Writing is Easy - Publishing is Hard
Going into 2025 I had a goal of starting and maintaining a practice of publishing content to my blog and engaging more on social media.
This was in support of my longer-term goal of finally landing the elusive software development role I have been chasing since 2020.
I had grown tired of reading Reddit posts and news articles lamenting the bleak hiring landscape of the tech industry.
Horror stories from highly qualified people who’s thousands of applications were met with an equal amount of rejection letters. The Computer Science student who fearfully looks towards graduation with none of the employment guarantees advertised during their initial enrolment.
There’s a weariness that came from trying to maintain momentum towards my goals while fending off this bombardment of hopelessness.
I knew that unless I tried something different I would never find success.
Many that I respect in this industry tout the incredible positives that come from publishing content and engaging in the community. 2025 was my year to take that leap and start writing.
Weekly blog posts, a budding social media following, networking out the wazoo. 2025 baby!
Like all great New Years Resolutions I was confident that I’d see it through.
As we now move into February my grand vision is fading, much like the cancelled gym memberships & abandoned meditation practices of our ancestors.
I understand the benefits of writing and content creation. How can I prove that I have the skills and motivation to thrive in this industry when 99% of the code I write never leaves my file system? How can I proudly point to something I’ve built when I’m too scared to deploy something publicly? How can an employer be confident in my ability to contribute without something to prove my knowledge. How can I build a network when no one even knows that I’m working towards these goals?
In addition to the benefits to the job hunt - writing forces me to think about what I’m learning and deepens my understanding of patterns and concepts.
Much like the code hidden in my file system and private repositories, my writing practice has been isolated to my journal and an Obsidian vault with half baked ideas. Even publishing to a blog that no one reads or posting to a Bluesky account with little to no followers requires overcoming layers of fear. The vulnerability required to open yourself up to criticism is daunting and I failed to acknowledge how challenging I’d find the process.
I have been on this self-taught developer journey since 2020. The time between my first git commit and now has been marked by stretches of varying commitment and productivity levels, but I have built a skill-set that I’m proud of and a deep appreciation for software development as a craft. I’ve always had this naive view that if I got good enough or if I learned the right technology that I wouldn’t need to overcome this vulnerability barrier. I wouldn’t need to put myself out there because I’d just be… found?
Rather than abandon my New Years resolution I am adopting the classic ‘better late than never’ approach and publishing a blog about how I’m scared shit-less of blogging. I think leaning into this discomfort is a crucial step for me as a developer and as a person. I’ll never have all the answers beforehand and being a great developer requires an openness to new ideas and welcoming feedback.
I guess we’ll see if this post is followed closely by another or if fear takes over once again.