Developers love learning how to build things, but understanding why they’re building them is what makes the work meaningful. Understanding the “why” behind your code will make you a better developer, teammate, and leader.
Legacy codebases feel like haunted houses, every file hides a ghost from the past. But instead of letting them drain your skills, you can turn debugging, small refactors, and a sense of humor into survival strategies. Here’s how to thrive when your day job is more archaeology than architecture.
If everyone’s nodding in your meeting, you’re missing something. Silence isn’t agreement, it’s a red flag. Real progress comes from questions, specifics, and a little discomfort.
Support teams aren’t the dumpster for bad process. They’re the smoke alarm, calling out failures upstream. If you keep dumping garbage on them, don’t be surprised when your customer satisfaction burns down with it.
You weren’t hired to move Jira tickets. You were hired to solve real problems. If you want to level up, start thinking in outcomes, not just checkboxes.
