Hey all,

I am a software developer at a small company where I’m one of two developers. The other dev is primarily back-end and has been working off some basic cloud infra set up by an external company before I joined, so I’m essentially running solo on the frontend, some of the backend, cloud architecture, project management, etc. (really, everything except database management some of the existing api endpoints).

So, what are the best ways to improve in this scenario? How do you prevent a limited learning environment from limiting your growth? Has anyone been in a similar situation and learned some tips for making the best of it? Any ideas?

(Also, I know it’s frequent advice to just say “move companies” but this job is a really unique opportunity, and I absolutely love the company, so I am not interested in doing that.)

Thanks :)

  • luciole (he/him)@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ve worked in a small org with very few devs. I was the only one for a while. I think the most important in this sort of environment is to care.

    I’ve found it useful to pay attention to the org’s goals and strategy as well as being interested in how operations work. This is because you may end up taking a ton of microdecisions during development and you want them to align. As your understanding grows and you slowly take your place, you may be consulted as well for all sorts of things.

    You’ll need to take your personal technical growth into your own hands. The org should be expecting you to do so and they may even grow interested in what exciting new stuff you’ve learned.

    Also if you have plenty of non technical colleagues, translating your technical reality into layman’s terms and in actual impact is key. It’s important to build that bridge.

    It can be a super rewarding experience! The fact you love the place and you’re already wary not to stagnate makes me think you’re a good fit.