A: I have used Firebase, Google Cloud Platform, Google Cloud Functions, Google Maps Platform, Angular, Google Cloud Run.

As part of my previous job, our whole infrastructure was built in Firebase, using Cloud Firestore, and Google Cloud Functions used for microservices and also for custom Firestore queries. We also used a combination of Google Cloud Run and Cloud Storage for scheduled backups. In a previous position, I used the Google Maps JS API, which now has evolved into so much more as part of the Google Maps Platform. Today, I build demos and POCs mostly in my free time. I use the Google Maps Platform which I love so much. My current role does not involve Google tools at the moment.

A: My favorite tool by far is Firebase. I love the robustness and reliability that it offers in developing and publishing a web application. It offers a solution for every part of the process, be it the backend, storage, database, microservices, hosting, authentication, even analytics. All in one place, easy to use and implement. What is also amazing with Firebase is the scalability that it offers. I would opt to use Firebase whether it is a small demo app I am building for a conference, or a large scale application which involves a huge user base, data, and hits per second.

My second favorite tool is, of course, the Google Maps Platform. Maps excite me, and the Google Maps Platform offers much more than visualizing data on a map - which it does in an amazing way. It has become almost a game engine, in a way, providing access to so many different APIs and features of the map itself for the user to tweak.

A: I have used Firebase and the Google Cloud Platform to build and ship applications. A few years ago, a couple of friends and myself had an idea that we turned into a product, which we built and scaled solely using the Google Cloud Platform, and specifically the following features: Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, BigQuery, Maps Platform, Authentication. That’s all you really need to build any app today.

A: Be social: Connect with other people by going to on-site conferences. And always be kind.

Continue skill-building: Build small apps and demos to test out different things, and see how they work. Don’t worry about learning all technologies, and don’t “marry” one technology, either. Get a solid foundation of the basics (JavaScript/TypeScript), and then, at your new job, you will learn the technologies they are using there.

Finally, don’t get discouraged by bad days! If you love what you do, you’ll get there in the end, no matter what!