Considering quitting as a junior due to lack of a coach [closed]

Question

I have finished my CS degree this year and got my first real job in IT, if you don’t count an internship and student jobs.

Since the beginning, I have been basically the only JS developer, responsible for the JS part of the projects.

I do manage to deliver but it is very stressful as I don’t have anybody to ask for help if I am stuck. I am also worried that by not having anybody to look at my code I might be picking up bad practices from the internet or overlooking some elegant solutions.

I am left to make choices and decision that I am afraid I am not qualified yet to make.

Am I crazy to think this is not a good place for a junior and this is not how it should be? I am thinking of looking for another job since I feel I might be wasting my time here but I am not sure whether this is a right thing to do. What do you, more experienced folks, think about this?

Answer 1

Am I crazy to think this is not a good place for a junior and this is not how it should be?

I don't think this is crazy at all and it's certainly worth some consideration. One of the main purposes a job should serve is to prepare you for your next job. If you don't think you're getting the right kind of experience to make you a better developer, you need to change that.

Before quitting, you should express your concerns to your manager. Tell them that, though you're able to make deadlines, you have doubts about the quality of your code. Ask if someone can review it and give you constructive feedback. If there truly is no one there with the ability to critique your work, this is a red flag. A much wiser person than me once said, "if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room."

If you're unsatisfied with their response to your concerns, I would still recommend you consider sticking it out for a year. It will be much easier to find a new job once you hit the one-year mark and you will avoid having short-term employment on your resume that you will have to explain in future interviews. Since this is your first job, hiring managers may be willing to look past it, but as long as you're not completely miserable, it may be better to play it safe. In any case, make sure you find another job before you quit.

So what can you do in the meantime? Go to meetups, consider taking some MOOCs through Coursera or edX, maybe do some online coding challenges and learn from the feedback you get. There are some things that can only be learned on the job, but in the digital age, there are plenty of other ways to learn, especially when it comes to programming.

Answer 2

As others have suggested, don't quit before having a new job in hand.

Beware though, you may just be having a rough time making the transition from school to the workplace. Almost any job you take will be asking for more initiative and independence then you may have had to demonstrate in school. You've just finished four years of advanced education in computer science. By this point you should be able to pick up JS on your own. It will be hard, and stressful, and you may have to seek out external resources to learn how to do it right, but lots of folks without a CS degree do teach themselves JS. Having a mentor always helps, but inevitably in your career you are going to reach the point where no mentor is available, and you have to trudge on anyway.

You know what's being asked of you and I don't. It may be that your employer's have unreasonable expectations. But consider treating it as a challenge, and don't let your fears undermine you. It's a cliche, but failure is a great instructor.