I don’t think I’ve ever seen an argument promoting junior engineers so well articulated. Upvoted!
I fully agree with the author’s sentiment.
Many companies see junior engineers as burdens who’ll suck up valuable time and resources of the company and their senior colleagues, and completely miss the point that junior engineers bring some invaluable but intangible benefits to a team.
Sometimes, it’s the junior eyes who’ll notice something those of us who can be a bit stuck in our ways wouldn’t immediately notice. This youthful energy is the same reason why a lot of startups can enter markets already dominated by huge, experienced, and well-resourced players, and start eating their lunch.
The best and most underrated value I think a team gets from junior engineers—which the author highlights—is learning how to break down and explain things. The ability to collaborate and teach is something many folks may underestimate until you end up in an environment that sucks at both.
That said, it’s probably not ideal to bring junior engineers into an environment that’s not prepared to deal with them. You need to be prepared to really invest in them and their success to see the true value they can bring to your team.
I fully agree with the author’s sentiment.
Many companies see junior engineers as burdens who’ll suck up valuable time and resources of the company and their senior colleagues, and completely miss the point that junior engineers bring some invaluable but intangible benefits to a team.
Sometimes, it’s the junior eyes who’ll notice something those of us who can be a bit stuck in our ways wouldn’t immediately notice. This youthful energy is the same reason why a lot of startups can enter markets already dominated by huge, experienced, and well-resourced players, and start eating their lunch.
The best and most underrated value I think a team gets from junior engineers—which the author highlights—is learning how to break down and explain things. The ability to collaborate and teach is something many folks may underestimate until you end up in an environment that sucks at both.
That said, it’s probably not ideal to bring junior engineers into an environment that’s not prepared to deal with them. You need to be prepared to really invest in them and their success to see the true value they can bring to your team.