10 things to remember as a Software engineer
I have been working in the software industry for more than 3.5 years. And from my tinny experience as a software engineer, I will shed light on few points that I think developers should keep in their mind.
1. Fight impostor syndrome
Impostor syndrome is very common in tech industry. It’s a feeling that tells you that your peers/colleagues know far more than you. Deep inside you feel down and frightened. You suffer from chronic self-doubt. You show less confidence while giving any technical opinion to your team mates. But to be honest, in the tech industry it is not possible for any one to know everything right? And when you see someone with greater expertise, try to learn from them. Don’t let impostor syndrome let you down.
2. Don’t just get the things done
when you have a job you must be assigned with some tasks every now and then. We are given a deadline and we have to deliver it within that. It will be a common tendency to just get the things done anyhow. You might copy paste existing solution without understanding how the solution is actually working. But don’t just get the things done anyhow. Throughout the process try to understand how the solution is working even if the solution is not yours, you just copy-pasted it from another source.
3. Don’t be a typewriter
Whenever any senior engineer or architect tells you to implement a solution ask yourself how that solution is solving the problem. Try to understand the broad domain. Don’t be a typewriter who writes some code as instructed. Try to feel how they have come out with this solution. What they considered, what they filtered out. Why they do that! how they do that!
4. Seniors can be wrong!
Don’t just blindly follow your senior’s instructions. Remember seniors don’t know everything. Sometimes their solution, design or architecture may have flaws. Whenever they give you some architectural decision try to rethink over it. If you find any flaws or a better and efficient solution just speak out! Reach them. Try to explain them logically why your solution is better. It’s a very important skill! Don’t hesitate! Either they will accept your solution and you will get the credit or they will refuse and explain you the cons of your solution. In both cases you are the winner! Right?
5. Don’t miss the forest for the trees
If you only focus on trees you will never know how the forest looks like! Most of the time you will only work on a specific module of the project but don’t miss the big picture. Try to understand how the whole project is actually working. You need to understand how different modules are connected and working together. I know sometime it will be difficult specially when you are working in a legacy system but try to get as much as possible from that.
6. Read code of others
A good writer reads more than he writes. To be a good software engineer you need to read code of others. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn new things. When you are reading others code you are actually going through their thought process. I personally try to review pull requests as much as possible because by reviewing others code I might learn something new. It could be a new syntax or a new design pattern that I didn’t know before!
7. Don’t build the bridge with one pillar
This is actually my personal opinion. You may disagree with me. I don’t prefer building a bridge with only one pillar. You might be working with a very specific technology but I think you should also explore other technologies! Technology changes very fast and who knows the technology you are working with may become obsolete in near future!
8. Invest on yourself for yourself!
When I was a student I always looked for free things! Free software, free e-books, free online courses etc. But sometime you need to spend some money for yourself. It’s an investment not an expenditure! If you find a course didactic and if it causes you some money, just invest it if you can afford. By investing few dollars if you can sharpen your skills or learn some new skills then what is stopping you? Remember it’s an investment not an expenditure!
9. Life starts outside of your comfort zone
Don’t pigeonhole yourself with works you feel comfortable doing! This is a common tendency of our brain actually. Did it ever happen to you that you were trying to understand a complex topic and suddenly the empty wall became more interesting to you? Yes we always want to stay in our comfort zone. But if you don’t step out of your comfort zone you will not grow! Learning new things can be hard but this how we grow! Right?
10. Study, study and study!
In tech field no matter how much experience you have, you are too young to stop study! Always keep yourself updated. Read blogs, watch online seminars, read books, attend workshops. Do whatever enriches you.
Thanks for reading the article. If you find above points useful don’t forget to clap. If you have different opinion please comment. I would love to know what you think.