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Comment by dasil003 | Hacker News Reader

> Welcome to the software development world" only to find out they've been working as a software developer for over a year and a half already.

Ugh, you think 18 months is a long time? Programming is hard, just the technical part takes a lot of reps, but navigating the long term implications and social/business interfaces are what make the difference between an effective tech lead and an NNPP.

Here’s a tip: stop worrying about labels. Spend a decade obsessively honing your craft. Think from first principles. Ask difficult questions. Move around and find the smartest programmers you can to learn from. Confidence comes from hard-won abilities, not playing mind games with yourself about titles.

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I'm glad I wasn't alone in feeling frustrated while reading this article. I just passed the year mark after switching careers; the clouds are parting and I'm beginning to tackle more complex tasks with my ever-growing experience and wisdom, but "What do senior developers do in your company? Do that instead of the things junior developers do. That's it." is absurd.

If you're getting bored with the menial tasks that you're being given, ask your boss if they think you're ready to handle more complex work -- jumping in the middle of projects way over your head in an effort to pretend you aren't a junior dev is foolish.

Seriously, that jumped out at me. You do not know anything after a year and a half. You are a junior developer. Nobody is that special.

Also, there is a real risk to learning if you "stop being a junior". Namely, the posers don't raise their hand and ask for help when they hit a wall, waste a ton of time drowning with things that senior engineers can figure out in 10 minutes, and are scared of learning from senior teammates as it requires them to be vulnerable in front of them. The ones faking it tend to be insecure and not fully dedicated to their craft, but their title first.

That speaks pretty clearly to me 6 years ago. At my current job I ask "stupid" questions in public channels to make sure it's normalized for younger devs to see. I've explicitly discussed it with my team, and push other senior devs to do the same.

Keep in mind that this guy makes his money selling dev courses.

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