Engineering Advice You Didn't Ask For S01E05 - Why we need juniors & How to break into tech
6 snips
Apr 20, 2022 The conversation delves into the significance of hiring junior engineers for team dynamics. Experts weigh in on how juniors contribute to mentorship and help avoid echo chambers. They tackle the paradox of job postings that demand experience from candidates just entering the field. There's a debate on the merits of bootcamps versus traditional education paths. The hosts also share valuable insights on onboarding, communication skills, and evaluating company culture to ensure a fruitful start in tech.
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Balanced Team Mix Scales Well
- A balanced team mix (juniors, mids, seniors) scales mentoring and delivery effectively.
- Thiago recommends a 3-2 ratio so seniors can strategize while juniors receive support.
Avoid Tiny Teams For Resilience
- Keep team size above four to avoid brittle scheduling and bus-factor problems.
- Vic and others argue six to eight people lets seniors support juniors without single points of failure.
Hire Juniors To Improve Team Rigor
- Hire juniors to force better documentation, testing, and mentorship across the team.
- Mitra warns seniors should not offload grunt tasks like docs onto juniors; teach them meaningful work.
