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Discussion on: What are some red flags to look out for in the first few weeks of a new dev job?

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steveblue profile image
Stephen Belovarich • Edited
  • team members limit and dismiss tried and tested ideas
  • you’re not promptly getting paid
  • the team isn’t diverse
  • code isn’t formatted
  • code isn’t tested
  • team process is waterfall
  • scope creep is routine
  • no one cares about UX
  • you aren’t on-boarded
  • when you load the app it takes a long time to render the view ( team doesn’t care about performance )
  • no ones talking about any new projects on the horizon ( no growth )

Can you tell I’ve been a contractor? 👨‍💻

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Jason Espin • Edited

Team process is Waterfall?

I wouldn't say this was an issue. For most fixed price projects Waterfall is still the best methodology to use. Everyone trying to shoehorn the Agile methodology into everything they want to do nowadays instead of focusing on the basics is the reason why most companies get development so wrong.

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Stephen Belovarich

I've worked on both waterfall and agile teams and have never found waterfall an enjoyable experience. Everyone has a preference. At least the teams I've worked on that implement waterfall the decision makers don't understand the negative impacts it has on software development. Agile IMHO reinforces teamwork but yes, it too can be misused.

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Manikandan Sundararajan

Well that ticks most boxes at my current job

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Ben Halpern

Nice ones!

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Marc Backes

Huh now it makes sense. In my former job, 7 of these points were (and probably still are) true 🤔

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Karl N. Redman

I was a contractor for years (i.e always living without insurance, paid well, hated by EVERYONE). I feel you here and I agree with all of your points relative to a contractor job. I mean it, I'm saying this twice because it's REALLY IMPORTANT that any of the bullet points you mention is a definite red flag for a contract job. I've bailed on $200/hr jobs for things lessor (not bragging, the clients were just that stupid -and maybe me too for leaving?).

With that said, no single item on your list is red flag for a specific (non-contract) job. I'd say that you can pick any 3 things from your list and, at that point, start looking elsewhere. If you are fortunate enough to be working in a company that is aware of these (any of these issues) there is hope.

In my experience, if there are any of the issues you mentioned in any company whereby a manager is not also a developer (i.e. smaller/midsize companies) then bail. They will eat you alive and they don't care for your well being.

However, if you are working for a company that humbly (i.e. smaller/midsize) acknowledges these issues and is "trying" to fix them, I'd say it might be worth it to help out, be a voice, etc. Make the company awesome!

This is my qualifying statement: I've worked for many companies big and small. As a contractor you have similar experience. To ANYONE reading this though, seriously follow your gut. If it feels like a 'bad deal' get the fuck out as soon as fucking possible.

[sorry language but I feel it was appropriate for emphasis]