Two months have passed since I began working as a Graduate Java Developer. My team here in Cambourne are great and I’m no longer getting that feeling of not wanting to get up in the morning to go to work. My manager is great. Very accommodating and happy for me to take my time to learn more aspects of the application. This is exactly what I wanted when I was searching for a new role in December ’17.
It really is a relief when you have a manager and team willing to help you get up to speed.
- What do I do as a Graduate Java Dev?
Well, I’d say basic programming tasks. Since I started, the team have given me a varied amount of tasks ranging from core programming to UI changes. They know I really enjoy the front-end aspect and I feel I have an eye for usability and design which is really handy.
Recently, I implemented a scrollbar for a user to scroll a table horizontally because the out of the box one did not do what we needed. Doesn’t seem like much but getting this to work with a complex table of data like we have is tricky.
- How do I manage my workflow?
A simple factor to this is what do I want to do first? There are tasks I’ve been allocated that I really want to complete first then there are some that I don’t. It’s really what my brain feels like trying to figure out first. Some days I really want to build something colourful and pleasing to the eye then the next all I want to do is rework some back-end java code and read terminal outputs for the rest of the day.
Obviously, if the tasks have a High, Mod, Low urgency then I take that into account and decide from there. At the moment, every task I have completed have been all a moderate urgency.
- Do I feel out of depth with my knowledge?
No, not at all. I have been assigned tasks that if I read a bit more and still don’t have a clue about where to start I will ask the senior devs for an explanation. I’ve learnt so much in the two months at this company than I thought I would have. It really has been a big eye-opener but in a good, challenging way.
- What did I have to learn on day one?
What the application was, did and what areas of business is helped. Oh, and also how to use IntelliJ IDE. Keyboard shortcuts are a massive time saver so learn them soon as. I also went and learned a good amount more of Windows OS & Linux. I’m a Mac OS lover but since joining my work, I have learnt so much more with the other two operating systems that I feel a lot more comfortable performing tasks in a command line environment than with a GUI.
- Where do I see myself in a year?
It’s a hard question. There is so much going on in my life at the moment. Right now, this second, I would like to see myself move from the Graduate Dev title to possibly a mid-level. I have the willingness to learn and definitely improve on my mistakes. That’s one key thing to do, looks at the negatives and learn from them. Don’t let it get to you like I did in my first role as you will suffer in the long term. I’m punching myself now for how I handled myself a few months back. Now, I am asking my manager for monthly progress updates and taking notes about the areas of concern.