6 Mistakes Junior Developers Make and How to Avoid Them
Tags: beginners, programming, career, codenewbie
Published: 2022-05-10 14:49:40

Junior developers make many mistakes. Believe me, I’ve been one myself. But there are ways you can avoid them.

In this article, we’ll take a look at 6 of the most common mistakes junior developers make and offer advice on how to avoid them.

## Mistakes Junior Developers Make and How to Avoid Them
### 1. Focusing on Code Instead of the Big Picture 🖼

It’s easy to get bogged down in the details when you’re starting out. But it’s important to remember that code is only a small part of the development process. Focusing on the big picture will help you understand the overall goal of your project and help you make better decisions. To come up with good solutions you need to spend time thinking. Do you think the author of React came up with the idea for the framework in a day? Not likely.

### 2. Not Reading Documentation 📄
Junior developers often don’t read documentation, or they only read it superficially. But the fact is, that documentation is an important source of information. And you need to read it in-depth if you want to be a successful developer.

Documentation can help you learn the syntax and usage of a language or library, as well as how to use a tool or library properly. It can also help you understand the API for a particular software system. So, be sure to read the documentation.

### 3. Ignoring Best Practices
**Best practices are there for a reason** – they make development faster, easier, and more reliable. Junior developers can speed up their learning process by paying attention to best practices and following them.

### 4. Not Asking Questions 🙋‍♀️
Another common mistake junior developers make is not asking questions. Again, this can be due to a lack of confidence, or feeling like you should already know the answer.

But the fact is, you won’t know everything, and you won’t always be able to figure things out on your own. Asking questions is a good way to learn and gain knowledge. Not asking questions can lead to misunderstandings and errors.

### 5. Underestimating the Importance of Practice
Junior developers often underestimate the importance of practice. It’s not enough to just learn the theory – you also need to practice what you have learned.

Practice makes perfect, and the more you practice, the better you will become. Try to find opportunities to practice your skills, whether it’s through tutorials, exercises, or projects. No one is born a great developer, everything takes practice!

### 6. Forgetting to Celebrate Small Victories 🎉
It can be easy to get caught up in the work and forget to celebrate your successes. Taking the time to celebrate small victories is an important way to stay motivated and keep up your morale.

Avoiding these mistakes will help you move up the career ladder quickly and smoothly. But don’t forget that everyone makes mistakes – the key is to learn from them and move on!

## Conclusion
It’s important for junior developers to understand common mistakes so they can try to avoid them. By becoming aware of the most common errors, junior developers can focus on fixing these issues and become better developers.

## Learn More About Software Engineering
* [What Skills Makes a Great Software Engineer?
](https://dev.to/simeg/what-skills-do-you-think-makes-a-great-software-engineer-1b14)
* [5 Good Habits of a Software Engineer](https://dev.to/simeg/5-good-habits-of-a-software-engineer-3ocp)

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*Originally published on [https://prplcode.dev](https://prplcode.dev)*