Ask HN: First Programming Job?

1 pointmpg334 comments

I just started a new job developing. I don't feel as if i am learning fast enough. How long was it until you started to feel comfortable in your job?

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You might consider seeking out a mentor within your own organization. In addition to knowing how complicated your particular processes are, such a person should be able to give your pointers on how to master the material faster, which parts to master first, which bits the company most needs help with, etc.

My first full time job was at an electronic trading company that used a distributed system to price and buy options in real time. our system consisted of a visual studio solution with around 300 projects in it. to get a development environment running, you had to start about 10-12 different applications. it took me a full 8 months before i finally felt like i _really_ knew what was going on.

Programming takes time. You're not going to do anything earth-shattering in your first few months.

Did you take much time outside of work to learn/study?

yeah, i spent pretty much all my waking hours writing code. i love programming a little too much.

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