My SuiteScript Story

Created: June 2, 2017

No one is born a great SuiteScript developer.

I will never forget how utterly lost and completely overwhelmed I felt as I got my start in SuiteScript.

August 1st, 2017 will mark my five-year anniversary of working with NetSuite. As I reflect on that time, some days it feels like it might as well be 10 years while others it could easily be just a few months. My entry into NetSuite went something like this:

I left an entry-level Software Engineer position at a huge defense contracting company for this tiny professional services company that worked on something called NetSuite. After a brief phone interview where I learned the position would involve JavaScript, I immediately went to a bookstore and picked up a JavaScript book, rushing to learn whatever I could. While I did have a background in software, I had never seen or written a single line of JS. Apparently, I learned just enough to get through the technical portion of the interview later that week, and 10 days later I was on the job as a "NetSuite Developer."

At the time, the onboarding program consisted of three days looking over the shoulder of the senior developers as they worked on client projects, and then I was thrown headlong into my first SuiteScript task for a client.

Even though I had a few years of programming under my belt, my inner monologue in those days sounded exactly like this, every day, for months:

What did I get myself into? There's no way I can do this! NetSuite is too big; there's too much to learn. I don't know anything about these business processes!

I've cleaned things up just a bit there; in reality there were probably many curse words interjected in there as well.

Fortunately for me, I had a great team of supportive and encouraging people around me. The mentors I had there helped me learn and grow as a SuiteScript developer. I also took it upon myself to learn everything I could about JavaScript - listening to JavaScript podcasts, grabbing up JavaScript books, and reading everything under the sun from top-tier JavaScript developers like Addy Osmani, Paul Irish, and Nicholas Zakas.

After three months of studying, building, failing hard, and debugging, I started to feel like I knew what I was doing, like I could actually handle this.

I don't tell you any of this to brag; I tell you because if you're feeling lost, overwhelmed, and alone while learning SuiteScript, that's normal, and you're not alone! I feel it's worth stating again:

No one is born a great SuiteScript developer.

SuiteScript and software development are skills that you grow and cultivate over time. You can and will get better, faster, and more confident if you continue to study, create, and surround yourself with good mentors, wherever you can find them.

My primary goal with this ESS series, my coaching programs, and the rest of my services is to make learning SuiteScript less frustrating, faster, and more enjoyable. If you're feeling lost, alone, or frustrated in your SuiteScript journey, let's talk.