Professionals of all fields require tools to become successful in their careers. The same goes for software developers. As a software developer, having the right tools can make all the difference when it comes to staying organized, planning projects, and optimizing code. I’ll share with you the best tools for developers to stay at the top of their game (and a bonus tool at the end!).

Utilizing a Project Management Software

Project management software isn’t just for Project Managers. It is also your duty as a software engineer to document your tasks. Documented your tasks includes: 

1. Time Estimation

You may think that putting a time estimate is putting more pressure on yourself to complete the task. In fact, giving a time estimate gives you LESS pressure. Always overestimate when you will complete your task. It’s better to complete the task sooner than you estimated rather than later. It gives Project Managers the sense that you are dependable in completing your tasks. 

2. Brief description of the task

When you’re describing the task, word it in a way that a non-technical person can understand. Tasks, especially in software, are already difficult for the developer to understand. Giving an easy to understand description can help move the task towards completion quicker, making both Developer and Project Managers happy. 

3. Code change

Finally, documentation should also include where the code happened. Nowadays, this is built into tools such as JIRA, Trello and Azure Devops. Everytime you commit code, a history of code changes will be automatically saved to the task. 

Project management software is absolutely necessary to stay organized in their workflow and eliminate confusion when working with different teams. 

Finding the Right IDE

An IDE is a must-have tool for any developer. It gives developers the necessary tools to easily code their projects. 

Finding the right IDE may be tough for you, since there are so many of them to choose from. Most likely, the IDE you use will depend on the programming language you work with. If you’re in the .NET tech stack, Visual Studio should be the only IDE you use. 

If you program in Java, Eclipse is the most popular choice among Java developers. The same can be said for Xcode used by Swift Programmers. 

Personally, Visual Studio Code is a very good IDE to start with. It’s lightweight and has a ton of extensions that can help you code your projects. Additionally, Visual Studio Code is backed by Microsoft, one of the most established software companies in the world, along with a massive user base with tons of support. 

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is becoming the standard method of deploying and hosting your code. Software developers aren’t just writing code for the sake of it. They are writing code to solve real-world problems, and what better way to solve problems than to make the solution as scalable as possible.

Not only does serverless cloud computing eliminate the need for a physical datacenter, but does so at a low cost. You are able to host your application on the cloud that is operating 100% of the time. No need to worry about server expenses such as electricity, software updates and hardware. All of that is managed for you under one infrastructure. 

Your Mindset

This is probably the most useful tool you have at your disposal. The ability to have a mindset that you are a successful software engineer in and of itself will make a successful software engineer.

You possess certain characteristics (perhaps as early as your childhood) of a successful software developer. 

Software developers are detail oriented and are curious about how things work. You don’t get frustrated when you hit a roadblock, like an error code that you just can’t seem to figure out. You’re ability to power through these difficult roadblocks will make you shine as a software developer.

The tools that I’ve just described to you are actual tools to help you with your day-to-day tasks as a software developer. However, none of these tools would be of any use if you are not using them with the right intentions. 

And what are the right intentions? It’s to use these tools to help provide solutions to problems people are facing. 

If you keep these intentions in mind and completely dedicate yourself to software development, you already have all the tools that you need to become a successful software developer. 

-Bao