Personal experience is the most powerful way to learn.

Mistakes I made as a software engineer(Developer)

A thread...

You must have heard these --Fail fast, failure builds character, the key to success is a failure, mistakes make you grow.

Every developer will have their share of missteps in a career but why not learn from others’ experience—and avoid the costliest errors?

Staying too long

The longer I stay in one position, the more my skills and pay stagnate, and I get bored and restless.

Two major drawbacks of staying in one place too long.

1- You run the risk of limiting your exposure to new approaches and techniques.

2- Your professional network won’t be as deep or as varied as someone who changes teams or companies.

But “On the other hand, if you switch multiple jobs after less than two years, it sends a red flag.

Opinions vary on how long you should stay in one place.

I pre-assumed

Fast response to boss === intelligence.

I thought if I quickly finish my work then I am the best man in the team but that was a serious mistake.

We are not paid to get things done fast.
We are paid to get things done right.

During lunch & tea breaks, it was easy to commentary with the crowd & blame the management for everything.

It was easy to play the victim card & said, "they don't know & care about me!

But we should try to understand their side.
& discuss if you develop any negativity.

Passing on a promotion

I enjoy coding more than running show I told my current boss

Because moving into management should be a cautious, thoughtful decision

Management is a career change, not the logical progression of the technical track & requires a different set of skills

Why I did this because I’ve worked at some places where unhappy managers had no real power, were overloaded with paperwork and meetings, and had to play politics.

Another way of looking at this might be self-preservation.

I pre-assumed if my manager not sharing my feedback with me then everything was going good.
Because my feedback was their responsibility.

Your feedback is YOUR responsibility.

Make sure your received it.

Set up 1-1 meeting with boss when you seek for feedback.

Poor communications

It is important to keep everyone in the loop on project status, but it is easy to forget to do it. This is where a lot of the mistrust between IT and the business team comes from.

You can mitigate this problem by letting people know where things stand.

Multi-tasking

This is another "skill" (like "hitting the ground running") that people think they have, but they really do not.

The more I did multi-tasking, the worse my work will be, and the longer it will take.

This applies to (juggling emails, phone calls, actual work)

Not paying it forward

A less obvious mistake might be staying too focused on your own career track without consideration of the junior developers in your office.

I’ve found that mentoring junior developers have made me better at my job.

If experience is the best teacher, teaching others will only deepen your knowledge.

When senior developers don’t have the time to mentor younger developers, I fully understand.

Just don’t say it’s because ‘I’m not good with people.

Mentoring is powerful. Trust me!

Sticking to my stack

Your expertise in one stack may make you invaluable to your current workplace—but is it helping your career?

Every stack will have a different culture and perspective, which ultimately will broaden and expedite your career growth,

Each technology that you learn influences your decisions.

It’s time to move on when you are good at the skill, but not necessarily great.

I am saying that before you head off to learn a new skill make sure you are good, competent at that skill before you consider moving on.

The first job is very precious for everyone.

This is a steeping stone of understanding of leadership, of teams, of our own capability, gets shaped up in the first job.

Treat it with respect & gratitude.
And ask for feedback.

"What is it that they know that I do not"

Neglecting soft skills

Soft skills can be picked up over time, and some of the nuances of developing a successful career.

“It makes for better software when people talk”

“All human activities are social, and development is no exception,”