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Comment by morelisp | Hacker News Reader

Most software engineers are not experienced software engineers.

Hmm, is that true? Just from a numbers perspective, it seems like there would be far more experienced software engineers than brand new ones.

There would be far more experienced software engineers than brand new ones if the field was stable, but it has been growing exponentially for years.

The answer to the original question depends on the rate of growth, how you define more experienced, etc. So it's not obviously true or false.

> it has been growing exponentially for years

Hardly. At best it can be described by a second-order differential equation. An experienced engineer would avoid the inappropriate term 'exponential' to describe the phenomenon. The rest is true.

You're missing one point though: experienced in team does not equate to experience in skills or being managed.

According to Robert Martin 50% of developers at any given time have less than 5 years of experience. [1]

[1] https://youtu.be/ecIWPzGEbFc?t=3055

From personal experience there is 1 "senior" person (>5 years ) that has to support ~6 freshers.

Most software engineers become experienced software engineers (enough to self-manage) very quickly in the right environment, I've found.

That's probably survivor's bias and not true at scale. "Right environment" is shaky - we should strive towards defining what makes an environment the "right" one and how can we increase the number of engineers that successfully acclimate to their new way of working.

I disagree (my anecdotal estimate would be around 1/3 do quickly, and 1/3 do "slowly" i.e. within 3-5 years), but those who do can still accelerate the process by reading documents like this, no? People who can self-teach still benefit from learning materials.

Most software environments are not the right environment.

Excellent point. Small details about your working environment, or lack of a routine, can hugely throw off your workday, and thus your productivity. You should generally pay attention to the lighting, noise level, and comfort of a work space. If you find yourself distracted by anything, you might consider changing your environment. Habitual repetition by way of thinking about your environment or making explicit choices can lead to the establishment of longer-term habits.

Someone should write an article with that advice in it...

100%, but the fix, then, is the environment. Not the developer.

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