Supporting Early-Career Devs and Defining "Engineer"

Travis and Brandon talk about how teams can support early-career developers and career changers. What environments are they a good fit for? How do you set expectations for newer folks? How can you help them get and stay productive? Is the cost of doing so worth it?

They also talk about the surprising lack of definition around the space between "Entry-Level" and "Senior" engineers to define the main role that the rest are supposedly based on. They talk about the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition, how folks get stuck in "Advanced Beginner" stage, and how to help them move to "Competent" and toward real, holistic expertise.

Notes:

• Zone of Proximal Development
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development
• Charity Majors tweet
  • https://twitter.com/mipsytipsy/status/1191622396207190016
• Bryan Liles tweet
  • https://twitter.com/bryanl/status/1192408098457174016?s=21
• Dreyfus model of skill acquisition
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition