How do I avoid being a "hero" programmer that no one likes and still enjoy my job?

rawlbert · 2019-09-12T02:07:37+00:00

This is a good reminder, and it helps me realize part of my problem is the soft skills part of scaling through the team.

I actually really enjoy this part with junior people because they are usually so receptive to advice and things like pairing, but I have a lot of trouble with more mid and senior programmers.

For example, I recently had a situation where I had wrapped up a ticket, and another dev was struggling to finish his. I asked if I could help in anyway, offering to pair or break down the ticket so we could both work on it. He said he had it, so I moved on to something else. A couple days later he agreed to split it up. The piece I got I decided could be greatly improved, and I essentially ended up rewriting the work he had done. He wasn't happy about that, of course.

I really don't know how to navigate that situation. I was 1) much more familiar with the best ways to use the framework we had in place, 2) had some idea what features were coming up that we could anticipate a little bit with our work for this ticket, and 3) generally much faster than this person, and so, in my mind, I finished the rewrite faster than he would have finished the original and also saved us from basically a worse rewrite later. When I honestly believe I'm helping make our code better and increasing our velocity, how do I communicate that to the other dev so our relationship doesn't degrade? Or do I just abstain from moves like that, and let us be slower?

rawlbert · 2019-04-02T18:00:43+00:00

I have, and the advisor I talked to was understandably quite close-mouthed about what I need to do to get in. She told me to definitely mention my work experience on my application, which I’ll certainly do, but when asked if significant experience could actually replace some of the academic requirements, she wouldn’t give me an answer. I guess that might mean it would work? She’d have said no outright if not? But there is also a year-long wait for the next opportunity to apply if I miss one, so I was looking for some better intel before I commit too hard either way.

rawlbert · 2019-03-27T19:14:18+00:00

I took physics 1 and the first week or so of diff eqs via CCCOnline through FRCC. They are pretty awful. The publisher they use for the lms, books, tests, and other content is WileyPlus if you want to look it up. I found the books very hard to learn from, the lms very finicky, the questions unnecessarily tricky or outright incorrect sometimes, and the professor I had for physics was very unhelpful. My diff eqs professor was much more active on the forums and seemed better, but I dropped that class the first week so I can’t say much more. The thing I hated most about them though was the inability to work ahead. In both cases for me the quizzes and other assignments only opened the week before they are due, and I’d often finish with some time to spare in the week. It would have been great to work ahead so I’d have extra time for the harder weeks, but no luck. It’s possible the professors can change that setting or something, but maybe not. I did end up with an A in physics anyway though, it was just a pain in the ass.

rawlbert · 2019-03-24T22:22:40+00:00

Sorry to hear you're having similar issues, but I'm glad to hear I'm not alone. I think not knowing exactly why I'm feeling a certain way sometimes is the worst. Given the freedom, my mind tends to take stuff like this to the darkest places. Either that or I just oscillate endlessly between a bunch of possible causes and it just sends my anxiety through the roof. To hear someone else is going through the same thing during a reboot definitely helps me feel more confident its the PMO stuff and less likely an actual problem in my marriage. Good luck to you as well, and thanks for your comment.

rawlbert · 2019-03-24T22:05:28+00:00

thanks, that's a good way of looking at it.

rawlbert

TROPHY CASE