The Junior Developer Survival Guide

Welcome to the code jungle, junior dev. Whether you just landed your first role, wrapped up a bootcamp, or taught yourself how to code while fighting sleep demons at 2am, congrats — you're in. Now what?

Here’s your survival guide to not just make it through your first year, but to thrive, grow, and maybe even enjoy the chaos.

1. You Are Supposed to Be Confused

Let’s get this straight: you’re not failing — you’re learning. Every “WTF?” moment is a signal, not a shortcoming.

Pro tip: If you’re the smartest person in the room… you’re either alone, or someone fired all the seniors.

2. Ask Questions Early, Often, and Clearly

Silence is a bug factory. You don’t look smart by staying stuck — you look like a future post-mortem.

Don’t say: “It’s not working.”
Do say: “Here’s what I’m trying to do, here’s what I’ve tried, and here’s what’s happening.”

Questions aren’t annoying — vague bugs at 4pm on Friday are.

3. Learn Your Tools, Not Just Your Code

The IDE isn’t just a glorified notepad. Learn shortcuts. Use linters. Set up Git properly. Bookmark docs. Every wasted click is time you’ll want back when prod is down and you’re debugging with one eye open.

4. Keep a Developer Journal

No, not the “dear diary” kind. A Notion page. A markdown file. A repo full of “how I solved this weird thing.” Because Future You is going to forget everything.

What confused you today might be what saves someone else tomorrow.

5. Make Allies, Not Just PRs

Your team is your safety net, your cheat code, and your sanity check. Ask for feedback. Pair program. Review other people’s PRs even if you’re not sure what you’re looking at — you’ll learn faster than you think.

6. Go Slow to Go Fast

Don’t speedrun your tickets like it’s a Mario level. Understand the problem. Ask clarifying questions. Break things into pieces. Then write the code.

Rushed code = tech debt = haunted dreams = angry seniors = longer onboarding for the next new hire (aka karma).

7. Track Your Wins (Even the Tiny Ones)

Did you fix a bug without Stack Overflow? Add a new test? Actually understand a regex? Write that down. Impostor Syndrome feeds on forgetfulness.

Your growth is happening — don’t let it go unnoticed just because it isn’t flashy.

8. Get Comfortable Not Knowing

Senior devs don’t “know it all” — they just know how to figure things out. Your job isn’t to have answers. It’s to ask better questions, learn faster, and build better instincts.

Anyone who acts like they know everything? Run. That’s not a dev. That’s a red flag with a keyboard.

You Belong Here

You’re not “just a junior.” You’re a developer. Own it. Show up. Ask questions. Build cool stuff. Break things. Fix them. Learn. Repeat.

You’ve already survived the hardest part — starting. The rest is iteration.