Appium is similar to Selenium so should present a low barrier to entry for you.

My fav tools: Selenium WebDriver, Rest-Assured, Faker.

Are you going the frontend dev route? I'd recommend learning JavaScript and then a frontend framework such as React, Vue, or Angular. Good luck!

For 1 & 3, watch this video

For #2, I just wrote an article on this very topic. It's going to be published on TechBeacon. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you'll get an email when it's published. I think you'll like it!

I recommend this book, Banish Your Inner Critic, by Denise Jacobs for combatting imposter syndrome.

I'm not sure what the world will look like post-COVID19 but it seems safe to bet on tech. Any tech-related role is promising - especially development.

If in school, reach out to the Career Center and express interest in obtaining internships.

With COVID-19, it may be hard to get internships and apprenticeships right now. A good way to gain experience from home would be to contribute to open source projects. Not like one typo issue, but really become a part of the project.

Check out the responses to this tweet to find beginner-friendly OS projects to contribute to:

Thank you. I've gotten to know about selfDefined dictionary through the linked tweet. Angie Jones

For patents, I'll be giving a talk @ In Streaming Color, so check it out.

To move into Developer Advocacy, you should have a real passion for helping other developers. You can demonstrate this now by writing blog posts, giving talks, making videos, etc.

Once you have this portfolio of content, you can apply for DevRel roles just like you would any other developer job.

As a developer advocate, I'm used to being on the road, so it's definitely been an adjustment to be home for months. I struggled in the beginning, but am now at a point where I'm as productive as before. I wouldn't say "more" productive though.

Many tools have screenshot capabilities but do not analyze those screenshots for bugs.

Applitools provides visual testing by using AI to mimic the human brain and eye and detect visual differences within your application.

Applitools offers a forever-free account, which contains all of the features needed for small teams and is perfect if you only need to do a hundred or so checks a month.

Also, for qualifying open source projects, the upgraded account is available free of charge.

Maybe 🙃

Visual testing is AMAZING! Traditional testing tools work with the DOM to determine the state of the application. But just because something exists in the DOM doesn't mean it is presented correctly on the screen. It could be covered by another element, it could be bleeding off the edge of the page, it could be the same color of the page!

Visual testing helps us better test our applications by testing the screen, which is what our users see and interact with.

Developers are really wowed by how visual testing helps them remove their blind spots

This makes me sad. I'm so sorry you're treated this way.

One thing that companies must realize is that they need to have the support to bring juniors on so that they are guided and mentored.

If you are not finding that within your company, try linking with external developer communities for support.

Think about why you're creating something. Do you really need to even build this thing?

If so, evaluate the tools available to create it and choose the best ones for the job.

Also, before starting, formalize a plan for maintenance and upkeep.

Depends on what you want to do.

JavaScript is a great one for 2020. You can do backend (Node.js), frontend (React/Angular/Vue), or mobile (React Native) with this language.

Java is still in high demand for services and backend roles.

Python is great for big data and ML.

The thing about programming is that you can pick up just about any language once you learn the fundamentals of programming in general. So, variables, objects, data structures, decision structures, loops, etc.

I talk about it in this short video ☺️

Answer to the public speaking question

My very first public speech was a Commencement Speech at my old high school back in 2016.

That same year, I went on to give my very first public tech talk in Philadelphia. It was great! I haven't stopped yet. :)

Applitools provides software testing tools for visual testing such as the Eyes API and the Ultrafast Grid.

I have written about how cool visual testing is...to not only find visual bugs but also as a superset of functional testing.

In a nutshell, take this example. Typical testing tools would verify that all of this text is present. The tests would pass and this would be pushed to prod. Applitools looks at the actual screen to determine if it looks the way it's intended to.

Good question! Yes, Java is still very much in demand.

It's being used for new projects as well as legacy ones. This CodeNewbie podcast by Peggy Fisher covers What is Java good for and why is it still one of the most popular coding languages

If you're interested in backend or mobile development, then Java is a solid choice to learn in 2020. I highly recommend (lol) my FREE Java course. It's really the best for learning core Java.

A patent is basically an exclusive right, granted by a country, to make, use, and sell an invention.

I got into patenting while working for IBM, who has a very extensive IP catalog.

My inventions are on things like collaborative software, virtual worlds, smarter planets, and software development enhancements.

You can see them all here

I'll also be giving a talk on the Patent Process including how to come up with ideas at In Streaming Color. Tune in!

Thank you Angie Jones. This is helpful!