|
|
|
|
|
|
by mabbo
4405 days ago
|
|
|
I chose the corporate path for reasons never mentioned: education. At a fortune 500 company with a high entry bar, i'm surrounded by really damn good developers who mentor me. There are best practices, and explanations behind them. My friend at start ups seem to me to have not had the same further education that I have. Maybe some will figure out all the same things on their own, but it will take longer. Hard to say. Some of them at 27 are the 'senior developer'. |
|
|
I'm on my second startup (started at age 23), both of which I was unfortunately the most senior, and at times, the only developer.
There are often times that I wish I had a more established structure around me to facilitate learning the lessons it takes you a while to learn on your own.
That said, before I was in a startup, I also found that I sometimes had a habit of asking too many questions of more senior guys at my mid-sized company. The negative side of this is that not going through the paces of learning those things on my own, I started to feel like I was missing out on developing the critical thinking skills that it takes to learn those things on my own. I was skeptical that I wouldn't be able to move into a role with nobody else to lean on all the time.
After being the most senior guy at a startup for a few years (except for the occasional times when I've contracted with people who have 5+ years more experience), it's helped me develop the problem solving skills that I'm not sure I would have with a resource working right next to me. The lessons are harder won, but sometimes it can be more satisfying to come up with that continuing education on your own (and, well, with the help of the internet).