This kind of story seem to come up over and over in the programming world. I'd like to add something from my experience working in large development companies.

This kind of story seem to come up over and over in the programming world. I'd like to add something from my experience working in large development companies. The first months or so, it's perfectly understandable that a new developer doesn't "get" the application, how it works, or even what it does. The myth of the ninja programmer turning things around, applying a mix of beautiful elegance and sharp efficiency to save the business big bucks, is just that, a myth. Actually, during this period, a new recruit should focus on one thing only: survival. Deliver the mindless code, even if it doesn't make sense (or seems plain wrong), but deliver it on time. Do not slack off on your hours, show up (at least) ten minutes early and leave (at least) ten minutes late. You may be the genius programmer who delivers in an hour a day's worth of an average programmer's productivity; but now's not the time for cleverness. Now, I repeat, is the time for survival. It is also the good time for getting to know (and being accepted by) your colleagues and your direct managers. Coffee/cigarette/you-name-it breaks are important. Do not miss those. So when do you get the chance to behave like the great programmer you always thought you were? From experience the milestone has always been the same: The next batch of recruits (which in my case has always been around 8-12 months in large enterprises). As soon as you're not the "new guy" anymore, things automatically change. Not only have you already earned the acceptance and trust of people around you, but you've also seen enough of the code and interacted enough with business analysts. You have much more elements in hand to be creative and take initiatives. In short, I'd add one thing to this article: Be patient. It's true that you can never see the whole picture, but as time passes, you can definitely detect the places where you can have an impact. Until then, you simply have to turn on your survival mode.