Tips for learning on the job

Posted on Tuesday, 29th March 2016

Today, whilst out walking the dog I was listening to an episode of Developer Tea titled “Learning on the Job”. As someone that’s always looking for smarter ways of learning, this episode was of particular interest to me. In fact, it got me thinking - what tips would I recommend for learning on the job?

I find learning on the job interesting for a few reasons. First of all, you spend a good portion of time at your computer programming. This very fact means you have plenty of opportunities to improve your knowledge and understanding of the language or framework you’re using. However, you also have to balance this opportunity with the fact that you’re working and have things to do and deadlines to meet. These external pressures mean you have to be smart about how you learn.

One of the strengths of a good developer is their ability to learn on the fly, and we should always be looking for opportunities to learn.

With this in mind. This post is a collection what I’ve found to be effective ways of learning on the job, whilst not letting it get in the way of your work.

REPLs, Fiddlers and online editors are your friends

REPLs are a great tool for learning. Within my browser’s bookmark toolbar I have a whole host of online REPLs or Fiddlers for different languages. Languages such as C#, TypeScript and JavaScript.

If I’m researching a problem or happen to come across some code that I’m struggling to understand, I’ll often take a moment to launch the appropriate REPL or Fiddler and experiment with the output to make sure I fully understand what the code is doing. These can be an invaluable tool for testing that base library function you’ve not never used before, test the output of the algorithm you’ve found or learn what your transpiled TypeScript code will look like. In fact, some online tools such as .NET Fiddle also have the ability to decompile code all the way to the IL/MSIL level - enabling you to gain an even greater understanding of what your code is doing.

Here are a few of the online tools I would recommend:

This aptly brings me onto my next tip.

Don’t just copy and paste that code

Above I talked about REPLs and online Fiddlers. Use them! We’ve all copied and pasted some code on Stack Overflow to get something working. Take a moment to figure out exactly WHY the code is working and what your code is doing. Copying and pasting code that you don’t understand is both dangerous and a wasted opportunity to learn something new. If you’re too busy then bookmark it, or better yet - some of the editors listed above such as .NET Fiddle allow you to save snippets of code for later.

Write it down in a notepad

This tip I’ve found particularly effective and goes beyond learning whilst on the job, but I’ll expound on this in a moment.

If you stumble across one of those bits of information that you think “Wow, I didn’t know that. I should remember that!”, take a moment and write it down on a notepad. The process of writing it down helps your new found knowledge to your long-term memory. Another tip for further improving your long-term memory is to revisit some of your notes a couple of hours, or days later. Repetition is another proven way to improve the retention of such information.

Having a notebook on you is also useful when reading books. If you happen to read a sentence of paragraph whilst reading a book, take a moment to write it down in your own words in your notebook. I guarantee you’ll be able to recall the information later that day far clearer than you would have had you continued reading.

Share it with a co-worker or summarise it in a quick tweet

If you’ve just solved a problem or stumbled across a valuable piece of information then share it with your nearest co-worker. The very fact that you’re talking about it or explaining the concept will help engrain it into your long-term memory. You also have the added benefit of sharing information knowledge with others.

If no-one’s around then you could always talk it through with your rubber duck, or summarise your new knowledge in a quick tweet.

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is another great tool for learning on the job. If you’re a registered user then you should take full advantage of the ability to favourite answers or questions. Doing so enables you to review them in more detail at a time more suitable.

Pocket and other alternatives

Bookmark sites like Pocket are another powerful tool when it comes to learning on the job and go a step beyond bookmarking.

Whilst struggling with that problem, if you happened to have come across an interesting article but didn’t have the time to read it in its entirety then why not add it to your personal Pocket list and fill in the knowledge gap at a later date whilst you’re waiting for the bus. Many of the apps like Pocket include the ability to automatically sync bookmarks with your smartphone for offline viewing making it perfect for commuting.

I hope people find these tips valuable. I’m always interested in hearing other recommendations for learning on the job so if there’s anything I’ve not mentioned then please feel free to add it to the comments!