A retrospective look at what I learned as a coding boot camp graduate transitioning out of his first year of his first programming job
Mistakes
I’ve worked in finance, accounting, hospitality, education and now tech. No matter the industry or the role, mistakes are inevitable. We can do our best to minimize them through training, preparation but ultimately it comes down to real-life experience.
Each mistake certainly comes with its own level of severity but the mistake isn’t as significant as bouncing back and learning from the mistake. What differs tech from the other industries when it comes to mistakes is the fact that there are limitations and restrictions a system admin or dev can place on others working on a project or within a system. If a detrimental mistake occurs, it definitely highlights the vulnerabilities of the system(s) involved. Even if you’re able to execute such a devastating mistake, there should be protocols in place to recover or to fix the mistake. Otherwise, again, it brings to light the vulnerability and should be made known to those managing the system.
I’ve made mistakes and learned from them. Then I’d ensure I didn’t make the same recent mistakes and sometimes make the same mistake from a while ago. There are many certain aspects to writing the perfect code for your team and organization that it can be overwhelming to try to perfect it in one-go. Thankfully there are code reviews! Whether they’re done as a group, one-on-one, or via a pull request. We can strive for perfection but few of us are perfect. Actively doing your best is what counts in my book.
Know the boundaries
I had a colleague whom always said, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Going into your first programming job you’re probably aware that you’ll be working as a team on projects and tasks. You know you’ll be pair programming, giving and taking advice and sharing thoughts on approaches and possible solutions. I knew this going in as well. What I wasn’t aware of were lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
I was hired with another dev, so we started on the same day and were both fresh out of a coding boot camp. We set out on similar tasks and consulted each other on them. It was going well and we were making progress together. I contributed a commit of changes to their remote branch as a fellow teammate under the assumption we were working together and wasn’t aware they had a sense of ownership of the work and ended up crossing a line. I learned that no matter how closely you’re working together with another dev, each dev has a sense of ownership of a task and especially of a remote branch they created. From that day forward I always confirmed whether or not it was ok to contribute to others’ branches despite how side-by-side we were working together.
Obviously knowing your boundaries applies to any part of the job — whether it’s during code review, retros, planning, stand-ups or any cooler chat. Knowing when to speak up and what to say or how to say something is crucial to having a constructive team.
Balance
You’re starting your first programming job out of coding boot camp and suffer from imposter syndrome. You’re overwhelmed by having to learn their tech stack. You’re faced with having to prove to those who hired you that they were right in hiring you over the other candidates. You meet new people from different walks of life and experienced devs on the job. What’s your stress level like?
How do you start approaching getting used to your new role and environment? Maybe you start with breaking tasks up and tackling them one by one at your own pace. Maybe you’re panicking internally and/or externally too and throw yourself into catch-up mode. Maybe you’ve got tunnel vision on work. Maybe you’re a natural with dealing all these challenges at once. Maybe you’re the social type and sluggishly accomplishing your work.
There’s no one right way to approach this sort of situation. Personally, I had tunnel vision and focused on work under the pressure I put on myself to prove myself to everyone and to myself. All to contribute what I could as soon as possible. I continued that way for a year and more. I came in around 10 and left around 6 or 7. I worked though most lunches. While some may call it admirable, it placed me in a minute minority at my former workplace.
My work ethic ostracized me from my colleagues. Being on the introverted spectrum, I felt more at ease passing on social events outside of work to recharge my batteries. I wasn’t dismissive, nor was I overly engaging. I took advantage of the open culture and acceptance of diverse peoples and took things at my own pace to lessen my burdens and to be able to properly accomplish my work.
There is no right approach, but this wasn’t the proper approach either. Perhaps it was the overwhelming anxiety and imposter syndrome at work. Perhaps it was the lack of diversity. Perhaps it was my lack of voicing my personal troubles. Perhaps the questions asked weren’t the right ones. There are many factors but what is clear is that everyone needs a balance between work and the social aspects of work.
Work-life balance was and probably still is a term that gets thrown around. As I started out working after college graduation in a professional setting, it was easy to split work and life and I strove to find the perfect balance for me. As an extrovert, it was easier being able to balance the social aspects of work and the work itself. As an extrovert, it was easier being able to split work and life; it helped that my role at the time consisted mostly of daily tasks. As a former extrovert and a current introvert, it’s funny how it can effect your life. Equilibrium is something everyone needs. If it’s not the norm, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. You do you. You live your best life. You find your balance.
Mentors
I’ve read and heard from others that having a mentor is beneficial and helpful for one’s career and I’ve always agreed, but personally it can be difficult to find a fitting mentor. To me, a mentor is someone who is experienced, understands, listens and can give appropriate and constructive feedback and advice. The latter is most significant to me.
It’s difficult in this industry because everyone gets to their standing in different manners. The traditional way was to get a CS college degree and perhaps even a related Masters as well and then entering the workforce with these credentials. Then there are those who transition from a similar profession. And recently you have people without any credentials picking the trade up from online resources or from coding boot camps and the like.
When you’re in school earning your credentials, you build a network of seniors and possible mentors through clubs and similar associations, internships and senior classmates. If you’re in a similar profession, it’s relatively simple to use internal networks and your proximity to meet people and build a network. And if you’re in a coding boot camp, the school can have some networks you can tap into.
The first two sort of network-building is more succinct and concentrated whereas the latter can be quite wide and varied. With such a wide network of resources and possible mentors, you will get a variety of advice. And just like the phrase, “Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen,” this can be confusing and conversely harmful. There’s no doubt having a mentor is more beneficial than not, but it doesn’t help when A says something and B says the opposite or something contradictory.
Mentors, especially for coding boot camp graduates without prior CS education or certifications are critical. I’m speaking as someone without a mentor. I believe a mentor can help you navigate what kind of career path you want. Not only what you want but the methods in which you can progressively achieve your goals. Without such guidance, you could be like me wandering aimlessly. Find the right mentor for you!
Communication
It’s pretty obvious but communication is key for any role. I’ve never had any trouble with communication in any other job before. But it’s a possibility when you work with a team.
Communication takes at least 2 parties and one has to be actively listening and not just hearing and the other must be speaking in a manner the other can comprehend. Without both conditions misunderstandings can arise and can lead to further complications when you’re working towards a deadline. Being able to pick up on the social cues and read the party you’re speaking to and adjust your manner of speaking and/or the approach of explanation is key. It’s a skill that takes time and active participation to master.
On this topic, there are also one-on-ones or 1:1s — regularly scheduled meetings with your manager. They’re blocks of time allowing you time to discuss you, your career path, the company and to mitigate any potential issues with the team or company. This isn’t the best description, but I recently came across this and it’s a great resource.
Personally in any social gathering if someone asked me a vague question, I’d answer with a vague reply. You can count on that. My brain just works like that. With that said, in a 1:1 the same would happen. How are you; What’s on your mind; How’s everything with you? I’d give you a simple and brief yet vague response. It isn’t something that sparks much thought in my opinion. Which is why I find Ben Horowitz’s post very enlightening! Specific questions to help draw out the discussions beneficial to the dev and for the manager.
During the meeting, since it’s the employee’s meeting, the manager should do 10% of the talking and 90% of the listening. Note that this is the opposite of most one-on-ones. — Ben Horowitz
Without a mentor nor productive one-on-ones, I still feel like I don’t have a grasp or a feel for what my career path should look or feel like. There are a ton of resources out there and they can be used as a guide, but we are uniquely different and how we approach similar goals in various scenarios vary. It is a dilemma I find difficult navigating on my own. Communication in all manners are vital for you and for your team and organization. Let’s actively participate to avoid issues and pave forward with smiles on our faces!
