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Junior programmers may not (even probably don't) have a good idea of what questions to even ask. Younger juniors (e.g. right out of college) may even feel intim

by sidlls 9y ago

Junior programmers may not (even probably don't) have a good idea of what questions to even ask. Younger juniors (e.g. right out of college) may even feel intimated or anxious that their question is "stupid". This isn't helped by the software industry's reputation (well deserved, in my opinion) of being populated by arrogant people with little or no tact or empathy. Reliance on online resources is, in my view not a substitute for experienced mentorship: there is the paradox of choice, and the plethora that creates this paradox is of generally poor quality. Except for textbook or trivial problems, moreover, much of the resource material online is too generic or only marginally applicable to the depth and breadth of technology issues that face a real business and its needs.

Groxx 9y ago
Totally agreed. This is, in essence, what I would define as the line between "junior" and someone escaping it. Learning how to discern relevant info from random and how to ask useful questions in new areas are skills that take time (and a ton of context) to acquire, but are utterly essential to doing anything beyond what other people tell you to do.
tanilama 9y ago
Ask the right question is a skill, and a good indicator for growth. If you have an ineffective team member on your team, you will know the pain. Junior dev isn't necessarily bad, some of them can ramp and contribute really fast, but some are just lacking.
Caveman_Coder 9y ago
> "This isn't helped by the software industry's reputation (well deserved, in my opinion) of being populated by arrogant people with little or no tact or empathy." I don't get this attitude at all, but perhaps that is because I transitioned into software dev from the trades. In the trades you want your apprentices to ask questions, I don't see why Senior Devs would be assholes. In my experience, when I asked my Senior Devs questions, and this was after initial research efforts on my part, they were all receptive and helpful. It is much better to ask the question as a Junior than commit to prod and create even more work for the Seniors.

by sidlls 9y ago

Groxx 9y ago

Totally agreed. This is, in essence, what I would define as the line between "junior" and someone escaping it. Learning how to discern relevant info from random and how to ask useful questions in new areas are skills that take time (and a ton of context) to acquire, but are utterly essential to doing anything beyond what other people tell you to do.

tanilama 9y ago

Ask the right question is a skill, and a good indicator for growth. If you have an ineffective team member on your team, you will know the pain. Junior dev isn't necessarily bad, some of them can ramp and contribute really fast, but some are just lacking.

Caveman_Coder 9y ago

> "This isn't helped by the software industry's reputation (well deserved, in my opinion) of being populated by arrogant people with little or no tact or empathy." I don't get this attitude at all, but perhaps that is because I transitioned into software dev from the trades. In the trades you want your apprentices to ask questions, I don't see why Senior Devs would be assholes. In my experience, when I asked my Senior Devs questions, and this was after initial research efforts on my part, they were all receptive and helpful. It is much better to ask the question as a Junior than commit to prod and create even more work for the Seniors.