I've been a teacher and also a learner, so I've got something to tell you.
I've heard so many comments like "you're too junior", "you're not a middle/senior dev". I'm sure you've heard that too.
If you told me that something is impossible, I'm the type of woman that will try to succeed even if there is only a small chance.
Yes, I tried to achieve a proficiency level in tech close to the level of developers who inspired me despite my limited experience.
The fact is, some people believe that a junior should listen to the middle/senior dev and that's all.
The middle/senior dev is highly qualified and has experience. For sure.
But it's still an exchange.
Sharing knowledge is not easy for everyone. And when you're in this situation, you sometimes have the obligation to explain complexity with simple words and distill abstract ideas into more digestible ones.
It's an art not a science, really.
We all know that a developer is always learning, even by asking other devs. Sometimes developers ask things you didn't think about, or you just don't know about, and you also want to know the answer. So sometimes their question prompts you to research more and helps expand your knowledge base.
To you the junior dev
Don't think the dev with high skills has no time for you. If he/she is really busy, add a meeting in his/her calendar. That will show it's important for you and you really need this point. It can be the time to clarify what's good in your work and what needs to be improved.
Try to find the answer before asking but don't dedicate too much time to it. If you're stuck ask for help. You're losing time, even if it seems important to do it on your own and get the glory, you could have done so much more. And when it's solved in two seconds, it’s much better not to wait so much time to ask help ;)
To you the middle/senior dev
Some people admire you in secret, I mean really. Take time to help junior dev to grow if you have the capacity to do so. It's also time for you to challenge yourself and get to know your team better as well.
From my perspective a great middle/senior dev is not just someone who is technically proficient but also is someone who can help others to grow. An experienced dev should constantly learn to teach others with more clarity, to better organize their team, and to communicate more effectively.
And you, what do you think?
Latest comments (4)
Righteous and very helpful post, thanks Sarah. I miss working with you!
Thank you so much Adrien, I miss working with you too! I hope I'll see you soon!
why not just drop junior/senior from all dev/devops/webdev job titles - you should be judged by your work alone
Yes, I totally agree, but there's always a moment when you have to roughly estimate someone's level (the workload on the project, the salary for someone...) which brings us to these titles and some people refer to these titles despite someone's knowledge or work.
Some people also refer to these titles to stay on top of what they have learned and don't necessarily consider that they can learn something from someone despite their title or their poor knowledge or that they can teach things to someone who has more knowledge than they do.