Five lessons after five years as a software developer

19 Aug 2019 #career

Five years of experience. Two companies. Two roles. These are 5 lessons I learned after my first five years as a software engineer.

1. You are not your code

Don’t judge someone by his code. Don’t take it personally. You could miss professional connections or friendships by judging someone by his code.

Assume everyone does his best with the resources he has. There always will be different opinions on how to do things. In the future, you will have one about your current work!

2. Coding is not the only thing

Collaboration is key. You won’t be locked in a basement coding. You will have to talk to clients, conduct meetings, agree on estimations, and ask for help.

In the beginning, I only wanted to code. I didn’t attend meetings, answer phone calls, or even reply to emails. I had to learn there’s more than only source code.

3. You don’t have to feel miserable

Change jobs when you feel your life is miserable or wasted because you woke up and realized you have to go to work or to that particular place.

Find a way to motivate yourself. Start a side project, learn a new stack, discover a new way of doing your work. Or, update your CV and LinkedIn profile and move on.

4. Bus syndrome: Don’t have hero developers

I know, I know! It feels great when you were the one who saved the day. But, if you are the only one who can solve some type of issue or know how a component works, then it will make you indispensable. And, therefore, irreplaceable.

If you’re a hero, you can’t get sick, go on vacations, or be promoted. Don’t be a hero. Be a team player.

Take every chance to share what you know and mentor juniors in your team.

5. Have a minimum viable product ASAP

A beautiful website or mobile app can make a huge difference. But, start small with finished core features and iterate on that.

In the beginning, you will have to set up the system through scripts or do some manual configuration. It’s better to demo an entire feature with an unpolished UI than a very awesome UI that does simply nothing.

Voilà! Those are my five lessons. Yours might be different. Interested in more career lessons? Check my lessons on remote work and the things I wished I knew before becoming a software engineer.

Happy coding!