10 Tips Every New Coder Should Know to Succeed

08 Mar 2025 #career

I remember the first day of my first coding job.

It was over 10 years ago. I wore a long-sleeved shirt and fancy shoes. I brought a CD to install Visual Studio 2010. Yes, a CD. And yes, Visual Studio 2010.

After getting my corner and shaking hands, someone handed me a book. It was a book about SQL Server 2008. I read and googled for a couple of weeks until I got my first task. I was coming from Java and I needed to know C# in a few days.

My first task was to port a legacy ASP.NET WebForms app into a desktop app. I wrote Java code with C# keywords.

I had to figure out lots of things. Coding was the easy part. Everything else was the difficult part.

If you’re like me over 10 years ago, here are 10 tips you should know to succeed as a new coder—this is what I wish I knew back then:

1. Learn one basic coding skill

Learn to do one thing and do it well.

If you’re a frontend developer, practice turning a mockup into a webpage and calling existing API endpoints to make it work. Use React or Angular or whatever is the shiny thing these days.

If you’re a backend developer, practice writing API endpoints that validate user data, put it into a database, and read it back.

You’ll spend most of your time on those types of tasks.

2. Ask for help

When you get an error message (it will happen a lot), don’t simply send it over to a coworker.

Take the time to solve it on your own. Or at least, try. The first step? Google the same error message. Forget about AI for now. Only then, if you’re still stuck, ask a coworker, showing what you found and tried.

You’ll get more help if you show you tried rather than simply saying “help me.”

3. Ask questions

You’ll have to ask lots and lots of questions. Like a lot.

For me, everything was new at my first job. The coding part, the business domain, working on a corporate job…

Always ask why. Why this task? What’s the real problem? And why solve it now?

It’s better if you annoy people with questions than with mistakes from not asking.

4. Find good role models and mentors

A good mentor will make a huge difference in your career.

But don’t simply ask, “would you like to be my mentor?” Everybody will tell you no. Being a “mentor” implies commitment, most of the time, for free. Find alternative ways to be mentored.

Often, books are your best mentors too.

5. Be comfortable with the struggle

At the beginning, it sucks.

You feel like you don’t know anything. Everybody around you is way more competent. You go to bed while leaving something broken to wait for you the next day.

Take it step by step. It gets easier with time and effort. And the feeling of not knowing anything never goes away. You simply change the things you don’t know now with others.

Trust the process. The struggle is part of it.

6. Learn the right things at the right time

At the beginning, I tried to learn about everything at once.

I was into Python, learning C#, reading Clean Code, and keeping up with PHP…Lots of passion, without direction.

Coding isn’t simply one skill, but lots of subskills: language syntax, problem solving, databases, development practices…Tackle them one by one. Only move to the next skill once you understand one enough.

Remember you don’t need to know everything. And you don’t need to know everything at once either.

7. Learn to look for your own answers

University, bootcamps, and YouTube won’t teach you everything you need to know.

You have to read and study a lot. Like a lot! Nobody taught me about C#, version control, or unit testing…and on and on. I had to study them on my own.

Being a good coder also means being a lifelong learner.

8. Be willing to learn and follow instructions

As a new coder, you stand out by showing that you’re able to learn and follow instructions.

For example, when you ask for help (See #2), do or at least try doing what you’re being told.

9. Introduce yourself, network, and write CVs

It’s hard to land a job when you have almost 0 hours of flight time.

You don’t know many people. You don’t have much to show off on your CV. You have to resort to networking. Find clever ways to get an introduction.

Back in my day, I got my first job because I knew someone who knew someone. These days, I’d try starting with social media. Go with LinkedIn if you don’t know where to start.

And when you get an introduction, say you’re starting out and you’re willing to learn. See #8.

10. Real coding isn’t like University or bootcamps

In real life, often there’s no documentation, standard procedures, development workflows, or software methodologies. Or it’s more like a zombie methodology disguised as Agile. And on top of that, the existing code is a mess. Welcome to coding!

My last piece of advice: once you’re in a job, forget about the job description you read before joining. Learn and absorb everything you can, don’t be afraid to experiment. Embrace every opportunity to grow and challenge yourself. When your current role becomes second nature, it’s your signal to move one for new challenges. Never stop learning.

Just Some Code