Early career devs need to accumulate a few things, roughly in this order of importance:
- projects where you made a key contribution, where you "owned" something
- senior people who will be mentors / boosters
- a portfolio of skills, technologies, domain areas, engineering practices, soft skills
- maybe a fancy name? A FAANG or a startup that hits big.
It sounds like you're getting a couple of these. Jobs that hit all these points at once don't grow on trees. But, always have your feelers out. Keep in touch with former colleagues and schoolmates.
Don't assume that senior people know what they're doing. They've probably been promoted to a role in which they're just trying to figure it out. It sounds like your manager and her boss are struggling. Have empathy, but don't get stuck paying for their mistakes. Managing up is a skill. I wish I had it.
Expect requirements to change. They usually do. You can't beat direct contact with end-users and rapid iteration based on their feedback. Serving real users is fun and even the most clueless and back-stabbing of bosses will respect it.
- Don't assume management cares about your best interest. Some will. Most won't.
- Don't think you can change a dysfunctional org from below. You can't.
- Don't beat yourself up. Look for lessons and keep on keepin' on.
- Don't stay in a bad situation. Everybody's hiring.
It sounds like you're getting a couple of these. Jobs that hit all these points at once don't grow on trees. But, always have your feelers out. Keep in touch with former colleagues and schoolmates.
Don't assume that senior people know what they're doing. They've probably been promoted to a role in which they're just trying to figure it out. It sounds like your manager and her boss are struggling. Have empathy, but don't get stuck paying for their mistakes. Managing up is a skill. I wish I had it.
Expect requirements to change. They usually do. You can't beat direct contact with end-users and rapid iteration based on their feedback. Serving real users is fun and even the most clueless and back-stabbing of bosses will respect it.
- Don't assume management cares about your best interest. Some will. Most won't. - Don't think you can change a dysfunctional org from below. You can't. - Don't beat yourself up. Look for lessons and keep on keepin' on. - Don't stay in a bad situation. Everybody's hiring.