mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

In an article last week, we explored the growing IT “Skills Gap” problem. Employers say they’re having more and more trouble finding qualified workers with modern skills.

Why?

While the reasons vary, one big complaint surrounding the issue is the idea that students aren’t learning the appropriate skills in college. They come out of school completely unprepared for the skills demanded by the business world.

While that might be the case, I believe it’s a two-part problem. On one hand, some schools teach outdated technical skills. But, on the other hand, many of the skills required in business only come with experience.

Take web application development for example. A developer might learn technical skill in college, yet be completely unprepared for the real world. He/she might breeze through school, yet struggle to adapt to development in business. Why?

Web application development in the business world is far more than technical skill. It’s about solving problems. It’s about creating solutions that adapt. It’s about communication. I’d say that the lessons a developer learns outside of school are arguably more important than the technical skills learned in school.

What lessons are those? We posed that question to some experienced developers, who delivered some excellent advice. I’ve outlined their input below, along with some of my own thoughts under each point. Sound good? Okay, here are 9 web development lessons you won’t learn in school, yet are critical to your success:
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