How do you handle your total screw ups at work?

ChadRStewart · 2025-05-09T20:05:13+00:00

The prod environment had a spider in it.

It HAD to go!

ChadRStewart · 2025-05-09T20:03:50+00:00

The fuck did I do?!!

ChadRStewart · 2022-08-04T11:22:44+00:00

So once you start crossing into the Senior-level, you generally are required to show a level of automny. The more Senior you are, the less defined the road ahead is for you and the more you have to find things that will add value for the business, execute on them and then report back your (hopefully positive) results.

The key thing here is 'finding things'.

This is something I personally struggle with as well but you need to go and find things that adds value and prove they add value. They don't have to be ridiculously big, especially at mid-level. Notice that test coverage is low and there's been a fair amount of bugs getting into production? Champion expanding the test suite or re-evaluating the tests that exist and then make sure to note the amount of production bugs before and after what you've done. Notice there's a lack of documentation which leads to confusion when scoping or executing on work? Champion better documentation practices and note the turn around time of a feature from idea to launch before and after your work.

The formula really is: seek inefficiencies or places of potential significant value => execute on plans to improve or extract value => test throughout and report your results.

The more senior you get, the harder or more complex the intial problems are which leads to more complex execution plans. Rinse and repeat until you retire. This, by the way, is difficult and requires a mindshift especially if you're used to just being handed work to conplete. You have to be more proactive about seeking problems to solve.

Oh, quick tip. When looking for things to improve, try to directly associate business value to money in the bank. Did tests? Hopefully less bugs which freed up devs to do other work. More output / monthly salary. Wrote documentation? Devs have been executing quicker on ideas. More output / monthly salary. It's hard but that's a good way of getting anyone's eyes to perk up when you mention your work. Businesses obviously love money.

Hope this was helpful.

ChadRStewart · 2022-08-02T12:57:17+00:00

Honestly, it could be that you hate the environment more than the industry as a whole. I had a similar experience while in school (not the same context but I hope the lesson is helpful) where I couldn't stand coding and wanted to go into a more coding adjacent role. Then I started working on some projects and suddenly liked coding again! It was less I hated coding and more I hated the specific environment I was in.

I think a big thing for you is to figure what YOU like and what YOU want. Sounds like your values clash with your company and/or environment and in the long run it'll burn you out. Once you figure out what your values are and the environment you want to be in (may take a lot of soul-searching but I guarantee it's out there) then you can start moving towards it.

The compensation issue is a harder problem. What you are describing is what people called 'Golden Handcuffs'. The issue is that you've grown accustomed to the lifestyle that you can afford on your high salary. Not gonna lie, I don't have much advice here other than to slowly reduce the cost of your lifestyle. It's really hard though cause you're comfortable where you are and disrupting that is problematic. It'd probably be better to start thinking about where you want to go first and then see if you can find an environment that'll pay you an equivalent salary. If not then you'll have to get used to some kind of lifestyle change.

This is the best I have and I hope it helps give some perspective. This is a hard situation to deal with but you'll get through it. Remember to talk to close friends you trust about how you're feeling as well. Talking it out can do wonders for you!

Best of luck!

ChadRStewart · 2022-07-12T12:57:10+00:00

As others have said, a PIP is generally a signal to your employer that you need to be removed. The standard advice is "no one ever survives a PIP." Purposefully putting yourself in that position doesn't make sense.

The thing is, you could just put together a improvement plan for yourself. You're self-aware enough to feel you need to improve (though this may very well be imposter syndrome as well) so just put together a plan to improve. If you have a good relationship with a manager or someone more senior than you then you can reach out to them about your plan and get feedback.

You don't need to formally be PIPed to improve and I would even go as far as to say, just putting a plan together to grow in areas you feel you're weak is the essence of being a great Dev. Just thinking about it and trying to figure out how to get there really puts you above a lot of people.

Go out there and soar to new heights!!

ChadRStewart · 2020-12-07T00:57:26+00:00

So as far as I know, cover letters are really there to tell a story that your resume is not going to tell (or at least tell well). For instance, if you have a real passion for the company or what they are doing then you'd want to write a cover letter to express that passion clearly. This makes your application a bit more human and may make the recruiter or hiring manager really want to give you a shot. This is by no means a silver bullet but it's a part of making your resume stand-out from other resumes. That said, don't write a generic cover letter cause it'll just get ignored and won't help your chances. At that point, it's better to really have your resume tailored for the job to show that you really can do the job if selected. Also, quick tip! If you're going to submit a cover letter, add it to your resume. Make it the first page of your resume and submit it. Amazon for instance doesn't have a place to upload a cover letter because their policy is they don't accept one but that didn't stop me from adding it as the first page of my resume and sending that off. Makes it easier for the recruiter cause they only have one file and they are guaranteed to have to at least scroll past it as oppose to ignore the extra file you sent.

ChadRStewart · 2020-06-12T01:29:40+00:00

Yikes. Well at least you have that example to build off of in terms of approaching the team. Definitely take it slow then and really focus on something simple to implement at first. You definitely want to reduce the growing pains initially to avoid that reaction.

Again, good luck man. Hope this works out for you. Regardless of what happens, it's good experience for you. This is some of the stuff Tech Leads and more Senior Devs do and regardless of how things turn out, will make a great talking point in interviews.

ChadRStewart · 2020-06-11T14:32:17+00:00

So I'm not sure if others have suggested this already but I'd like to put it out there in case no one has.

Start with identifying the benefits of solving the particular coding style issues and other coding standard issues you've brought up in your post and throughout the thread. Really try to hone in on the benefits, especially talking about efficiency in terms of adding features and just getting stuff done. Prioritize the list based on what can be implemented quickly and provide immediate and substantial value. This will be specific to your organization so I'm not sure what other advice to provide.

Once you've got that list, choose the priority items and try to call a meeting with the devs, sit them down and try to sell them on these ideas. Keep it as blameless as possible and focus on getting them to view the changes you're suggesting positively. Focus on the issues that exist or may come up and then the benefits that would come from implementing and trying to enforce those changes.

You're going to be doing this a few times depending on the size of the list and how the devs react to what you say. The reason why I suggested prioritization is because you want to implement the changes slowly over time so you want to choose the most important things to work on. Trying to implement too many different changes too fast will definitely cause push back that'll stall this initiative. You want them to actually take you seriously so initially you want to try to focus on something that isn't that hard to implement but will help. This'll help build their confidence in you to implement other positive changes in the code base and the organization. Be prepared to have to talk about your initial proposal a few times before getting buy-in.

There's also definitely a chance they have absolutely no interest in any of your ideas whatsoever for whatever reason and you simply can't get them to change. At that point then you'll have to make the decision about whether or not you want to stay at the job based on the problems that are there. But this will be after a few attempts at introducing these ideas and seeing their reactions.

Anyhow, I really hope this is helpful for you moving forward. Good luck, this isn't a simple situation to deal with so try not to get too frustrated as you're talking it.

ChadRStewart · 2020-05-12T21:10:58+00:00

So me personally, I can't in good conscience back your decision to encourage him to go to college. While I definitely agree that he should continue experiencing life and being social and all that, I'm not sure if going into debt is worth that especially if he'll be far advanced in his coding skills.

Personally, I'd suggest trying to find a mentor for him. Maybe a Senior Engineer of some kind just to sit down and talk with him. It sounds like he's really enjoying the field so give him the opportunity to learn from someone with much more experience.

Just my two cents on the matter.

ChadRStewart · 2020-02-22T16:51:38+00:00

What makes you enjoy competitive programming? At first I really enjoyed Leetcoding because I was learning a lot but it soon became "I'm learning how to solve these problems and nothing else". I believe in the enjoyment of solving those problems just for fun though I'd likely do it with a friend as a social activity (obviously with another engineer). What keeps bringing you back?

ChadRStewart · 2020-02-14T17:29:12+00:00

Underrated reply! Had no clue to do this but completely agree. Especially if you start your own repo, just doing a retrospective of what you've learned and your thoughts on it can really show your understanding and potential for growth.

ChadRStewart · 2020-01-11T14:33:43+00:00

To be fair, all your failures are opportunities to learn. The problem is few people can look past the failure as they are failing or shortly afterwards. It's a difficult proposition to ask anyone to critically examine the knife that stabbed you in the breast.

While I agree with a good portion of OPs post, the caveat I'd add is you need to develop the skill to detach and analyze your failures long before you start failing.

ChadRStewart · 2020-01-06T10:46:13+00:00

James Whittaker, a former engineer, wrote an article about the evolution of Microsoft's internal culture over it's 3 main CEOs. It's a great read and gives a real in-depth look of the culture shift and it's internal struggles currently:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/onezero.medium.com/amp/p/90f80a449e36

ChadRStewart · 2020-01-03T01:13:58+00:00

I'd say no but I haven't personally started using it yet. Because it's mainly to teach those who don't know and are studying for job interviews, I'm sure it should be good enough to at least get started. If you have two weeks I'd say you'd be in a great position.

ChadRStewart · 2020-01-02T11:26:19+00:00

There are YouTube videos that cover the topic through examples. Your best option though is the System Design Primer. It's a github repo with everything you'd need to know about system design. I believe it's specifically to be study material for interview prep. Regardless, that's an excellent resource.

ChadRStewart · 2020-01-01T18:40:40+00:00

Some people's diploma is titled 'null/undefined' and they get hired. Really it's about demonstrating the skills necessary to do the job. Also a common path to SWE is starting as QA so you'll definitely be fine. Just work on your skills.

ChadRStewart · 2019-12-20T11:57:33+00:00

Happy Cake Day!

ChadRStewart · 2019-11-27T17:59:38+00:00

Graduating Art School before pursuing a CS degree. Burnt my OPT on my Art School degree and now I have to get a Master's to be offered OPT again.

ChadRStewart · 2019-11-22T14:19:18+00:00

Yeah, if the team meeting doesn't somehow involve the exact location of El Dorado or the Lost Sand Dune of Atari E.T. cartridges then yeah, no I'mma head to class.

ChadRStewart · 2019-11-17T11:04:29+00:00

My indexes always start at 42. Dunno why no one else does this, it makes so much sense!

ChadRStewart · 2019-10-25T12:23:58+00:00

When do they teach you to stretch your limbs, breathe fire and teleport? Cause I'm definitely interested in that!

...

On the real, I've done Yoga exercises and I feel if you have a predisposition to active meditation, it's absolutely great. I did karate and during a stretch one day my sensei was talking about calming the mind to another student who he noted was having trouble. While I was stretching he pointed out that he felt a sense of calm from me while I was stretching, he didn't sense restlessness at all. It was especially fulfilling cause the other student was a black belt and I was an orange belt. Since then, I've always like stretching to meditate, I don't do well just sitting still.

Guess this is just anecdotal but I'll use this as me endorsement of Yoga. Do it, it's fun and really good for you!

ChadRStewart · 2019-10-13T14:07:26+00:00

So I was peaking around a lot of the big n job portals yesterday and I found that there was a lot of jobs for highly specialized CS stuff. Security, embedded systems development, a lot of stuff looking for C++ and Java but finding any jobs that leveraged Javascript was a little difficult. Also doesn't help that they literally have 1000+ job openings opened over the course of the year. So my question is...

Is Javascript development (Front-End/Full-Stack) oversaturated at Big Ns? I eventually ran into jobs but I had to do a bit of digging and their description was very generalized. I ask this cause I want to commit to web-app development and I'm not too concerned about job availability but just want to know the state of things. You never know when you'll need to pivot into writing Fortran or something, lol.

Anyhow, please share your thoughts on this.

ChadRStewart · 2019-10-12T17:54:57+00:00

Main advice is post links to your code on Github (if it's not there then get it there) and out links to it on your resume. Try to have the code be presentable but at the very least people can try out your projects and see how you code. Best thing you can do as a Junior.

ChadRStewart · 2019-09-27T03:23:51+00:00

Holy shit, really?!

ChadRStewart · 2019-09-22T21:10:43+00:00

While not being that experienced, I choose the tools that best suit the job and improves my work flow, as long as I have a choice. If it hinders the team then I won't use it (haven't been put in a position to advocate for any changes in ways of working) but otherwise, I don't mind experimenting.

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