INTRODUCTION
A community is a group of people who share common interests and goals.
Technical in simple terms is applying one’s scientific knowledge practically. Being technical goes beyond just knowing science, it is also putting what you know into practice. Thomas Edison for instance is known for his invention of the light bulb, among other inventions. He not only knew what to do, but he also did it too. Now that (practicing what you know scientifically) is being technical.
Having understood what technical and community mean, what is a tech community?
A tech community is a group of people who come together for the united aim of improving their skills, improving that field, or both in a particular field in technology. They serve as a support system to people in that field. This article highlights some of the benefits of joining tech communities as a techie, and some of the communities you can join too.
Typically, the kind of people you find in tech communities are newbies, intermediates, or experts in that field. So whatever stage you are in your tech career, whether you are just starting or you have been doing it for a while, you need to be part of a community of people already in the field and this article will explain why.
Naturally, for a newbie in the tech space, it is difficult to find your feet on your own. You would need mentors or skilled people in the field to help you understand first what it is you are doing in the said field. You would also need help with building your CVs, landing your first gigs, and so on.
Why Do People Join Tech Communities?
There are plenty of benefits to joining tech communities. Some of them include:
- Mentorship opportunities: Like I said, starting in tech is the hardest. With technical communities, it is a lot easier. You could find mentors or experts in the field who will point you in the direction to go. It saves you the stress of trying and failing on your own multiple times before getting it right.
- Access to resources: Joining tech communities gives you access to valuable resources that will help you make remarkable progress in your chosen tech career. This is because experts in that field understand what starting was like and they tend to want to share the help and resources they probably never got with as many people as they can.
- Networking opportunities: Networking means building connections and relationships. Being part of a technical community introduces you to a lot of people in that field and helps you build your network.
Being a part of a tech community brings a lot of opportunities your way. People share links to various job opportunities regularly. These could be entry-level, internship, intermediate, or expert-level opportunities.
How Do I Join A Tech Community?
There are so many tech communities, depending on what your tech stack is. To find those communities, here are a few things you should know and do:
- Research; If you are just starting in a certain tech field, you definitely will have a lot of questions. Not just about the communities to join, but about everything. So, you will do a lot of research. Find communities related to your field and further information on how to join.
- Twitter; There are a lot of people with experiences and skillsets in different tech paths. Find people who are in the field already and follow them. You would get a lot of information from them. Some tech communities have Twitter handles. You can find more information on them. Be active too. You can start by answering questions and offering even the least help to someone in need.
Blogging; By blogging about what you know or you are learning about, you could impact a lot of people.
Contribute to open source; By contributing to open source, you are showing off your skills and that introduces you to a lot of mentors and opportunities if you need one.
Some Tech Communities You Can Join are;
GitHub; GitHub is a community with over 30 million developers learning, sharing, and growing together.
It all boils down to research. You may have to search over and over and over again, using different search words before you get the answers you are looking for. Just don’t stop.
Finally, tech communities are made up of people who are willing to teach and help you with whatever you may need help with. From fixing a bug to making a concept clearer, people are looking out for you. Do not feel like tech communities are just for experts or professionals in the field, there is room for everybody.
Are there other communities that you are a member of? Is there something you would like me to write about? Comment below to share your thoughts!