How do you transition from just writing code to actually thinking like a software engineer?
Posted by kinyua_14@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 10 comments
I’ve been learning software engineering for a while now and recently started noticing how different building real projects feels compared to following tutorials.
So far I’ve used Java the most, but I’ve also worked with Python, JavaScript, Node.js, React, and Next.js on small projects. One thing I’m struggling with now is understanding how experienced developers approach building larger and cleaner systems without getting overwhelmed.
For those further ahead in software engineering, what mindset or skill helped you transition from “writing code that works” to actually thinking like a software engineer?
SuspiciousDepth5924@reddit
I find that there is a very strong correlation between good code and code that is easy to test.
Testing in general should be on your roadmap anyways if you're serious about software engineering so if you haven't started looking into it yet I recommend you start writing some tests for your code. If the tests are hard to write or require a lot of complicated setup to run it is a good indicator that there is something 'off' with your code and you should try to figure out how you could make it more 'testable'.
This means that it works as an good 'proxy-metric' for code quality until you start to internalize a feel for it.
Since you said you've used Java the most: JUnit is one of the most used test frameworks in the Java ecosystem and is a good place to start https://docs.junit.org/6.1.0/overview.html
kinyua_14@reddit (OP)
That’s actually a really interesting way to look at it. I haven’t explored testing much yet, so I’ll definitely start learning JUnit. I appreciate the advice.
_PeachLily_@reddit
breaking it down into smaller problems really helped me stop panicking about.
aanzeijar@reddit
Read code of others.
If you write stuff for yourself, you'll write code you yourself have to use. If you read code of others, you'll get:
autistic_bard444@reddit
Success is failing time and time again without giving up or quitting
Learn from your mistakes.
It is a logic loop
Once you know the rules of the game then the world is a game to be played
pak9rabid@reddit
It happens a few years into your career
Mell-Silver-20@reddit
A lot of it comes from reading and maintaining your own old code, you start realizing "working" and "well designed" are two very different things.
Mr-DevilsAdvocate@reddit
I’ll let you know when I find out!
-10 year senior software developer
WanderingGalwegian@reddit
It comes over time.
“Thinking life a software engineer” is just a skill learned from being in industry and being exposed to development cycles at a grand scale.
And what I mean by thinking like a software engineer I mean more than just “how do I make computer do thing” but also understand how the “make thing do” needs to interact with other software within an organization and also how to navigate getting the people on other teams to work with you to make software do thing.
Additional skills that go into it is knowing when the requirements doc you’ve been given is a bag of ass trash and when to push back on stakeholders to refine their requirements.
Learning to write and build is obviously a big part of software engineering but the added piece of working inside a large code base at enterprise scale is really something you only start understanding by doing it.
BirdyWeezer@reddit
There is no real skill or anything you can develop, its just something that comes over time the more you write actual code. As with all things, if you want to learn it, first learn to just do it.