As juniors, we must understand our self-worth and know that we take lower salaries because it should be compensated with options to learn and grow, and of course to have a mentor that we can pester day-in-and-day-out with all of the naïve questions that they once had themselves.
You're not a "junior." That word should be banned from job titles.
I think when you say "self-worth" you mean "value to your employer." Your value as perceived by the employer might be less or more. Your self-worth shouldn't change regardless of your employer or lack of one.
Companies should provide some form of mentorship. Many, perhaps even most, don't. Even though it makes sense, expecting it might limit our options. Many companies adopt a "sink or swim" attitude without really understanding how pointless that is. If they don't want to help new developers learn then they probably shouldn't hire them in the first place.
If a company does provide mentoring you still have to watch out because your mentor could be a horrible developer who's been doing it wrong for ten years and can't wait to tell you how wrong everything you read on all those stupid blogs is. It could be this fictional developer.
There is no experience quite like being a new developer and having the senior, "experienced" person tell you with absolute confidence something that you know is fundamentally wrong, and then do it again and again. It's a horrible position to be in because you feel that as a new developer you're not qualified to judge their skills. But despite their years and job title you realize that they don't know what they're talking about. And they're mentoring you. Now you've got to carefully weigh everything they say to figure out what's right and what's not. (Admittedly you should double-check what people tell you anyway.) That person can slow your growth.
Whether we're starting off or not, most jobs and companies aren't the way they should be. We're a giant mess. When I read that back it doesn't sound constructive or helpful. It isn't, unless it lowers our expectations until we don't have any. Okay, now I'm just sad.
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I have to nitpick a little bit with this:
Companies should provide some form of mentorship. Many, perhaps even most, don't. Even though it makes sense, expecting it might limit our options. Many companies adopt a "sink or swim" attitude without really understanding how pointless that is. If they don't want to help new developers learn then they probably shouldn't hire them in the first place.
If a company does provide mentoring you still have to watch out because your mentor could be a horrible developer who's been doing it wrong for ten years and can't wait to tell you how wrong everything you read on all those stupid blogs is. It could be this fictional developer.
There is no experience quite like being a new developer and having the senior, "experienced" person tell you with absolute confidence something that you know is fundamentally wrong, and then do it again and again. It's a horrible position to be in because you feel that as a new developer you're not qualified to judge their skills. But despite their years and job title you realize that they don't know what they're talking about. And they're mentoring you. Now you've got to carefully weigh everything they say to figure out what's right and what's not. (Admittedly you should double-check what people tell you anyway.) That person can slow your growth.
Whether we're starting off or not, most jobs and companies aren't the way they should be. We're a giant mess. When I read that back it doesn't sound constructive or helpful. It isn't, unless it lowers our expectations until we don't have any. Okay, now I'm just sad.