SWE Stop Learning - The Rise Of Expert Beginners

A no-code software architect enters the chat

"You're going to get way worse before you get better" - I went through this when I was learning blind typing. It feels bad, but it is necessary to evolve.

This is also something I see a lot. People compare their abilities to mine all the time, and assume they aren’t good, which is totally not the case; I’ve just had more experience. Usually, if I can get them to believe they can do it, they solve the problem just fine; they just need more time, but they don’t even attempt it because they think it’s too complicated. When I look at a problem, I see the obstacles, but I always start with the mindset that it is solvable. The question isn’t “can I solve this,” it’s “is the solution worth the repercussions?”

This is a real thing, it's the smash player showing up to the local thinking he's the best, because he beats all his friends and 4 stocked by the worst regular

I work with Expert Beginner "Dunning–Krugers" with 15+ years of experience and I hate them.

"we inherited the Brit's problems" See!? More trouble with inheritance!

"Expert beginner" is similar to the 100 hr pilot in aviation. It's the point where confidence begins to outstrip experience and ability. You don't notice the bad habits that have set in, and don't realize the extent to which luck has gotten you through; and haven't experienced the system(s) failing. Interesting to note that "co-pilot" is the name given to our IDE AI assistants...let's not be the overconfident 100 hr pilot.

Follow your curiosity. So many people seem afraid of this. If you don't know how something works, find out. I've been doing this for 20 years and have hundreds of side "projects" whose whole aim was to simply be more knowledgeable in some subject, library, or framework.

One of the most terrifying things that happened to me during my career was the rockstar stagnation phase. I was so good at my niche on my supportive team that I completely stopped learning and just cranked out things that were essentially the same for 3 years. I'm working to make up for that wasted time and videos like these keep me on that path.

I read this article years ago after attending a session at a local developers conference. It is by far the most influential thing I have ever read, and really explained not just the problems I was encountering but even some of the problems I was creating.