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Discussion on: Looking back: The first job

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Gualtiero Frigerio

I don't know how CS degrees are today, but I know some people were able to get one will little knowledge of programming languages and tech in general. They were great at math and able to pass the exams but they barely knew how actual coding was about.
When I started my first full time job after graduating I was already able to code, but that came from activities not related to the degree. I was part of a LUG (Linux Users Group) and that was way more important than university for my coding experience, although having a solid background in math, or algorithms etc. is pretty important to my job, so I don't regret having spent time studying.

In the end you're right, it is going to be OK in the long run. When you apply for a job right after degree people don't expect to hire an expert developer, they want a junior and they know you'll not be as productive as a guy with 10+ experience in the field.
What I missed in my first job was an experienced dev to work with, as I worked on my project alone for most of the time. I think I did great, I had a great boss, the best one so far, but some mistakes I made were due to my lack of experience, and having another guy doing code review would have helped a lot. So my advice so young devs is to try peer programming, ask for help, don't be afraid to ask "stupid" questions and learn a lot from your team mates.