10 influencers and communities that will make you a professional Java developer
Today influencers are the perfect source of important information in the field of computer science. They regularly produce a large amount of content in the form of posts, videos or podcasts that are available completely free of charge. But to save you from investing your time in finding the best influencer, we’ve compiled a list of the best ones for you. In addition, we’ve added several communities that will help you improve your skills and become a professional Java developer.
In the article you will learn:
Read also our last article where we covered the best podcasts in Slovakia in IT.
First, choose a content type
Before you choose an influencer to follow, decide what type of content is best for you. While some prefer videos in which they can see the speaker, others tend to listen to podcasts. Their main advantage is that they can be listened to at any time – for example, when cleaning the house, exercising or on the way to work.
But videos and podcasts are not the only alternatives. A lot of content is also available in the form of photos or short, few-second videos, which you can find on various social networks, especially Instagram and Facebook.
Choosing your preferred type of content will make it easier to choose your source of information, which can become complicated and time-consuming in this day and age when influencers and communities are at every step of the way.
Top 5 IT influencers
Let’s take a look at five of the best Slovak and international IT influencers to follow.
Michal Hucko
Michal Hucko is one of the most popular Slovak IT influencers. He creates videos on YouTube under the name “Informatika s Misom“. In addition, he is also known for his Instagram profile and podcast “Na mojom kompe to ide” (It works on my PC).
Through his platforms, Michal educates beginners and advanced learners, covering topics ranging from explanations of concepts such as full-stack developer or scrum to detailed tutorials in the form of courses that reveal the ins and outs of IT.
On his YouTube channel you can also find interviews with experts on topics such as Java coding tips and IT jobs. In addition to the videos, which are full of information to help you become a professional programmer, you can follow Michal on Instagram or Facebook, where he posts practical tips in the form of pictures or shorter videos.
On Discord, Michal has created a community of IT enthusiasts to share career advice and insights.
Alice Freund
Alica Freund is a Slovak programmer who createed the podcast “(re)starty v IT” ((re)starts in IT). In this podcast she interviews various personalities and talks to them about their career beginnings and the challenges they face today. It provides beginners with a realistic view of how IT works.
Alica studied in Kosice and started her career as a scrum master in Prague. Later she decided to change her focus and started anew as a programmer. During this career change, she found out that college and two years of IT experience may not always be enough to land the dream job.
This challenging time inspired her to create a podcast for beginners who don’t know what to expect after graduation or are looking for a job but haven’t found the right one yet, despite many interesting job offers.
In addition to the podcast, Alica also writes a blog called “Alica’s dev blog” where you can find lots of advice, tips and insightful tutorials.
Marie-Philippe Gill
If English is not a problem for you, IT influencer Marie-Philippe Gill is a great choice to follow. She writes a blog, shoots videos and creates content on Instagram. She studied software engineering at École de Technologie Supérieure in Montreal and currently works as an NLP Research Developer.
Although Marie uses multiple platforms, the best alternative for computer science lovers is her Instagram. Her profile mainly shares shorter videos with hints and tips, which are ideal for those who don’t have a lot of time and need to get information quickly.
Abi Bouhmaida
Abi Bouhmaida, better known by his nickname For Good Code or Hot Guy in Tech, works in several areas of IT. On his Instagram profile, where he has more than 1.7 million followers, he writes mainly about technology news, programming, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and productivity.
Unlike many other IT influencers, Abi creates content mostly on Instagram. His posts are concise and full of tricks used by programmers and ordinary Internet users.
Tiffany Janzen
Tiffany Janzen is an IT influencer followed by more than 338,000 people. In addition to her Instagram posts, she also produces a podcast called “Talk Tech with Tiff” in which she discusses various IT topics, usually with one or more guests.
Tiffany is also the founder of the Take Off community, where she provides paid classes. After paying a monthly subscription fee, you have access to videos, workshops and the community on Slack.
If you don’t want to pay for IT learning, you can find a lot of it directly on Tiffany’s instagram profile. It includes short videos, clear guides and regular educational stories.
The 5 best IT communities
Another great source of IT information are the communities that abound on the Internet. They are characterized by hundreds to thousands of users who advise each other. Through them you can find solutions to almost any programming-related problem or get free advice from experts with years of experience.
The most popular communities on the Internet include:
GitHub Community
The GitHub Community is a platform designed to support all GitHub users. It serves to educate programmers through discussions and extensive documentation. It is an educational portal, a source of basic and advanced information and a place for inspiration.
Because the GitHub Community is international, it’s used by professionals from all over the world. It generally works on a question-and-answer basis, which means that if you can’t figure something out, you can ask a question, which anyone can answer via the comments. If a topic is interesting to more than one user, it will start a discussion from which you can take away a lot of information.
In addition, GitHub also allows you to create discussion groups where community members discuss topics and share ideas.
A separate category is GitHub events. These are events, such as trainings and conferences, that bring individual community members together. Some are virtual, others you can attend in person. You can find all scheduled events directly on the GitHub website, along with the venue and more information about what they’re about.
Reddit – r/programming
R/programming is a subreddit, or subcategory or subpage on the Reddit platform, dedicated to discussions about programming and other IT areas. Within it, users can ask questions, discuss and share ideas, inspiration and different types of content.
In addition, there is also an option to vote for posts and influence their visibility within the community. If you like a post, you upvote it, and if you don’t like it, you downvote it.
If you want to join the discussion and add comments, you need to create an account on Reddit. With this, you’ll be able to comment and make posts not only on the r/programming subreddit, but also on other Reddit subpages.
Codecademy Community
The Codecademy Community is a community of people created by the online learning platform Codecademy. This platform is known for providing interactive courses and tutorials in programming, web development and many other areas.
Members of the Codecamedy Community have access to features that support interaction and collaboration, including discussions and various virtual or traditional events. You can find the venue, date and more information about these events directly on the Codecademy website.
For those looking for additional information, the community also provides articles with tutorials, tips and tricks. Their authors are experts from various IT fields. Not to forget social networks, where you can find posts about the latest trends and news in the field of IT.
Dev.to
Dev.to is a platform that functions as a social network and community for developers, programmers and other IT professionals. It provides a space for sharing content, discussions and interesting facts in the field of computer science and technology.
If you want to be part of the community, post or comment, you need to register. The whole process is quick and easy, and can be done in minutes.
The advantage of Dev.to is a clear and well-designed website. The content is divided into several main categories, such as podcasts, tutorials or questions and answers.
You can also search for information by tags, i.e. labels. The most popular ones are in the left panel.
Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is an online platform for programmers, developers and IT professionals. It is one of the largest and most popular IT problem-solving communities .
Unlike Reddit or Dev.to, Stack Overflow offers not only a free version, but also a paid version. The price of the paid options varies according to the plan you choose and includes several additional services. In addition to basic knowledge, you’ll gain access to expert articles, priority customer support and more practical tools.
Stack Overflow’s social networks are not well developed, but you can find useful information here too. They serve mainly as alerts for new podcast episodes or blog articles.
Expand your knowledge and get your dream job
Join one of the communities or start following an IT influencer and expand your knowledge. The more you know, the better your chances of getting a great job with good pay and interesting employee benefits.
There are countless ways to expand your knowledge. If communities or influencers don’t work for you, think about podcasts or blogs. However, books and courses in Slovak or English are also great to make you a professional Java developer.
- Java vs C# – comparison of programming languages (2024)
- Interview questions for the prospective employee and the employer with answers
- Generations X, Y, Z and Baby boomers in the workplace: how to work with them?
- Why soft skills are important
- Workplace bullying: bossing, mobbing. How to fight them?
- Programming is the future! Learn to code with programming courses online
