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Discussion on: How to Successfully Onboard a Junior Developer

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shiroihana013 profile image
ShiroiHana013

What does a Junior developer do in a situation where they get handed a project and all other team members leave the company? :)

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kreopelle profile image
Kayla Reopelle

Oh, that's a tough one @shiroihana013 .

That sort of depends on why everyone else has left the company, but, let's assume the best and that you'd like to excel in this position with this project at this company.

This is not an ideal situation by any means. Leading up to getting this role as a developer, I'm sure you've had moments where you needed to take control of your education and work through tough problems. Working as a developer, you run into less-than-ideal situations all the time. Don't see this situation as any different.

Lean on your good judgment. If you don't feel like you're getting support internally, ask the developer communities you are a part of (Meetups and places like Dev are great to find additional mentors!)

Communication is key. If you're worried about delivering something by a pre-determined deadline, tell the stakeholders as soon as you notice something might not be going as planned. Though it's uncomfortable, being honest about your shortcomings may be the best solution so that everyone understands where the project is at, what they can expect, and when they can expect it.

As I see it, the main difference between a junior developer and those team members that left the company is the breadth of problems each developer has been exposed to.

Feeling alone on a project can sometimes be a fast track to expose yourself to lots of problems very quickly. Soak up everything you can as you rise to this challenge. The skills you acquire along the way will serve you well throughout your career.

Good luck! :)

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shiroihana013 profile image
ShiroiHana013

Yes, the project finished it's main development phase and we've entered more of a support phase. The other more experienced developers rolled off to new projects. I entered at a perfect time because updates aren't needed in a timely fashion. I've had a month now to read through the codebase and get a good understanding of how it works. I'm getting on a plane today to meet directly with the clients. So far I'm not doing too bad.