Four lessons I learned from my former senior engineer
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
As a junior developer, my growth has been greatly influenced by the wisdom imparted by experienced senior developers. Their mentorship and invaluable lessons have shaped my development skills and paved the way for a successful career. In this article, I will share four lessons I've gained from my senior colleagues that have transformed my approach to producing production ready code.
Problem solve in your language first
One invaluable lesson that has empowered me as a junior developer is the art of problem-solving. My senior mentor emphasized the significance of breaking down complex tasks into simple, plain English steps before translating them into code. This approach allows for better code quality and intentionality.
Don’t read code like a book
My learning journey took a significant leap forward when I realized the importance of reading code from the computer's perspective. Instead of reading code like a literary piece, my senior mentor encouraged me to comprehend how the computer would process my logic. This had the following benefits:
Allowed me to understand why my code was working
Allowed me to understand why my code wasn’t working
I believe many headaches from the result of debugging can be resolved by simply learning how to read your code like a computer will process it.
Understand the assignment
Another critical lesson that reshaped my approach to development was a focused attention to the instructions given in the ticketing system (i.e, Jira). My former senior mentor stressed the importance of understanding the ticket's instructions. For example, he would encourage questions for greater clarification and to understand potential edge cases that may arise.
The art of refactoring
Another invaluable lesson imparted by my senior mentor was the significance of code refactoring before sending a PR. I have learned to actively seek opportunities to refine and optimize existing code before submitting it for peer review. This commitment to continuous improvement has resulted in code that’s more readable, maintainable, and performant.
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