You get called out. The sergeant is looking at you. You scream at the top of your lungs in response!
"Sir, we learned about frontend development skills, sir!"
IS THAT REALLY IT MAGGOT? DID YOU SIGN UP JUST TO LEARN ABOUT THINGS LIKE HTML?
"Sir, no sir!" you reply
WHAT ELSE DID YOU LEARN?
"I learned about hard skills and soft skills, sir!"
AND WHICH ONES DO WE MOST IGNORE AS DEVS?
"Sir, soft skills sir!"
WELL, I'LL BE! LITTLE GOODIE TWO SHOES OVER HERE LEARNED A THING OR TWO LAST EMAIL
"Sir, yes sir!" you cry out with a tear in your eye. You silently sigh a breath of relief as Mauro turns to the other readers.
GOOD, WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LET'S FOCUS ON TODAY'S LESSON: META-SKILLS
Meta-skills are different from the skills we've talked about before. While hard and soft skills are abilities you learn to become an exceptional front-end dev, meta-skills are higher-order cognitive abilities that help you learn, adapt, and problem-solve more effectively.
They make acquiring other skills easier or faster. You arrive at solutions quicker. You recognize patterns better. Once you've acquired even just one or two under your belt, they're massive game-changers. They're what unlock your ability to do tasks and solve issues 2X or even 3X faster. They're that powerful.
One of the best examples of a meta-skill in our profession is "meta-learning," or learning how to learn. Thinking back to the Front-end developer goals Venn diagram from earlier lessons, we know that there are a lot of skills to master.
But if you already have a lot of practice and knowledge on how to learn concepts and ideas effectively, you can cut down on all the time it takes to learn new libraries, frameworks, or tools you'll learn in the future. Forever.
Imagine being able to learn all this in half the time. How much more effective would you be?
Other examples of meta-skills relating to our profession could be a lot simpler but just as important. And you might have a few without realizing it, like:
Knowing how to plan effectively
Having a collection of different mental models to draw from
Having a growth mindset
Time awareness & energy management
Effective and concise communication
Many of these skills you'll gain naturally during your career. Others might take careful practice. But they're all important in the long run as you become a better front-end developer.
In the next and final email next week, we'll finally take a look at how this all relates to becoming an exceptional front-end. That's right maggots, we're going full circle.
