10 things I learned in my first year as a software engineer

After spending over a year in the software engineering industry, the author reflects on key lessons learned that have contributed to their development as an effective engineer. Emphasizing the importance of clean and readable code over overly optimized solutions, they highlight how maintaining code clarity is crucial for team collaboration and future troubleshooting. The author advocates for small, incremental changes in code deployment, which facilitate easier testing and feedback while preventing merge conflicts and overwhelming pull requests. Pair programming is encouraged as a means to solve problems collaboratively, break down information silos, and prepare for coding interviews. There's a caution against relying on inheritance in object-oriented programming, with a preference for composition to ensure flexibility and ease of code refactoring. Embracing types is recommended to enhance code reliability, particularly in large codebases, and planning before coding is advised for early problem detection and feedback. The author stresses the relevance of web app frameworks in the industry and the necessity of familiarizing oneself with them, while also demystifying the coding interview process as an opportunity to demonstrate effective communication and problem-solving skills. Lastly, they recommend several influential books to deepen understanding and practice of software engineering principles.