Advice I Wish I Knew as a Junior Developer

Advice I Wish I Knew as a Junior Developer | Not Hacker News!

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Based on 9 community responses

As a junior developer, it's common to feel overwhelmed by the amount of new information and technologies to learn. One key piece of advice is to focus on building a strong foundation in programming fundamentals, such as data structures, algorithms, and software design patterns. This will serve as a solid base for learning more specialized technologies and frameworks. Additionally, don't be afraid to ask questions and seek help from more experienced colleagues or online communities.

Key Takeaways

Focus on building a strong foundation in programming fundamentals
Don't be afraid to ask questions and seek help from others
Prioritize learning data structures, algorithms, and software design patterns

Discussion (9 comments)

Showing 9 comments

AznHisoka

3 months ago

1 reply

I echo the importance on working on legacy code. I think the ability to work on legacy code, and figuring out how to make changes to or refactor it is one of the hallmarks of an excellent developer in my eyes. It shows they’re resilient enough to not get discouraged easily.

If a junior developer complains about legacy code, or just gives up, it shows they’re resilient enough just won’t put the work in when things get hard

raheelrjunaid

3 months ago

I agree! Your sentiment reminds me of ThePrimegean's time at Netflix and how he said he got good at the stuff nobody wanted to get good at.

vman512

3 months ago

2 replies

my advice: treat debugging as your core competency. When you get stuck, avoid asking for help until you've tried pretty hard to solve it yourself. If your any of your peers gets stuck with an interesting problem, go help if you have spare time

GoToRO

3 months ago

and hide that fact from your managers because apparently managers think you should ask for help as soon as you get stuck...

raheelrjunaid

3 months ago

Yep, it would be annoying if every junior/intern I was mentoring asked for help without attempting to at least Google it first.

Although, on the other end is people that spend way too much time attacking the problem with limited context, and then asking for help after the day is almost done.

mooreds

3 months ago

1 reply

Fun article! Lots of good points, each of which could be their own article. I did something similar[0] a few years back.

Author, if you feel inspired, would love to have you expand these and share the results.

For example, what are good ways to maintain relationships? When, if ever, should you let a relationship wither? Another example: what is a good way to get familiar with legacy code? What even is legacy code?

0: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/

raheelrjunaid

3 months ago

Very cool, thank you for sharing and for the feedback! I purposely left it to the reader to figure out the "how" since my goal was to answer the "what" and the "why." Most people figure out the how through experience. "All it takes is a little push."

For your examples, I maintain relationships by checking in every month or so by text or LinkedIn. The only relationships withered are those I've intentionally broken, not forgotten about.

Legacy code is stuff that nobody wants. Whether because its slow, the programming language is dead, the patterns are outdated, etc. I get familiar with legacy code the same way I get familiar with regular code: reading a lot of it and filling any gaps I see.

crossroadsguy

3 months ago

I wish someone had told me: “Work just for money. Everything else is hogwash. Period.”

horns4lyfe

3 months ago

Write LinkedIn style slop posts I guess

View on Hacker NewsHN ID: 45405125Classification: qa

Advice I Wish I Knew as a Junior Developer

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