Teamwork makes work easier. This is also applicable to software engineers. Now and then, it is important to bring ideas together where individuals learn and share knowledge to improve their development capabilities. That is why a developer’s community is crucial. There are many avenues to create or join a community depending on the needs of a software engineer.

Here, we highlight the benefits an individual would get if they joined a community of developers.

1. Development-based wealth- Each member in a group is vast in knowledge and brings all the experience they have gathered to the group. This in turn means that the group is made of so many members with different experiences. All this knowledge brought together gives wealth for every member to tap from. It is possible that a member can join the community without any knowledge and come out experienced.

2. Reliable support system– a problem is only unsolvable if one depends on their insights. Once forwarded to a community, different approaches are employed and what seemed like a problem is solved like 1+1. Belonging to a developer community is therefore beneficial to individual software engineers from the support it offers. There are instances where engineers make simple coding errors and the project does not run as expected. It is difficult at this particular instance for the maker of the code to see the error. If they forward it to the community which makes a pool of software engineers, the error is easily noticeable from a second party. There are also different approaches to achieving results that are forwarded by members. Additionally, young software developers can tap a lot of information when pursuing their first projects independently.

3. Information sharing platform– Developer communities are a fast and easy way of reaching a majority of software developers. As a community that believes sharing is caring and information is knowledge, disseminating knowledge from attending seminars, or reading books on software engineering is made possible here. It is also a platform where concerned parties can share about upcoming events like classes and seminars. Veterans in the discipline can also share their experiences like tricks they have applied in coding or previous projects. Developer communities sometimes organize meet-ups for the need of sharing information in real-time.

4. Career practice opportunities– These communities have members who are well connected for job opportunities. They post about new opportunities in the developer community expecting to get members hooked for career development. It is also an avenue where individuals collaborate to produce better projects for clients. This platform boosts the knowledge of individual software engineers through project teams. There are better chances of becoming an expert in your career if you are connected to like-minded individuals.

5. Ventures in new interests– Learning is a process with no definite end. In the process of practicing your career, you might get new interests motivated by developer community members. In the process of networking, members share information on a wide range of disciplines. Sometimes in software engineering or IT. This might trigger interest and provide a better orientation into the said interest. In a case where a member is interested in a new field, they have a pool to inquire from and get the best advice from a variety of sources. The more active a community is the better chances of development for its members.

6. Cut unnecessary expenses– organizations and companies incur extra costs in finding resources for their companies. With membership in developer communities, this cost can be reduced greatly from readily available resources. Questions on bugs within a specific project can be posted in related communities and get help instantly and for free. There is also a smooth workflow if members are in a developer community. Value for every employee in the organization is felt in real-time.

7. Updates on new trends and developments– Since developer communities are active and communication is real-time, developers can learn about trends in programming languages and developments happening in the same. There are also new approaches in coding and project development that individuals can learn from members. Developer communities are made useful by those within the communities. Software engineering can easily get boring if developers don’t update on developments happening in the discipline.

Developer communities have a lot to benefit individual developers. All that is required is understanding your interest and what individual communities offer as value to your career. With current developments in software engineering, it is easy to get developer communities. Simple searches on the net or recommendations from fellow developers can easily hook interested parties in beneficial communities. These developer communities help enhance growth in skills and careers by extension.

Some notable communities found online include:

• Stack Overflow
• Sitepoint developer community
• Reddit
• Google Communities

You can also easily get developer communities on different social media platforms like LinkedIn and Telegram. Being specific in your searches will get you into the right developer community. Get into developer communities and you are on the right path to making the best in your career.