Chronicles Of a Junior Developer

Fresh from graduate school or code school, ready to face the world out there and probably handle new challenges. You’re “Skilled”, probably already have a pre-defined salary scale, a number of booming IT companies you want to be deployed to, and all the dreamy ideas of a fantastic future you going to have.

But Oh Boy! does the shock hit you, or does it? you get out there and you realize that you were not prepared to face the world at all. Your skill confidence is pressed back to the ground level. You apply for jobs, but the companies are looking for developers with a number of years of experience. You try Startups but realize you don’t know much on how to sustain one. You realize that you were not well prepared for the world out there and that all is not sunshine and daisies. There’s a lot of stuff to learn. As a Junior dev, there are things not taught in school that you need to learn on your own.

Technology is a spinning wheel, you need to spin with it as well. You can’t afford to be complacent. At times you have to deal with the pain of being unemployed, undervalued or being in an environment that does not offer you structures to improve yourself and you risk being dormant. you feel like your life is in limbo and you’re in some constant loophole and everyone else seems to be making it but you. The thing is how do you get out of this constant loophole.

Getting out of school and straight into technology can be a bit overwhelming at times. You’ll go through struggles before finding your feet and confidence again. Things are going to be jumbled up, daunting, and unknown at times. You are going to be tempted to do things that don’t align with your career out of desperation. at some point, you might be depressed, why? because everything seems overwhelming all of sudden. You’ve been to school learning and now the society expects a lot from you.

Have a goal

As a junior software developer You need to have it in mind that when you have a goal when you have a vision or something that shows what you expect in five or so years' time, life becomes easier. Don’t just drift aimlessly, don’t just take any job because you want to work. if it's not in alignment with your career vision it’s gonna derail you. I know most won’t agree with this point but trust me knowing what you want is important for your growth. Have a purpose!

Be Optimistic

Stay off negativity and negative people(Misery loves company), always see the possibilities it everything. Don’t throw self-pity party when things get tough. Nobody said it was easy just like nobody told you it was going to be hard either. Push yourself. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “everything is impossible until someone does it.” Be that someone and push yourself as much as you can.

Hard work pays off

Arnold Schwarzenegger says there’s no magic out there, no magic pill, no way around to success(not even Corrupt ways coz, in the end, you will have to pay for it). Read that codebook, create time write that code, push your progress to GitHub, contribute to open source as much as you can. Do code reviews. Don’t ever for a moment doubt yourself. Take those little steps. They're going to pay off no matter how long it takes. because you know at the end of it there’s a win.

No safety nets, we’re naturally wired to function best when we don’t have a safety net(fallback option). Fallbacks derail you from the main goal coz you are always thinking if this doesn’t work then I have a fallback option. A real-life example is if you are thrown in a river full of crocodiles and you want to get out alive, the only thing in your mind will be how to get out alive no fallback option coz that means if you ain’t alive then automatically you’re dead. Point is don’t cut yourself off from the chance of really succeeding.

It’s okay to fail, you’re going to write code, massive code and you’re not always going to get things right. You will get to realize that” a bug is never a mistake.it represents something bigger. An error of thinking. that makes you who you are.” That’s why we have platforms like Stack Overflow, make use of them. ask questions, seek clarity often. That’s how we grow, that’s how we learn. Kelly Vaughn tweeted sometime back “Hey junior devs, want to know a secret? the longer you’re in your programming career, the more you realize everyone is just making it up as they go.we just learn how to use google better.” Success is not a straight line curve. Don’t fail and get frozen. fail and get up coz that’s what is important.

Lastly, "If you are looking for a JOB, do not look for a big company. Look for a company with a big commitment to its employees." Don’t let the number of years of experience scare you off from applying for a job. Most of the time companies end up looking at your potential, curiosity, attitude, and your willingness to learn new things(coz definitely it tech you can’t rely on knowledge you acquired 10years ago only, be flexible baby!).

Life is moving fast and so is Tech. YOU CAN’T BE LEFT BEHIND!

“Be teachable, you’re not always right. never stop learning”~Jeannice W. Hall