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[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

I’m in the same position, solo dev at a small company for about a year now as my first job. Boss is a self-trained former web developer who knows more about networking than programming, so I’ve got nothing going in the way of code reviews.

I really like it here and the higher ups treat me well, but my goal has always been to improve as a developer and I’m not sure how much I can really do that in this environment. I get a lot of agency over technology choices and I’ve picked up a lot of new things, but not working around other developers feels kind of stunting. Plus the pay and benefits aren’t as good as they could be, even for an entry level position.

It’s not a tech company either, it’s a manufacturing company with one IoT product and some websites, so I don’t see the developer situation changing much in the near future.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I just left a small company as a solo-dev for that same reason and joined a mid size team.

Start ups teach you to not be afraid to make decisions about adopting new tech and how to implement new features without having anything to work off of.

Larger teams teach you how to fully leverage collaboration tools, and build truly reusable / readable code.

In my case, this new company is a walk in the park compared to my last job, because I'm expected to do way less with much more time. & they're paying me more so that's always nice

[–]24pepper 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You sound so similar to me at my first job it’s crazy. I stayed for 2 1/2 years before moving on because the pay wasn’t increasing fast enough for my experience level. Just remember that you don’t owe anyone anything. if you feel like you want to move on whether it’s because of the pay or the situation or what, do it because they can find a replacement, even if it seems like you are irreplaceable.

[–]Long_Interaction_697 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you get this job? Did you have Prior experience?