[tjr]

Agreed. I once joined an engineering team as junior engineer at the same time they brought in a new principal engineer. He had lots of experience, but not on this specific project, so we were both on equal footing regarding the project itself.

I noticed the big difference between me and him was that he was very good at asking questions, whereas I fumbled around and tried to figure things out on my own.

Sometimes figuring it out on your own is exactly the right thing to do. But sometimes -- and especially now, as the newcomer in the group -- asking questions may be a better strategy.