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Got my first offer for a developer position and I start in a month. A lot of hard work has finally paid off and I can't wait to start. Any words of advice or wisdom?

Comments
  • 7
    I'm about to lose control
    And i think i like it
  • 5
    Don't let them exploit you.have it in written or in some official proof about what you will be doing in the internship and what not.
    Sometimes these companies try to be over-smart, saying we got just "1" project for you and you end up making a complete amazon.com like project for them...

    Congratulations again
  • 5
    Don't be afraid to ask the senior dev's if you get stuck, they were junior once too. That said, do have a quick look and see if you can find the answer for your self first.
  • 2
    don't be evil.

    be kind, respectfull. don't ask anything before you did a 5min research yourself.

    ++ for the tags
    ...THX for the earwig
  • 1
    Once you go far, don't treat juniors like shit. And don't burn out
  • 1
    Try not to worry. They know what you are capable of and won't expect you to know everything.
  • 3
    Communication is key.

    Don't accept huge complicated tasks to prove yourself, focus on some small bugs for example, and fix them perfectly.

    Keep studying, really dive into the project & tech stack during the first few weeks.

    Try to stick around for "just the right time". Too short and it might look weird on your resume. Too long and you'll miss out on opportunities, because better offers will come along.

    Identify something they're using badly and you would like to become an expert in — things like unit testing, database design/optimization and deployment pipelines are often good candidates for example. You'll be the guy who everyone thinks of when a unit test saves them.

    Be friendly about the areas the company is lacking in. Don't get angry every day that they're not using git, don't trample on everyone's toes. Work on a plan to fix it in a way that eases people into the solution.
  • 1
    My biggest flaw is always that I get too passionate about the health of the product, about keeping bugs away, delivering features, productivity and clean code...

    Those are all super important, but don't forget that the primary metric people judge you by is whether you're communicative, easy going, and fun to work with.
  • 1
    As yet another newbie, what kind of process did you take to get that first gig?
  • 1
    Always set realistic expectations, sprints are your friend.
  • 3
    @Razzmatazz

    1. Add skills to LinkedIn
    2. Open source / Github contributions
    3. Make some websites for family/friends/locals
    4. Make portfolio with personal projects.
    5. Write about your projects on medium.

    If you aren't chased to death by recruiters but want to advance your development career, consider moving, 10-30km outside of a Hipster City so you can live cheaply but still travel comfortably to the local "silicon valley" area.
  • 2
    Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate that you took the time to answer.
    @bittersweet
  • 2
    I pretty much followed what @bittersweet said. I worked my butt off and studied/wrote code every night I also got a job with the organization in a different IT position to get my foot in the door and then worked hard to stand out. Then I met with every developer on the team long before a position opened up and asked them what I needed to study to be an ideal candidate. They were awesome and more than willing to share their knowledge @Razzmatazz
  • 1
    I always have trouble setting realistic expectations. Also is this the Jesse I use the play Pathfinder with? @jesse-bryant
  • 1
    @bittersweet thank you for taking the time to answer, all of that is great and not stuff I would ordinarily think of
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