from Hacker News

Stop Being a Junior

by jack335 on 5/31/23, 11:20 AM with 23 comments

  • by dasil003 on 5/31/23, 2:56 PM

    > Welcome to the software development world" only to find out they've been working as a software developer for over a year and a half already.

    Ugh, you think 18 months is a long time? Programming is hard, just the technical part takes a lot of reps, but navigating the long term implications and social/business interfaces are what make the difference between an effective tech lead and an NNPP.

    Here’s a tip: stop worrying about labels. Spend a decade obsessively honing your craft. Think from first principles. Ask difficult questions. Move around and find the smartest programmers you can to learn from. Confidence comes from hard-won abilities, not playing mind games with yourself about titles.

  • by lucasyvas on 5/31/23, 2:25 PM

    Alright this is an OK-ish motivational piece to never let anyone put you in a box I guess...

    > In fact, I was just a step below architect in a quarter-billion dollar organization only 4 months after graduating from university.

    Oh, come on, Kent. Really? Can we qualify this guy's blog as spam yet?

  • by austin-cheney on 5/31/23, 11:32 AM

    I would also add: Don’t be an expert beginner. At some point you have to focus on solving real business problems as opposed to mastery of tool usage or configuration.

  • by ilrwbwrkhv on 5/31/23, 2:21 PM

    I feel this article is not very good. It focuses too much on externalities.

    One thing that I often find is that there is too much self doubt and impostor syndrome in the modern generation of kids and I think that is warranted.

    A big part of why they feel that way is because they haven't really thought how a computer works, haven't build large enough systems, haven't written enough code to understand why Uncle Bob and Clean Code are bad solutions.

    Once they start looking at hard skills instead of managing up or other things at the office, that's when I feel they will think and act like a senior.

    There is no way of shortcutting it. You have to pay your dues in terms of understanding why certain code is bad and certain code is good and that only comes with writing largish systems and testing your theories. Also build stuff outside of web dev.

    If you feel like a junior or have impostor syndrome, it might well be because you are one.

  • by nathias on 5/31/23, 11:35 AM

    If you are a good junior you already know most of the things you will know as a senior, the difference is you don't know that you know.

  • by sibit on 5/31/23, 3:27 PM

    This is just like, my opinion, man but I think titles are just food for our egos. I think developers should focus on two things: 1) doing work that you enjoy. 2) take a good long hard honest look at yourself and determine your value, then find an employer that agrees.

    The only advice from the article I liked was:

    > Even if it's just "hey, can I come sit in on that meeting?" Take notes for yourself of anything you're unfamiliar with and ask about those things later.

    I love sitting in on meetings just to take notes. Recently some Sr Developers and our DBA set up a weekly meeting to discuss overhauling our database schema and I asked to sit in. Even though most of what I heard aligned with what I already knew I still got a lot of value in just listening to other people's opinions. The DBA was a fountain of knowledge when it came to the nuances of using SQL Server.

  • by sublinear on 5/31/23, 11:55 AM

    > I felt like I had to leave the company I was with to get up to the level I wanted to be with. I probably could have managed it with the company I was already with if I had been more patient.

    Ah there it is. Nothing is more junior than seeking this advice.

  • by fedeb95 on 5/31/23, 12:05 PM

    not being junior doesn't mean being updated with any new, fast, shiny technology. Means having the right attitude toward the job and the matter. That, only experience gives. One year and a half, depending on the person, might be enough, but not for all.

  • by p0w3n3d on 5/31/23, 1:43 PM

    Sometimes you get to be a junior in a company that uses A,B,C but then you upgrade, move to another company, but they say that to be a senior, you're lacking your expertise in D,E,F. What then? Just jump 'til it fits?

  • by qprofyeh on 5/31/23, 2:04 PM

    There are more direct ways to convey a message. Article reads like humblebragging...

  • by azangru on 5/31/23, 12:01 PM

    I think you crashed his site y'all.