[BAWD #115] Error Messages and Finding a Fulfilling Career

Oct 22, 2023

Hello 👋🏾,

I trust you had a blissful past few days and you’re keen for the week ahead. Btw, here’s a friendly reminder that the more you know, the more you don’t know. Be open to self improvement.

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Nerd Meme of the Week 🥲

Featured Technical Articles ✍🏾👩🏽‍💻

What do you do about the high shege/minute you get from API integrations? by Anthony Alaribe.
When life gives you lemons, write better error messages by Jenni Nadler.
The Automation Paradox by James Bessen.
A Complete Guide to Buffers in Node.js by Ruan Martinelli.
44 React Frontend Interview Questions by Yan Levin.
Understanding open source licenses by Julia Ferraioli.
Effectively loading ads without impacting page speed by Markus Bordihn.
Documentation Overload: Can Comprehensive Documentation Hinder Product Adoption? by William Imoh.
Unit Testing Supabase in Kotlin using Test Containers by Julien Lengrand-Lambert.
5 Tips to Solve Common Pitfalls With React Native by Dan Neciu.
AI and APIs: What works, what doesn't by Tom Johnson.
A Complete Guide to Buffers in Node.js by Ruan Martinelli.
Widgets! for PWAs by Aaron Gustafson.

Featured Productivity Articles ✍🏾🦅

Give it five minutes by Jason Fried.
The Beginner’s Guide to Deliberate Practice by James Clear.
The Point Is to Stop by Mike Manson.
Managing the chaos of context switching by Addy Osmani.
Burnout Is the Echo of Self-Judgment by Lawrence Yeo.

Product of the Week ✨

OpenSauced is an intelligence platform for open-source developers and maintainers that helps maintainers optimize their OSS projects with deep insights. Engineers can also use the platform to expand their resume through proof of open source contributions.

Good Tidings 🔊

Research shows that to have a fulfilling career, you should do something you’re good at that makes the world better. For years, some researchers at Oxford have studied this phenomenon, and the 80,000 Hours project has put them all into this Career Guide that explains how to find a fulfilling career and why you shouldn’t always “follow your passion or gut.”
GitHub recently launched its All In for Students program for students from underrepresented backgrounds that provides open source education, training, and internship opportunities to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within open source. You can learn more and apply.
It’s rumoured that the United Nations has decided to adopt a new calendar system to replace the Gregorian calendar, which will feature 13 months, each consisting of 28 days, and an extra holiday day at the end of the year 🥹 (looks like some countries like Ethiopia already do this). One of the co-founders of Cal•com wrote about this and its advantages.
If you’re new to TypeScript or even experienced with it but don’t understand why you’re actually using it, this guide is a very good start to learning the basics and why you need it. In addition, you should read this one too. I highly recommend both.
Here are 33 concepts every JavaScript developer should know (with detailed resources that explain them) and 13 super rad web dev tricks you don't know about (but should).
Here’s a solid collection of soft skill books that will make you a better developer.
If you’re looking to get started with technical writing, you should check this for a curated list of articles, books, videos, tools, podcasts, etc.
Here’s a curated list of interview questions for different programming languages, frameworks, and technologies.
Here is a collection of universities, companies, and organizations that offer free online courses with certificates.
For managers, here’s a collection of engineering leadership resources that you’d find helpful.
Here’s a complete computer science study plan you can use to become a software engineer.
Looking to network with other student community leaders and professionals or level up your skills and give back to your community? You can join the GitHub Campus Experts program now and expand your connections!
Here’s a curated list of project-based programming tutorials you can use to learn how to build applications from scratch.
Need support for your learning? Every month, you can get funding for your learning needs (internet subscription, computer device, or courses) from anonymous people who care.
Here's a recommendation of the top websites to find remote jobs for different software engineering and product fields in tech.

Book Recommendations 📚

All of Grace by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner.
Simplified JavaScript for VIPs by Ebenezer Don.
Building Python Web APIs with FastAPI by Abdulazeez Adeshina.
The Pragmatic Programmer by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt.

Featured Tweets and Videos 😍

Here are some cool tweets and some of my favorite videos from YouTube these past weeks.

⬇️: Jenny Truong - The Unexpected States of Burnout

⬇️: What Happened to Javascript? | Fred K. Schott | Pizza Byte

⬇️: These 10 Mistakes Are Destroying Your Web App

⬇️: Null References: The Billion Dollar Mistake - Tony Hoare

Quote of the Week 💙

“And just as Steve loved ideas, and loved making stuff, he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence. You see, I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished." - Jonathan Ive.

Sponsors and Patrons 💫

Shout out to my amazing supporters: Maya Shavin, Angie Jones, and Obinna Odirionye. Their support enables me to keep writing, creating, teaching, and supporting others. Thank you.

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Bolaji Ayodeji's Weekly Digest