I'm a junior developer with a year of experience, and I've been out of work for almost a year. During this time, I kept coding and even developed a full-stack project from scratch. Now I have a new job where I'll be the sole IT person in a small company. I have some resources like a senior developer friend I can ask for help, but I want to be as self-reliant as possible. I'm excited about making decisions regarding tech stack and project design, but I realize that being the only developer comes with significant responsibility. I'm concerned about how to handle things like code design, maintenance, testing, and backup systems so I don't jeopardize my reputation or the company's operations. What advice would you give me for this role?
3 Answers
What exactly will your responsibilities be as the only developer? Are you focusing solely on backend development?
Before diving into coding, take some time to plan everything out and agree on it with your management. Writing tests is also essential to catch bugs early. Communicating your progress regularly is key, so you avoid showing up with a finished product that misses the mark. Try to do as much independent coding as possible to learn more, but definitely set up a solid database backup system first. Plus, make notes of all your wins and challenges, as they can help with performance reviews or when seeking new opportunities later.
Starting a project solo is super exciting but can be tricky! Make sure to invest time in good practices from the get-go, as you might find that learning from your mistakes later can be tough. Key areas to quickly focus on include setting up reliable backups, writing unit and end-to-end tests, and managing database migrations. These things will save you a lot of headaches down the line. And don't forget to keep your version control tidy—small, organized commits can really help you out when you’re the only one coding!
Yeah, I'll primarily be working on backend stuff for now, but they want me to build a complete project from scratch, which will involve integrating various APIs for automation. Expecting a lot from me!