Advice I Wish I Knew as a Junior Developer

9 hours ago

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Coding is the easy part; planning, teamwork, and politics are challenging.
Work with legacy code instead of trying to replace it to make an impact.
Underpromise and overdeliver by giving realistic timelines.
Promotions come from relationships and people vouching for you, not just good work.
Everything built is temporary; aim for 'enough' rather than 'perfection'.
Work publicly to be recognized as an expert in your field.
Focus on small, frequent contributions rather than one big thing.
Question decisions and seek mentorship when stuck, but pick your battles wisely.
Certify your knowledge by shipping code or presenting it to others.
Scope your work appropriately—do your job, not more or less.
Avoid assumptions in planning tickets (Spikes); test and document findings.
Follow YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) and abstract only when necessary.
Make debugging easier by understanding data flow and avoiding pitfalls like global variables.
Don’t work on weekends unless necessary; prioritize work-life balance.

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