[spike021]

I'm a mid (technically "senior" title at current job) level engineer with about 7 YOE. I still get stuck sometimes.

The major difference from what I remember 5+ years ago is I try to ask early and often (like the vote early, vote often adage) when I need help.

Something that I think is missed in this industry, though, is that everyone has different backgrounds.

I started this job late last year and sometimes I'll have a lot of questions or get blocked on something I have zero experience in. It can be frustrating because I don't want to over-ask, and know how to timebox myself, but team members, or relevant engineers on other teams, may have less years of experience with more contextual knowledge/experience and occasionally don't want to be bothered to share it. We can get into the nitty-gritty of team culture and all that, but I think it really in this case just boils down to recognizing that someone may not know everything and they could be higher or lower level; it's just important to find the right method to get them up to speed.