Let’s face it - being a junior developer is anything but easy. Imposter syndrome kicks in multiple times a day, asking questions can be absolutely ...
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Unquestionably, the blame/responsibility is always the team and that's a good start.
The other part I try to foster, on top of this, is an ownership share in the system. Celebrate the first PR as their own, the first delivered feature, first code in production, first bug discovered/hunted, etc.
It's not a big celebration, but at least talk about it. Maybe buy them lunch and congratulate them on the milestone, if you're in the same location.
The backstop, though, is exactly what you mentioned. No one person breaks a system and no one person is to blame. The team deals with bugs and downtime together.
I'm really big on this.
Agreed. I felt like my first job was brutal because I felt like I was an and one than part of the team.
Didn't help that the other devs were a bit condescending at times.
These are important things to write about, thank you.
Another good thing you can help as a mentor is to ask junior developers how they think a problem should be solved, instead of immediately dictating how you think it should be solved.
This was so good for me to hear when I was just starting at a new job. Not only did it help me accept that you don't need to know everything to be a good dev, but it also helped the team show that they fostered a culture of humbleness and openess to learning.
Loved your article! Thanks for sharing your experiences and ideas on the issue.
As a struggling senior developer, I can't tell you how much of a joy it is to watch junior developers grow and "stretch." I personally believe that the benefits outweigh the effort when creating a great working environment for juniors, even if it might be tedious to the seniors. Kudos to you!
Along with the others, one I try to throw out:
I usually come back from lunch with some gem I casually toss over to him, and we have a quick intro convo about it. It's friendly. Nothing too heavy.
But what it IS usually falls into 1 of 2 categories:
He goes straight to Google (just like I did for the last 18 months lol), and... Idk... I hope it's a little jumpstart
Great article.
Well, while it's okay to admit that "I don't know", it's also important to keep in mind that junior developers may sometimes be hesitant to publicly do that. It's imperative, therefore, that senior developers keep reiterating that there's nothing wrong with not knowing something, and expressing the desire to explain it, or even exploring it together.
Before starting to work as a developer, I worked in a factory to make money for a new PC. This was an annoying time since my superior seemed condescending and pissed off at me every time he saw me.
Then I went to school and started working in a company as an intern and none of my superiors had such life-ruining behaviours. Empathy, respect, listening and trust were the norm. It was a thousand more enjoyable and motivating.
I still work for them btw :)
I think you explained very well these things. It's never easy to start after school in a totally different environment with stuff you never really saw at school. But having a team there to support you will allow you to progress much faster.
Thank you for your article. It's well written
Pauline, this was a great read! As a junior dev (right off bootcamp) in a male dominated startup I often feel the imposter syndrome. Thankfully, I have great co-workers who pretty much do most of what was mentioned in your article. I am really lucky that my teammates are people who are receptive to constructive criticism. Anyway just wanted to thank you for writing this article!
The most important thing I had to learn as a lead/senior was to give positive feedback as/more often than negative. Reinforcing what someone did was correct is worth more than pointing out where they are wrong. After all, there's an infinitude of ways to do something wrong, but only a few to do it right. Building those mental models is key.
Also, if people only interact with you when you're telling them they're wrong, they shut down when you approach.
Thank you for #5. I like hearing my coworkers admit that it’s okay to “not know.” I even blogged about the value of empiricism here: dev.to/cubiclebuddha/why-i-was-wro...
But I rarely say “I don’t now myself.” Thank you for reminding me of the importance of modeling the behavior that you want to see. :)
I honestly needed to hear/read this! It's definitely important that managers have standards in how they interact with junior developers. Good read 🎉
Thank you for including this. It’s so important for a cohesive team. Developers would be compelled to learn from seniors through collaborative efforts too.
I wish I started as a dev in a place you described.
When I got my first dev job I was the only worker there, working with a language I have learnt 3 months ago, using a framework I never I have used before. It was brutal: No way to know if what I was coding was right, no one to ask, no code reviews, help, nothing.
More people were hired. Now I could ask others but sometimes I feel like I shouldn't, by the way they answer me, like if I was asking if it was day or night.
People with less experience than me were recruited and I see the same. People with 15 years of experience baffled because people with 3 months of experience don't know what they do.
Empathy is very important. Companies lose workers because a lack of it.
This post does not apply only for a junior developer-friendly culture. To me it is for a developer-friendly culture in general. It is not necessary to be a junior. Joining a new company, no matter the position always makes you feel the imposter. In order to adopt what's new for you and feel welcomed, all of the above should be observed within the company culture.
My personal favorite is 3. Pair programming and debugging.
I agree! I've been trying to follow four steps when helping junior developers with some specific issue, I just go to the next if they still need help.
This is great. I will share it with my team.
I have been mentoring for a couple years now and I will offer this:
AWESOME article Pauline; thank you SO much for writing this. I've been coding for around 30 years now and it's refreshing to re-visit these wise principles. I, TOO, needed to hear them again and remind myself.
👏👏👏thanks!
I have yet to go through the full post but after reading the first couple of paragraphs, this completely speaks to me! I'm only in my 2nd month and imposter syndrome is raining down hard on me. Only junior dev in a small core team at a startup!
Empathy and respect, I agree with you on this point. If junior developers are given proper respect, it will help them to grow as a developer.
Thank you for the article! It´s making me think about the "strecht zone".
thank you for sharing, this makes me touched
Thanks for sharing. I am a junior developer myself and I find most of your contents agreeable.
not in this company. senior sits on my chair fix issues smash enter button and then leaves. lools