10 Lessons From the Journey: What I Wish My Younger Software Engineer Self Knew
If you could step into a time machine and visit your younger self, what advice would you give?
As I look back on my software engineering journey, there’s so much I wish I could share with the wide-eyed, eager-to-learn version of me. Not just about code, but about the career, the mindset, and the life that comes with being a software engineer. So, if you’re just starting out or somewhere along the path, here are the lessons I’d pass along—with examples and actionable tips to make them stick.
1. Coding is important, but communication is everything.
You can write the most elegant, efficient code but if you can’t communicate your ideas, your work can’t shine. Clear communication—whether it’s writing concise documentation, explaining concepts to teammates, or sharing updates—is what gets projects across the finish line.
Example:
Imagine you’ve written a complex algorithm that improves performance by 40%. If you can’t explain how it works or why it matters in simple terms, it’s unlikely your team or stakeholders will fully appreciate it.
Action Item:
Practice summarizing your work. Start with a one-paragraph explanation of your current project, as if you were explaining it to a non-technical friend. This skill will also be valuable in future technical interviews, as it’s important to clearly explain the projects you’ve worked on and their impact. I had a friend who failed the LeetCode task in an interview but impressed the interviewer with a clear explanation of their project.
Actively participate in team discussions and retrospectives—focus on being clear and concise.
2. Code reviews aren’t critiques—they’re conversations.
When I was starting out, I was afraid of code reviews. It felt like someone was picking apart my work, searching for mistakes. However, I’ve come to see code reviews as opportunities to grow together, with every comment offering a chance to learn.
Action Item:
Ask for specific feedback when submitting your code. For example, “I’m unsure about my error handling here—thoughts?”
3. The best debugging tool is a break.
You know that feeling when you’ve been staring at a bug for hours, only to solve it in 10 seconds after stepping away? Yeah, that’s not a coincidence.
Example:
I once spent an entire afternoon debugging a null pointer exception, only to realize after a quick coffee break that I’d initialized a variable incorrectly. That break saved me from going down a rabbit hole.
Action Item:
When stuck on a bug, set a timer for 30 minutes. If you’re still stuck when it rings, take a walk, grab a coffee, or do something non-technical before coming back.
4. One bug, one fix—and a lesson.
Every bug is a learning opportunity—whether in code or in life. When you encounter one, don’t just patch it. Ask yourself: How did this happen? What can I do to prevent it next time?
Example:
During a production incident, I fixed the immediate issue but also took the time to improve logging, monitoring, and testing to help catch similar problems earlier in the future.
Action Item:
Perform post-mortems for major bugs. Document the root cause, the fix, and preventive measures.
Each bug should be covered by a new unit test to prevent future occurrences.
5. Mistakes are part of the process.
No matter how experienced you become, bugs will still find their way into your code. That’s okay. Mistakes aren’t failures; they’re feedback.
Example:
A junior engineer on my team accidentally deleted a column from a production database table during maintenance. Instead of scolding them, we turned it into a learning opportunity by implementing better safeguards.
Action Item:
When you make a mistake, write down what happened, what you learned, and what you’ll do differently next time.
Encourage a blame-free culture on your team. Focus on solutions, not blame.
6. Don’t over-engineer.
Early in my career, I thought the best code was the most complex—the one that accounted for every possible edge case and future feature. But over time, I’ve learned that simplicity is king.
Example:
I once spent weeks building a highly flexible configuration system for a feature that never required more than two settings. In hindsight, a simple solution would have been far easier to maintain.
Action Item:
Before starting a project, ask: “What’s the simplest solution that solves the problem?”
Use the YAGNI (You Aren’t Gonna Need It) principle to avoid adding features you don’t immediately need.
7. Test your code—future you will thank you.
Writing tests might feel tedious in the moment, but they’re lifesavers. Imagine deploying something with confidence because you know your tests have your back. Or imagine planning a huge refactor of your entire service. Tests will save you plenty of time and prevent numerous bugs after the refactoring. I wouldn’t even suggest starting a refactor without having tests in place first. That’s the power of testing.
Example:
A critical feature I worked on once broke in production because I didn’t test how it handled unexpected user inputs. A simple test could have caught the issue before release.
Action Item:
Set a goal to write at least one unit test for every new function, feature, bug you create.
Use tools like code coverage analysis to identify gaps in your test suite.
8. Learn the business side of things.
Understanding why decisions are made is just as important as knowing how to implement them. Software doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it solves real problems for real people (or businesses).
Example:
I worked on a feature that seemed unnecessary until I learned it directly addressed a key customer pain point. That insight completely changed my perspective and approach.
Action Item:
Spend time with product managers or attend customer feedback sessions to understand user needs.
Learn basic business concepts like ROI, KPIs, and customer personas to contextualize your work.
9. Efficiency is your superpower.
Small improvements compound over time. Learning to type faster, mastering your text editor, automating repetitive tasks, or leveraging tools like ChatGPT might seem minor, but they add up.
Example:
By automating a weekly data-cleaning task that used to take an hour, I saved my team 50 hours per year.
Action Item:
Invest time in learning keyboard shortcuts, IDE features, and productivity tools.
Look for repetitive tasks in your workflow and script or automate them.
10. The “perfect” job doesn’t exist.
There’s no single role or company that will check every box. Focus on growth, impact, and culture over perfection.
Example:
One of my friends would always change teams or companies if he had even a small disagreement with a teammate. However, you will always encounter different opinions and perspectives. It’s normal and a natural part of the process.
Action Item:
Create a list of non-negotiables (e.g., learning opportunities, work-life balance) and focus on roles, companies that meet those.
Reflect on your long-term career goals and prioritize roles that align with them.
Wrapping Up
Software engineering isn’t just about writing code—it’s about the journey, the people, and the lessons you pick up along the way. It’s a field filled with challenges, but also infinite possibilities.
So, to my younger self—and to anyone else just starting out: embrace the process, be kind to yourself, and never stop learning. You’ve got this.
Until next time,
Adlet
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Loved every suggestion, I am currently in my 25th year of my career, missed this kind of advice. Thanks much Adlet!!
I really like the idea of conducting postmortems for major bugs. I feel like learning from our own mistakes is still often overlooked, even though it’s one of the best ways to prevent similar issues from happening again.