I'm nowhere near the guru stage, but I'm definitely down with convention over conviction. No matter what stage you're in (or even alternate paths), making your

I'm nowhere near the guru stage, but I'm definitely down with convention over conviction. No matter what stage you're in (or even alternate paths), making your code communicate your intent to your coworkers is much more important than penning your magnus opus. It's okay for freshly-minted programmers to blindly follow the patterns of the grey-hairs and for the zealous to write heathen code, depending on who will be maintaining the project in six months. The equilibrium of the team will balance as everyone learns through building good product. I agree with you on personal projects, as well. Do whatever lets you meet your goal, whether that be learning how to hardcore TDD or getting a horribly-written, hacky project out to your friends.