Essential Tips for Junior Developers, Steering Clear of Common Pitfalls 💡
Tags: webdev, beginners, javascript, programming
Published: 2024-06-08 10:14:49

Hey everyone! I'd like to showcase some of the things that have helped me with my learning process as a junior developer & to showcase what traits caused the biggest issues. This is to be taken lightly as even if you've done one of these, it's totally normal and should not be considered a "crime". We're humans at the end of the day :))

## 1. Not Developing a Sincere Connection with Your Colleagues
![People laughing and talking](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1543269865-4430f94492b9?q=80&w=2070&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D)

For me, one of the key points that will get you to enjoy your day-to-day work is having a great connection with your colleagues. Having that connection serves as a reminder that although we're in a work environment, that shouldn't stop us from having open and sincere connections. We don't have to limit ourselves to being the guy who just stares at the screen all day long (although that's a personal choice).

Don't be afraid to engage and say hello, be curious about them, and have honest conversations. Not everything should be connected to work all the time. Being the "new" guy doesn't make you "less". Be yourself, and express yourself in an honest & positive manner with your colleagues so that you can reap the benefits.

Having a sincere and great connection with your colleagues will give you the opportunity to learn from them too. It will open a door for them to give you sincere advice on yourself that you might have missed. You could even learn from one another and most importantly, count on each other too.

## 2. Avoiding Hard Tasks on Purpose
![Person climbing mountain](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1431887915357-68b819fae322?q=80&w=2070&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D)
Honestly, this one isn't just for junior devs, but let's keep it that way for now. Look, we've all been beginners and we've gone through this process of thought: logically, you'd be thinking "I don't want to screw this up for myself at the very start and God forbid I look 'dumb' and not finish this task." Let me just say, that thought is understandable, but it doesn't make it true and let me show you why.

First of all, when you're hired as a junior, you're not fully hired for your level of knowledge when compared to your potential. So, that means the company that hired you is aware of your current knowledge and is totally fine with it. They hired you so that you could learn more and they know you have a lot of potential.

So, by avoiding those hard tasks, you're not only missing out on your learning curve, but even on the timing. Because no matter how long you avoid them, there'll always be one that you will have to do and believe me, it's best to choose to learn them properly at your beginnings than to not know them with lots of experience.

Again, I'm not saying to go full crazy mode on the hard tasks. Pick the hard ones incrementally too, you'll learn that way. Do not think of it as a way that you could endanger your job, but rather think of it as an opportunity to learn more and grow. Your company is aware of your current level and they value your potential and you should capitalize on that.

## 3. Not Asking Questions
![People raising hands to ask questions](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1565689157206-0fddef7589a2?q=80&w=2070&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D)
It's understandable, and you probably are thinking that you'll be annoying to your colleagues/seniors and that you're bothering them. But let me just say that whichever senior is bothered and doesn't want to help isn't really a senior. You should not be afraid to learn alongside your colleagues and ask them questions, whether that is for the project you're working on, or for code-related things.

Of course, this doesn't mean to "bombard" them with tons of questions and for every problem you have, but when you feel you're better off with a question and that you can't really grasp the problem or the solution, it is totally normal to ask for help and guidance.

## 4. Taking PR Reviews Personally
![Angry person](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1456406644174-8ddd4cd52a06?q=80&w=2048&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D)
Behind a great dev or even a junior one, there's a personality and a certain amount of ego, that's... understandable. But, realistically - the PR review process is one of the best ways for you to grow and learn from your colleagues.

You need to take into consideration that they're commenting on your code and how it can be done better, in a way for you to grow and not in a way to make you feel bad. Although we're humans and perspective on something can shape our emotions, your view on them should be that they'll help you grow and learn much more than taking them personally and not even taking them into consideration.

All I can say for this is, don't be chained by your own ego, and open yourself to being wrong (which we all are) and you'll see yourself grow exponentially more.

## 5. Copy Pasting Code You Don't Understand
![Confused man](https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-sad-confused-software-engineer-600nw-2160668617.jpg)
We've all been there at some point, where if we're in "trouble" and find some working code (possibly from StackOverflow/ChatGPT) we just get that bad boy into our code repo. While it seems to do the trick, let me just say that it is a temporary solution that is not only blocking your learning process but it might even introduce new bugs to your application due to the lack of understanding.

What you should do instead is, try to understand code first and then apply it. Not only will that help you grow more, but it will also help you identify possible issues with it going forward.

You'll need to accept and embrace that part of the junior process is that you'll need to get uncomfortable more. The more you get into a "hard" spot and possibly make mistakes, the more you learn. Don't let that temporary happiness of blindly pasted code fool you and rob you of your learning process.