Excelling when you are new to the DevPool

Tips from the latest recruit – Keyrxng

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Having contributed to the DevPool for about a year and received recent promotions within the organization, I’m in a unique position to offer advice for would-be newcomers.

Start Small, Like the Tortoise and the Hare

Juicy price tags are tempting, but remember they reflect the difficulty, time involvement, and required understanding. While you may indeed be a rockstar developer, there will be a learning curve. You'll likely earn more, faster, by starting small, building a solid knowledge base of the ecosystem, and understanding the code review process.

Start Only What You Plan to Finish

Starting a task and then giving up is not a problem and is expected. However, consistently starting tasks without seeing them through is an issue that will be addressed on a per-user basis. Starting small increases your chances of quick success, leading to success with more difficult and higher-priced tasks. Establish your footing with smaller tasks first, and once confident, tackle bigger challenges.

Do Not Spread Yourself Too Thin

It's tempting to start multiple high-paying tasks, but this can lead to stress, negatively impacting your work and ability to deliver, which may result in losing the task entirely. You can only be assigned a certain number of tasks at any given time, but there are conditions:

Use the Support Available

We have dedicated Telegram rooms and general chats for getting help with any issues or uncertainties. We are here to help and want to see you succeed. The faster issues are resolved and PRs are merged, the better it is for everyone involved.

Play to Your Strengths

Start with tasks in areas where you have previous experience. If you’re like me, you might not be afraid to take on completely new tasks. Focus, learn, and deliver relatively quickly. I took on non-urgent tasks initially, allowing me more freedom, and I suggest the same, as mission-critical tasks will progress with or without you.

Find a Team

While I was a lone wolf initially, we support team-based contributions. If you work better in a team, invite partners to collaborate on tasks, and the reward will be split between assignees.