I'm a month and a half into the job as a software engineer II, and I feel lost and scared. I'm scared that they will fire me because they think I'm incompetent. I'm working on a ticket that should take me a day to finish but it has taken me almost a week. I hate that I am always asking people for help, like today I asked for help to rebase my branch since I have never done it before. At my old job I was the guy that got things done, gathering requirements, designing and developing new features, and e.c.t. I didn't have any mentors at the old company and since it was a small company we didn't follow the industry standards, like code review or using git (we used svn). So everything we do here is new, except the development aspect. I guess what I want to know is, did anyone else ever feel this way and if so how did you over come, did anyone get fired because they are incompetent?
Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
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Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#2I feel this way every time I start a new job!
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#3What’s your title? If you’re junior then there should be a reasonable expectation that you will be learning a lot on the job.
Without more context it’s impossible to say you if you are actually incompetent. I’d say treat this as a fire under your ass. Invest money into courses and books that fill in gaps of your knowledge.
And it’s likely that your company would start a discussion about performance before any talks about layoff. And if those talks ever happen, you can explain that you are investing in learning xyz with books/courses.
Most likely, the company hired you knowing your skill level, and having a slow start is not too surprising. Don’t be afraid of asking stupid questions - because when you get afraid of asking stupid questions then you get completely paralyzed.. and then it becomes a vicious cycle.
Also.. the fact what’s it’s just the processes that are new to you is really quite minor! That’s all learnable with time!
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#4What’s your title? If you’re junior then there should be a reasonable expectation that you will be learning a lot on the job. Without more context it’s impossible to say you if you are actually incompetent. I’d say treat this as a fire under your ass. Invest money into courses and books that fill in gaps of your knowledge. And it’s likely that your company would start a discussion about performance before any talks a…
My title is software engineer II
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#5What’s your title? If you’re junior then there should be a reasonable expectation that you will be learning a lot on the job. Without more context it’s impossible to say you if you are actually incompetent. I’d say treat this as a fire under your ass. Invest money into courses and books that fill in gaps of your knowledge. And it’s likely that your company would start a discussion about performance before any talks a…
My title is software engineer II
The only person I’ve ever seen get fired due to incompetence was a mis-hire. Someone someone with junior level skills had the title of senior and it took them weeks or months to do basic tasks. They also had poor people skills. I honestly just don’t know how they got hired.
If you’ve got the dev skills that’s what matters the most. Leaning internal systems and dev processes is stuff you will pick up with time.
If git is slowing you down - invest your off hours in learning git. Likewise for anything else.
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#6Discuss most of this with your manager (or mentor.) (Everything except the quitting part.)
Chances are, it's normal and expected.
> I'm working on a ticket that should take me a day to finish but it has taken me almost a week
20 years into my career, that also happens to me when I start a new job. You're working with an unfamiliar codebase. It takes time to learn; especially if your assumptions are different than the assumptions made in the code.
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#7> I'm working on a ticket that should take me a day to finish but it has taken me almost a week
Check with your TL or Manager for the expectations.
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#8I wouldn’t think twice if it took a new teammate longer than expected on their first few tickets as long as they are communicating what is blocking them to the relevant stakeholders.
However a lack of basic Git skills (or struggling to quickly ramp up) for anyone above an entry-level engineering role would be a bit of a red flag. I’d fix that right away, but that may be my personal bias.
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#9You know what I love when someone new starts? When they tell me they feel like they’re moving too slow. It indicates introspection and a desire to improve. I you’re on a healthy team they should be expecting a ramp up period anyway, especially for someone learning both the domain and the tech stack.
You should really discuss with your manager. They should be able to set expectations and likely put you at ease. And if your manager isn’t encouraging and supportive, then it’s likely going to be a bad fit and you’ll be happier elsewhere.
Re: Ask HN: I started a new job and I'm scared
#10I wouldn’t think twice if it took a new teammate longer than expected on their first few tickets as long as they are communicating what is blocking them to the relevant stakeholders. However a lack of basic Git skills (or struggling to quickly ramp up) for anyone above an entry-level engineering role would be a bit of a red flag. I’d fix that right away, but that may be my personal bias.
Meh. Git is widespread but not everyone uses it.