What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Career as a Software Developer

The page collects career advice for software developers starting out. It argues for learning on the job, managing your own progress, understanding workplace politics, and balancing ambition with self-protection.

Reading notes

#

• Learn beyond assigned tasks, read papers and books, and build fundamentals one day at a time.
• Take responsibility for your own education and advancement; if promotion does not appear after a few years, changing jobs is often the better move.
• Avoid both under-performance and over-performance, since the second can create extra work and unwanted attention.
• Do not ask for permission unless the risk is real; if the task fits your level and carries limited loss, just do it.
• Do not apologize for using your own time or acting autonomously, because that frames you as needing more supervision.
• Learn the politics of software development, since technical decisions, staffing, and timing are shaped by it.
• Do not try to prove bosses wrong by sacrificing weekends for a project they do not truly support.
• Do not fight other people’s battles, because young employees usually lack power and will be seen as crusaders rather than allies.
• Stop sorting every workplace situation into “good” or “bad”; use the conditions you get instead of reacting emotionally.
• Avoid stepping back on salary unless becoming a founder or making a justified move to a lower-cost or different field.
• Exercise, since it affects health, confidence, sex life, poise, and productivity.
• Long hours can make sense for work that compounds, but they are usually harmful when they just extend grunt work.
• Separate core technical trends from buzzwords, since many fads fade while fundamentals like linear algebra and functional programming remain useful.
• Keep studying as an adult, because great technical growth still takes sustained effort after school.