Top 10 Simple Programmer Posts of 2021

Written By John Sonmez

It's time to take a look back on 2021 to see the posts that wowed you as readers—or maybe catch up on the posts that you missed.

We use a number of factors here at Simple Programmer to determine Top Posts for a year (including Views, Time on Page, Bounce Rate, Exit Rate, First 30 Days Performance, etc.), as metrics alone are often for vanity and not sufficient data you can base a conclusion on.

Correlation does not always equal causation, after all.

With that, we have two categories of Top 10 Posts for you to read … or read again (so a bonus total of Top 20 Posts on Simple Programmer in 2021!)

Top 10 Most Read Posts on Simple Programmer in 2021

  1. 5 In-Demand Programming Skills To Acquire in 2021 by Anisha Tanveer — Despite the growing tech market, the chances of landing your dream job may be slim due to a skills mismatch. To overcome this challenge, young professionals should aim to build their skills for a specific niche. So what skills should you have worked on to find a suitable career path for yourself in 2021? This article will help you discover the five high-in-demand programming skills for 2021 and tips on how you can excel in them.
  2. 5 Examples of SMART Goals That Will Make You a Better Programmer by Adam Jones — A SMART goal is a really specific way of writing down your goal, a key component of improving your chances of achieving any goal. The five SMART goals highlighted in this post can help you on your quest to be a better, more-rounded programmer if you are employed or work on your own.
  3. 10 Tips for Programmers To Work More Efficiently by Madhsudhan Khemchandani — Programming is more than just writing code on a computer screen. It is a combination of thinking, understanding, typing, learning, and debugging. When it comes to programming, balance is everything, so here are 10 tips that will help you stay focused and increase productivity while also taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally.
  4. The Importance of an Online Portfolio for Programmers (and How To Make One) by Gaurav Belani — Programmers and web developers need to have an online portfolio ready for future employers or potential clients to see. Even if your work doesn’t really fall under the “creative” category, you can still build a portfolio and draw benefits from it in a similar manner. This post will show you why an e-portfolio is important, what it can do for you professionally, and how you can start the process of setting one up today.
  5. How Perfectionism Kills a Programmer’s Productivity by Aston Rhodes — It would seem that people who strive to do everything perfectly should be more successful in work and life. But in practice, being a perfectionist harms a programmer’s productivity. This post will show you how to recognize perfectionism in your own behavior, also offering you tips on how to get rid of it.
  6. How to Restart Your Developer Career After a Long Break by Ankit Patel — If you’re someone who left your programming career years back and are hankering to hit the keyboard to code again, there are specific steps you can take to restart your career. Here are some concrete tips on how to get back to doing what you love.
  7. 10 Things You Don’t Need To Become a Programmer by Jack David — Do you have the passion and urge to become a successful programmer? Most people would say yes but hold a tint of doubt, as they are glued to certain stereotypes surrounding the world of programming. Just going to let you know now, most of these misconceptions are false. Here are 10 things you absolutely don’t need to be a programmer.
  8. No Time Like the Present – Why We Need a New Generation of Software Developers by Gemma Harvey — Software development as we know it now began to take form over half a century ago, and in that time, it has progressed in giant leaps. What was deemed unimaginable 50 years ago is now possible to code and create in the blink of an eye. In this post you can read about the growing need for a new generation of software developers as well as some possible ways to address this need.
  9. 10 Top Highest-Paid Software Engineer Jobs in 2021 by Iryna Bilyk — Whether you are a skilled software developer or a junior software engineer, the question remains the same: What programming language and framework brings the highest salary in the current market conditions? This article will give you all the details to make sure you steer your programming career in the right direction.
  10. 5 Ways to Plan Your 2022 by Elisa Doucette— It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a living human alive in the 2020s must be in want of a better year to come. But if there's one thing we believe firmly here at Simple Programmer, it is that we need to break down complex issues into simple solutions, and focus on the things we have control over. So here are five easy ways to help plan out some goals and projections for 2022 to help you get back a little of what might have been lost in the past 24 months.

There's also our annual Gifts for Programmers post, which blows all other posts out of the water in terms of viewing stats. Glad to see that your curiosity for gifts and gadgets continues to stay alive and well, and that you are sharing it with friends and family to find your perfect holiday gifts!

Now on to the next list …

Top 10 Most Engaged Posts on Simple Programmer in 2021

  1. Why Git is Still Relevant in 2021, and Will Be for a Long Time by Jacob Stopak — As we moved into 2021, Git remained relevant for a variety of reasons, and it will likely maintain its dominance for quite some time. As you’ll see in this article, Git is a major part of a developer’s routine, and being informed about its current and possible future trends is important to one’s career.
  2. 6 Reasons Why It’s Worth Becoming a Software Developer in 2021 by Alexander Stavrou — Are you someone who loves tech and wants to make a living from it? Do you want a job that pays well and offers tons of opportunity for growth? If so, then you should consider becoming a software developer. This article will list the top six reasons why it was worth becoming a software developer in 2021.
  3. Why Science Says That Social Media is Your Enemy by Fiodar Sazanavets — Social media is everywhere, and it’s extremely rare to find somebody who doesn’t use it. But there is one problem that you should definitely be concerned about: Social media is the single most powerful thing that can prevent you from building the right habits. If not used with caution, it is something that can make deep work impossible. This post offers you all you need to know to avoid social media distractions and stay focused.
  4. How Are Kubernetes and Rancher Related? — A Detailed Evaluation by Ankit Kumar — In the era of cloud-native development, there are two technologies that are often interchangeably understood: Kubernetes and Rancher. There has been constant comparison between the two, amid certain uncertainties. This post will show you what these two technologies individually mean, their salient features, organizations using them, and their alternatives.
  5. The Pros and Cons of Open-Source Software by Remya Mohanan — Programmers use various open-source software for their own projects, and they also contribute to many other OSS. However, certain aspects of OSS can trouble many developers. Here is a complete guide to what open-source software is, its relevance for programmers, and tips on how to use it wisely.
  6. How To Transition Into Machine Learning as a Software Developer by Sebastian Kirsch — Opting for a career in machine learning can be a very intelligent move. Quite often, a career breakthrough is a matter of doing the right thing at the right time, and getting into machine learning now can potentially be such an opportunity for you. This post will show you what you need in order to make the best of this transition.
  7. How To Improve Your Remote Software Engineers’ Productivity by Gary Bury — A remote software engineering team can be just as, if not more, productive as their office-bound counterparts. This article shows how to get the best out of your remote software engineering team.
  8. How the World of Remote Work Will Change in 2021 by Fazmeena Faisal — The face of the remote-work trend, which has become popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changed in 2021. In this article, we look into the workspace models and work management processes that we expected to witness in a post-pandemic era.
  9. 10 Upcoming Technology and Programming Trends Set for 2022 by Ankit Kumar — The world, undoubtedly, relates a lot to technology and there is likely no business or organization that is not striving hard to keep pace with the fast-moving technological trends. As the year 2022 approaches, it is interesting to observe the upcoming programming and technology trends that are set to drive innovation and modernization. So let’s have a look at the key upcoming technology and programming trends that will be seen throughout 2022
  10. How To Keep Your Remote Team Safe From Cyber Attacks by David Balaban — The shift toward telework in light of the pandemic has made numerous companies more vulnerable to cyber attacks. If your team is in the same boat, this article will point you in the right direction to tackle the escalating risks.

As you can see, they are two totally different lists. 

Which just goes to show that popularity in numbers does not always equal popularity in interest and comprehension.

What Does That Mean for Simple Programmer in 2022?

Every year, we review the prior year's content to get an idea of what to write and share.

Since Simple Programmer publishes three times a week, that means we are always looking for new ideas that might just fit a niche of interest and comprehension that our readers would like to deep dive on.

But we love those popular posts that bring new readers to the site, and keep you clicking and coming back.

Overall, expect more career and programming skills content in the upcoming year, along with some new and different content that might just be the exact post you are looking for.

Did you have a favorite article from us in 2021 that didn't make the list(s)? A favorite from the lists? Let us know in the comments below!