Ask HN: What are some common traps that junior engineers fall into?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706331

by elvinyung • 8 years ago

7 4 8 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

randomerr• 8 years ago

Trying to use the latest, greatest new methods. You'll have to balance when to fight for the new ideas with when sticking with old tried and true methods. A lot of times its turns into political game instead of a technological challenge.

itamarst• 8 years ago

1. Asking for help too soon - you don't learn enough. Asking for help too late - you've wasted time. To avoid, set a timebox: https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/12/07/asking-for-help/

2. Thinking their job is to write code, when really it's to solve problems. https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/07/10/stop-writing-softwar...

3. Falling into dichotomies of good code vs. bad code. It's all about goals and situation. https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/11/07/no-such-thing-as-bad...

cprk83• 8 years ago

I think it's important to take your time. Learning to code software require patience and perseverance. It's important to experiment on your own and learn where the pitfalls are.

Another problem junior coders have is not knowing what to name things. Coding is just as much about writing code others understand as it is about writing correct code.

Finally, I'd consider self-doubt as one of the big obstacles. Your colleagues may seem so much better simply because they've worked on a large code base longer. This ties into my first point-- if you are patient, you will also learn the code base and become proficient at it.

cimmanom• 8 years ago

Worrying about code quality more than business value.

Thinking because it works the code is good enough.

Ask HN: What are some common traps that junior engineers fall into?

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