*Phillip built his first website as payment for a new computer at Best Buy (he had never built a website before...)

"We are at the cutting edge of things that are happening" in the ecommerce world and "we are constantly forging new ground" as developers.

If you can be "comfortable being uncomfortable" you are going to do very well in this industry.

*The 3 traits a developer needs in order to be excellent and have a positive impact on those around them.

An important look at the content available at Future Commerce and why developers should occasionally consume content that is merchant-focused in order to blaze a better trail for their future work.

Why is being a "lazy developer" a good thing sometimes? (yes, it's a trick question)

*Phillip's bug-squashing story: "the way we were going to get paid is to hit some pretty unreasonable goals".

The final comment from Phillip on how to become an irreplaceable developer: seek to inspire, instruct and build those around you up.

If you focus on others, every project you touch will benefit from your involvement.

(Theme music courtesy of Trending Audio)