In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
I’m a junior software engineer who has been placed in charge of a handful of graduates and interns who have joined my team. The project is fairly technical.
For the first two weeks, the new starters were pair programming. That went well, and after talking to each new starter they were eager to start working individually.
We’re one month in and I’m concerned about the performance of one of the engineers, “Morgan” (fake name). Morgan has completed a degree from a good university we often hire from but appears to lack any knowledge of software development. As a result, Morgan seems to struggle with researching and working through problems beyond following tutorials. I got the impression that while pair programming Morgan didn’t contribute much.
Is there anything I could do to give Morgan the boost needed to start rolling? I’m sure I could spoon feed Morgan, but it would monopolize my time when I’m already spending time with the other new starters on top of my own tasks.
I want to give Morgan a shot, but I don’t know what to do. At what point do I tell my manager about my concerns?
Things I’ve encountered:
Even all these issues in aggregate would be fine with me, but the continual resemblance and behavior of a stunned mullet isn’t encouraging. After being told to research a concept, Morgan must be told the specific Google query to type in.
Thanks, and apologies for the essay!
Listener Confused Cat asks,
I spent just over four years on a team where technical growth was lacking. Recently, I transitioned to a new team within the same company, and I’m enjoying the atmosphere, the team dynamics, and the opportunity to engage in more challenging software development tasks. Fortunately, my motivation is beginning to resurface.
However, I’ve noticed that my technical skills have become somewhat rusty. While I can still deliver systems and features, I feel like I’m falling behind compared to some of my peers. This self-awareness is causing me to doubt myself, despite receiving no negative feedback from my current team or supervisor. It’s not just imposter syndrome; I genuinely feel the need to upskill.
How can I navigate this situation effectively? What strategies would you suggest for advancing my skills while holding a senior position and preventing feelings of inadequacy from affecting my performance?
Episode 274: Announcing resignation too early and why are my ideas rejected?
Episode 273: Influencing people and getting a raise in a flat org
Episode 272: Consistent or shiny
Episode 271: Too quiet and quitting too much?
Episode 270 (rerun of 227): Junior expectations and manager flakiness
Episode 269: A bad product and running the meter down
Episode 268: Title inflation and solo remote engineer
Episode 267: Cheap promotion raise and live coding blues
Episode 266: Switching tech stacks and awkward zoom silence
Episode 265 (rerun of 216): One-on-ones and inter-team power struggles
Episode 264: Finger pointing and getting recognition
Episode 263: Why am I bored and ver-boss-ity
Episode 262: I'm too popular and too much turnover
Episode 261: Anxious about work and senior imposter
Episode 260: Pay cut after hired and new job ramp-up
Episode 259: Moving up to meetings and will remote work stay a thing?
Episode 258: Addicted to scrolling and underpaid with equity
Episode 257: Oops I didn't negotiate and really another raise question
Episode 256: No degree ceiling and reverse whippersnappers
Episode 255: Only positive feedback and overworked and siloed
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