But I shoot him down because his ideas don't fit in our group. We mostly do boring CRUD stuff for internal customers. Most things are very similar and having 7 similar projects all built in different ways with different technology is NOT maintainable. The other developers wouldn't be able to work on things that he built. Yes, the other developers should get up to speed on different technologies, but different isn't always better and I can't change them all.
Anyhow, my point. Maybe your ideas aren't shot down because you're the "newbie". Maybe they don't fit that organization. Keep learning. Keep enjoying the tech. Keep an open mind and maybe the old-timers where you are might teach you something and hopefully you can teach them something also, someday. Mostly, don't get discouraged and keep your eyes open for something better.
Yeah it sucks, but if you insist on the security of a larger company (my assumption), that's how it works.