Lessons from My First Year as a Software Engineer(saad-masood.medium.com)

saad-masood.medium.com

Lessons from My First Year as a Software Engineer

https://saad-masood.medium.com/5-lessons-from-my-first-year-as-a-software-engineer-ca82cce1f712

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One of the biggest lessons I learned is that you can't let your work speak for itself and expect a raise or promotion. I soaked up all I could and volunteered for tasks, often times going way out of my comfort zone. When my first review came along, I didn't do a very good job of articulating all of that into my self review. So despite having gone above and beyond, I got a Meets Expectations.

After that, I made sure to document everything I did. I also looked up the responsibilities and expectations for the next level position and documented every way that I was already performing and oftentimes exceeding at that level. Therefore, when monthly one-on-ones or the annual review came along, I was prepared to make my case for why I deserved a promotion. That's how I was able to be promoted 3 times within 5 years, quickly surpassing peers who had been there much longer than me.

tldr; your success as a beginning software engineer is dependent upon your abilities to learn, to take on tasks that are outside of your comfort zone, and above all to be your own best advocate.