Entering a new career field after schooling or a general career change can be both exciting and overwhelming. You might be filled with many questions and fear of the unknown – which is all perfectly normal! Relax, you’re not the first person to ever have these thoughts and you certainly won’t be the last! Luckily, we’ve got an entire team of developers that were in your shoes once and they’ve shared their biggest pieces of advice to support you in your journey as a new developer. Here’s our team’s 8 pieces of advice for when you first start out:

  1. “Sometimes in your career you’ll have to power through roadblocks that are frustrating. Stay determined to power through these problems and ask lots of questions along the way. Also, what distinguishes a great developer from an average one is communication in both writing and in meetings. Being able to effectively communicate is critical!” – Chris K, Senior Software Engineer, Development

  2. “Take the time to learn how your role fits into the entire ecosystem of your company and learn how your role interacts and works with others.” – Isaac H, SQL Server DBA

  3. “Make sure to understand the problem before you try thinking of ways to solve it.” – Broderick H, Software Engineer

  4. “Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions!” – Josh D, Senior Software Engineer

  5. “When you hear about a new technology, maintain a healthy sense of skepticism (while still holding onto your excitement!). It can be easy to get caught up in what’s new and shiny but forget there’s still a lot of kinks to work out.” – Sam S, Senior Software Engineer

  6. “You’ll probably feel like an imposter in your first job and feel like everyone else around you knows what they’re doing. Relax – no one is expecting that you’ll be an expert in everything!” – Mike A, Principal Engineer, Development

  7. “Use source control! Even when I worked for the government, no one told me this.” – Stan N, Senior Software Engineer

  8. “Looking up things is part of the process – don’t be afraid to use Stack Overflow or Google to answer your questions.” – Ben R, Senior Software Engineer

We’re always looking for top talent to join our team. Interested in learning more about our open positions? Click here for more details!