Undoubtedly, mistakes are part of everyone's life. The challenge is to learn from the mistakes and avoid repeating them in future.
As a programmer, you will gradually improve in career by contributing to different projects, coding contests, pair programming etc. But the major aspect of improvement lies in learning from the mistakes.
Today I will talk about 5 mistakes that I did as Software Developer that I could have avoided.
1. Try to focus more on solution rather than problem
This mistake is not only applies to coding but in general to any problem of our lives. We are so desperately invested in the solution that we forget about the problem or we do not pay enough attention to the problem.
I learned that the more we focus on problem the better solution we can deliver, that will not just give good value to the customer but also a deep and clear insight into the solution as well.
2. Deliver things without enough Test Cases
I have underrated the value of unit testing and especially TDD for a long time. The confidence you get on your work comes from enough and solid test cases, is imppacable.
The value you build is not just immediate for your confirmation or avoiding issues in your delivery but this is for all those developers writing the code which may impact your changes and can confidently make changes in the same code because of efforts you put in for writing required test cases.
3. Waiting for "good" project to contribute
There is nothing like good or bad project that I learned over course of time. It's a problem and solution cycle for every software developer which we keep on focusing for. If you are looking for a good project or good company, you may wait for longer.
To learn and experiment anything, do not wait for project to come to you that's a reactive approach, go ahead and create something from the technology which interests you.
4. Shy away from learning from Seniors
You will find many mentors in your career, try to gain as much knowlege you can gain from them. You need to be proactively discuss solutions and understanding with them. This will give you a different perspective and opportunity to align your thought process with the experienced folks.
You would argue that you can learn from courses, youtube or chatgpt. Well you should and you woul learn from the internet but the conversations you will do with your mentors can not be replaced with internet for sure that I learned gradually.
5. Hesitate to ask questions
I always stopped myself from asking the questions during discussions and meetings. Many times the question came to my mind was asked by someone else, and I regreted. Asking questions during presentations, pair programming, team meetings etc. rewards you with many things. Your team understands that you are interested to learn, you get required clarity, you gain confidence, the facilitator feels that you are engaged into the conversation so and so forth.
However, on contrary if you don't ask, you mainly miss the easy opportunity to practice courage. When your inner self is resisting and still you ask the question, see how it feels. Moreoever, you missed an opportunity of curiously seeking ansers from the learned ones which you may not easily get answer of, on your own.
There are tons of other mistakes, but these 5 I believe could have turned me in a different direction initially, and those who are going to be software developers in the future may learn from them and avoid them as much as possible for better growth and satisfaction.