Book Image

Developer, Advocate!

By : Geertjan Wielenga
Book Image

Developer, Advocate!

By: Geertjan Wielenga

Overview of this book

What exactly is a developer advocate, and how do they connect developers and companies around the world? Why is the area of developer relations set to explode? Can anybody with a passion for tech become a developer advocate? What are the keys to success on a global scale? How does a developer advocate maintain authenticity when balancing the needs of their company and their tech community? What are the hot topics in areas including Java, JavaScript, "tech for good," artificial intelligence, blockchain, the cloud, and open source? These are just a few of the questions addressed by developer advocate and author Geertjan Wielenga in Developer, Advocate!. 32 of the industry's most prominent developer advocates, from companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, open up about what it's like to turn a lifelong passion for knowledge sharing about tech into a rewarding career. These advocates run the gamut from working at large software vendors to small start-ups, along with independent developer advocates who work within organizations or for themselves. In Developer, Advocate!, readers will see how developer advocates are actively changing the world, not only for developers, but for individuals and companies navigating the fast-changing tech landscape. More importantly, Developer, Advocate! serves as a rallying cry to inspire and motivate tech enthusiasts and burgeoning developer advocates to get started and take their first steps within their tech community.
Table of Contents (36 chapters)
34
Other Books You May Enjoy
35
Index
36
Packt

How Tim got started

Geertjan Wielenga: How did you become a developer advocate in the first place?

Tim Berglund: I started my career as a firmware developer and I loved that. Then I moved into Java and the web, right as the first dot-com bubble was collapsing. That was my impeccable timing: getting involved in the web while the web was crashing!

A while later, I found that I like being in front of people and I like teaching. I'm good at teaching and it's a really energizing and rewarding thing for me to do. This was a time in my career when I was an independent consultant. I had some freedom to explore teaching, as long as I could get somebody to pay me for it.

During that time, my practice shifted from custom software development to training and conference speaking. That's how I got into speaking. I'll always remember the first meetup I spoke at. It just felt like I was on fire, in a good way, and I knew I needed to do more of it.

Geertjan Wielenga...