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Every time I tell a more senior dev I need help, they tell me to try the obvious things, I tell them I tried those things already, and they think I must have just done it wrong. So they spend an hour explaining to me how to do something I literally just did, and then more time trying the exact same things I just tried. Nobody wins.

Except for me when I find the correct solution while they’re re-implementing the failed solutions because nobody trusted me.

Sadly, this happens all the time. “Did you try a and b?” “Yeah, no luck.” “Okay, so when you try a, you have to remember to call c and d. Let me explain...”

So much wasted time. But the silver lining is in getting to be the one who found the solution (until they wonder ‘why’d she even come to me anyway if she knew the answer?’ ... 🙄) Because I trusted you to know what “team” means, and it’s not too late to learn ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Comments
  • 3
    I go to seniors as a last resource. Most of seniors feels very annoyed when asked for help. Although times are wasted, it's a good way to learn new stuffs.
  • 4
    @tahnik Which is why I expect them to trust that I’ve done the obvious, basic stuff. Get on my level and tell me what you’d try if all else failed 🤓 what kind of a team mentality is it to reject the premise that I’ve tried the ‘all else’?

    Gotta remember to keep humble when I’m a senior dev... It helps absolutely no one to act this way to a teammate, even themselves. We’d all be happier if we got down to the nitty gritty right away, and it’d be over sooner.
  • 2
    The problem imho, is that there are those who jump to asking instead of trying to solve stuff themselves. I see it happen all the time, as a senior I would be annoyed as well, with time they should learn that you are not one of those. Although maybe you just need a coding companion to explain the issue and help you visualize it better
  • 3
    I have people ask me for help and my approach is usually based on the previous times I helped them.

    If I asked them if they did a and b, they always say yes. First time I assume they did and solve problem.
    If it turns out the problem was because they didn't do a and b, next time I am very weary when they tell me have done this and usually quickly double-check that they really did before continuing.
    Imagine you spent half an hour fixing their issue and it turns out it was the very basic 1 minute issue.

    Otherwise if it is someone who always does their due diligence I jump immediately to the more complex solutions, assuming they did the basic steps. Step through in debugger, etc.
  • 1
    crazy... experiencing it often
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