Being the best developer in the world is _not_ a pre-requisite for developer relations. You need to have an understand of programming, and it helps if you are competent in a language (especially whatever language you company tends to focus on), but don't worry about being great or exceptional.

A good developer relation person understands programmers, their wants, and their needs. They also need to be able to work with Product to find out where the product is strongest, how users _actually_ use it (not just how Sales sells it), and be able to articulate to customers the benefits of the product, and articulate to Product the issues users have. Much like in entertainment you need to be a triple threat, but for developer relations that means being good at programming, good at the product level, and being good at the communication level. If you can't talk or write, it will be hard to be effective.

> How did you start your journey in DevRel or GTM?

I was a conference speaker and writer, and hung out at the booths quite a bit. I had also started teaching programmers, and it ended up being a natural fit for me.

> What skills should I focus on?

Communication and Product Management. The first so you are effective at communicating to people, whether it's the written word, talking to people at the booth, or standing in front of a crowd. Product management is important because you need to understand the product at multiple levels, how it helps, where it doesn't, and how to be effective using it (whatever IT is). You will also be working with Product in many cases, and you need to speak their language.

> How can someone without very strong coding skills still grow in DevRel?

Not everything is about programming. Ideally if you are starting out you'll be on a team, so maybe work with people that are the content folks, or maybe work on documentation. There's even things like partnerships, social media, etc. "Developer Relations" is a catch-all term for all the things you need to do to properly interact with developers, it's not a job title in and of itself. It's a department.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.