We're giving away free coffee for bad advice. Yup, you heard right.
What was the worst job advice you received early in your career (or at the start of a career change)?
The top 5 most-liked replies will each receive a $20 Starbucks card to help them power through their work day. Winners will be selected on June 8.
Here's one I heard: to be a developer, you have to be a rockstar coding prodigy wrapped in a hoodie. Kinda like Mr Robot:
Our developer evangelist andrew.harris said impostor syndrome is pretty common for junior coders, but he was encouraging: "We all encounter impostor syndrome as young developer. But we got in this game to solve a problem and your idea is just as good as the next dev if you can prove it will work."
What's the worst advice you heard when you were trying to start your career?
Worst advice I'd been exposed to was this:
As a young developer, we're given the impression that in order to be successful, our salt is derived from putting in as much extra time as possible. We had a chart in the office at one point, were the departmental "priorities" were laid out for us in order:
As weisenheiming as it was, to a younger group of developers it was seen as something a bit canon. After some time, it becomes the de-facto for the group, and unfortunately, the outcome of such "dedication" ends up taking its toll on both the mental and physical well-being of the practitioner.
In short, don't burn yourself out just to fit in to a group that has been lashed into thinking "more is better". We're "knowledge workers", not laborers - our brains need downtime to recuperate and retain the ability for learning. If your management team thinks otherwise, find another team (or employer) which respects and rewards a healthy mind.