Stop Being a Junior

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.

> 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.

I'm glad I wasn't alone in feeling frustrated while reading this article. I just passed the year mark after switching careers; the clouds are parting and I'm beginning to tackle more complex tasks with my ever-growing experience and wisdom, but "What do senior developers do in your company? Do that instead of the things junior developers do. That's it." is absurd.

If you're getting bored with the menial tasks that you're being given, ask your boss if they think you're ready to handle more complex work -- jumping in the middle of projects way over your head in an effort to pretend you aren't a junior dev is foolish.

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.