While development is often considered a solitary career, learning to code requires a collaborative effort. In this sense, participating in a developer community is a natural path for anyone looking to become a better programmer.
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In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of developer communities, the reasons why it’s important to participate in one, and how Application Security (AppSec) can also come through the community.
But first, let’s get to some important data. According to research by Evans Data, developers believe that “contributing to a community” is just as important as “earning a good salary”. Furthermore, according to the survey, 4 out of 5 developers feel a sense of kinship or a strong connection with other community developers, even when one of them works for a competitor. This data makes a lot of sense when you understand how devs work.
Sharing code and helping others solve problems is part of the essence of a dev. It’s no surprise that every year the number of spaces for devs to connect and collaborate, whether on virtual platforms or in-person events, is increasing.
What is a developer community?
In short, a developer community is defined as a group of people, whether aspiring or already working in the field, who come together around a shared purpose.
There are communities on all topics in the development field: from programming languages, front end, back end, cybersecurity, API specifications, artificial intelligence, and much more! It is worth remembering that communities are primarily responsible for maintaining large Open Source projects such as Linux, OpenAPI, or Docker.
Additionally, online communities including Dev.To, Stack Overflow, and GitHub‘s open source platforms have become a meeting place for developers to share and improve code with one another.
Why should I join a community?
Participating in communities is having the opportunity to learn while building relationships.
Learning through the community is very common in the tech world and only brings good results, especially for those who are starting in the tech area or making a career transition. The feeling of belonging and wanting to be a part of something you are interested in is just amazing!
If you have a problem to solve or need to learn a new language, chances are you can get help from others in some community out there. As you get involved, you will discover your network’s natural growth and opportunities.
But remember, before selecting a community, you must first understand what you are looking for. Discover and understand what the community is all about and whether its goals meet your needs.
Knowing these advantages, here are some that draw the most attention:
Share knowledge
With the exchange of knowledge, we can all learn from each other and develop our skills.
Communities are a great way to share tips, tools, resources, frameworks, lines of code, tutorials, or have in-depth discussions about something related to the development process.
Use these communities to learn from more experienced professionals!
Receive motivation and continuous support
Communities provide an environment where you can connect with developers who are experiencing similar issues as you.
A dev’s journey can be difficult, especially when you’re alone. So having a support network will make you feel less lonely on this journey.
The more you get involved, the more people you can connect with. These relationships can become ongoing support, helping you solve your main issues.
Expand your network of contacts for networking
Belonging to a community also opens up opportunities to get closer to developers in your field. With this, new job opportunities can also arise!
These relationships also represent an opportunity to find mentors for your career, in addition to meeting professionals willing to help you on technical projects.
It is very common for companies to get involved in communities, especially through Tech Recruiters and professionals in the area of Developer Relations. This, in turn, can increase your chances of being considered for a job selection, as your collaborative work can draw the attention of these professionals.
Read too: 4 tips for those who want to invest in a career in Application Security
Get out of your comfort zone to expand your area of knowledge
Integrating into these spaces also means meeting people from different backgrounds. As a result, you are often exposed to topics and discussions that may not be directly related to your field.
In this sense, you have the opportunity to learn technical terms and knowledge related to software development outside your specialty.
The great thing about this is that it gives you a better understanding of what’s going on in other areas of development, and it can increase your interest in these discussions as you learn more about the topic.
The more you participate in different communities, the more you will realize how vast the area of software development is and how much you can learn!
Learning AppSec in a community is the way
The responsibility for the security of the application starts with the people responsible for the development. And an AppSec community can help developers with that!
The DevSecOps Community is an educational and collaborative space on topics related to Application Security, integrating different professionals from the development, security, and operations areas who seek to learn more about DevSecOps.
Particularly, when I joined the DevSecOps Community I realized the impact that discussions and knowledge exchange can generate on the awareness of secure development among different professionals in the area.
It is a community that allows anyone to share their experiences, ideas, and questions via posts and discussions on any topic related to the AppSec universe.
Community members have access to discussions and a lot of important content about implementing security in the development cycle.
Join the our development community focused on AppSec and you’ll be amazed at how much it will help you build more secure applications!
