[Bekwnn]

I'm super appreciative of my current role for this and other reasons. I'm the sole software developer on a team of 6 people in a mostly isolated corner of the code base. I'm getting a ton of experience making calls and collaborating with non-engineers, while still getting to be involved in some broader discussions.

A company of 20-50 programmers seems ideal to me now, with an overall company size of <300. I feel larger might require too much bueracracy and smaller might lose out on QoL and scale of work that can be accomplished.

[scarface74]

I wouldn’t go that far. Being the sole developer you risk becoming an “expert beginner”. I know that held me back for over a decade, being the only developer for three years and working with two other developers who never worked at any other company for 9.

[nomel]

I’m might be in this boat, and it terrifies me.

What are some characteristics of a “expert beginner”? What did you realize you were lacking/weak points?

[scarface74]

https://daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of-th...

Unfortunately, you may not know until you get around people who have been developing as long as you have on paper but have learned from other people.

But this is my go to list of books.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18794561