I just landed my first software developer job... any tips?

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
Pretty much my first "real" job, its at a cloud computing company, they work with a variety of technologies.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
126
Go in with the attitude that you know nothing and want to and are willing to learn. And remember it takes time to ramp up on a new project at a new job. Like it could take months before you "get it" so if you don't feel comfortable for a while, that's pretty normal.

Congrats!
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
^ agreed, and Congrats! too.

Companies have their own coding styles. You need to follow their existing style instead of trying to impose what you used in school or "improve" on it by introducing new patterns that no one else uses. For example in C++ you can write anything from C, to C with some classes, to nightmare template madness, to factories building visitors to observe things. Adapt to the company way. In maybe 6 months if you still feel something could be improved by changing it, then you can speak up.

Code quality standards also vary. Aerospace might be able to afford $100+ per line of code to get it "just right," but most other companies have to settle for "pretty good." 90% working in 3 months often beats 98% working in 1 year. If you see code that could be cleaner, there might be very good business reasons.

Understand that at first you're probably slowing down your team more than helping them. If someone isn't overjoyed to have their own work fall behind while they explain things to you, be patient and don't take it personally. Once you've learned enough to be a net positive they'll appreciate you more.
 
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Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
33,929
1,097
126
Congrats! I'm not strictly a developer, but I do a lot of development as a Geospatial Engineer and I'm not a manager, but I'm in on management discussions all of the time. As far as corporate culture and such goes, I've got a few tips:

-Take notes. Have a notebook and pencil with you at all times.
-Don't complain about corporate nonsense like the time sheet or filling out forms. They know it sucks.
-Ask good questions. Don't just sit and listen and then ask for a recap. I've literally had someone say "Can you go over all that again?". No.
-Don't play around on your phone, put your feet up, or sleep during meetings. Yes, I've seen all of these.
-If you need a sick day, just take it off. Don't say you got drunk and a hooker broke your arm and stole your wallet. Just say you're not coming in.
-Remember that you don't know everything. A degree is a great thing, but each of your classes works out to maybe 80 hours of lecture time plus studying. That's two weeks in the real world. Your coworkers have probably been neck deep in whatever project for months if not years. Have an appreciation for how much you don't know.
-Be respectful of the culture. Some places are laid back, some really tight assed. Just hang out and do a good job. Be friendly and helpful. Once your coworkers know that you're not going to wreck the office vibe, they'll warm up to you.

Good luck!
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
Thanks for the advice guys, its appreciated :)

Im very willing to learn, ive been told that if I have time over the holidays to look into coldfusion, ruby, ruby on rails and perl (perl seems to be split between versions 5 and 6 so idk which one). So im going through a few tutorials right now. Codecademys got a nice set of ruby tutorials :)
 

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,174
524
126
Eat animal crackers for lunch. Name them. Cry when you eat them.

Never be afraid to let them see you cry. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and make sure everyone in the office is well aware of anything outside of work that's bothering you. Don't hold it in.

:)
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,219
3,799
75
Eat animal crackers for lunch. Name them. Cry when you eat them.

Never be afraid to let them see you cry. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and make sure everyone in the office is well aware of anything outside of work that's bothering you. Don't hold it in.

:)

Guys, can we keep this on the topic of real, software developer job tips, please? This isn't Off Topic -- Programming Moderator Ken g6