Beginner devs write code that is over-simplified, and needs hack on top of hack to do anything useful. Intermediate devs write code that is over-engineered in

Beginner devs write code that is over-simplified, and needs hack on top of hack to do anything useful. Intermediate devs write code that is over-engineered in places where it could be simple, while still needing a lot of extensive refactoring in the parts that deal with irreducible complexity. Expert devs think deeply about the problem at hand, understand where the complexity is, and create a solution that is as simple as possible, but no simpler. After the fact, beginner and intermediate devs tend to think of this code as something trivial, that anyone could do. This is why it may sometimes be tactically useful for the expert dev to sometimes take on projects that some beginner or intermediate team has been struggling with for some extended period of time, analyze it properly, and show how elegant the difficult parts can be solved. Care is needed, though, as it can affect the morale of the other devs and even cause hostility. If the expert dev has a secure position in the organization and want to keep those other devs around, keeping a low profile as well as letting those devs take as much as possible of the credit is adviced.