The trick is not in having advice to offer. It’s in having advice they will hear.
Next month I’ll have been working in software for 30 years. Which means I would have a lot more common ground with me 15 years ago than most people will. that me with five years’ experience might not have understood at all.
Me with five years’ experience suspected many things that were true but missed some important one. I’d probably have to feed his ego by confirming some of those things before moving on to the difficult bits.
But who is to say that me with less Impostor Syndrome would be a better person? No, the main value in learning from the past is improving the future, not nostalgia or regrets or what ifs.
Sharing advice others will be able to hear is one part, having an audience who wants to get where they are a little faster and easier is another.
There was a while where too many jr devs wanted to learn it all and go through the phases of learning everything themselves without considering if others have maybe gone through something similar.
Thinking one's self not qualified might mean you share a good thoughtful approach towards learning something.
Thinking one's self is qualified and if it's too soon might mean otherwise.
No matter the better I have gotten, having a healthy mistrust of one's work helps it become better in a lot of cases haha.
Next month I’ll have been working in software for 30 years. Which means I would have a lot more common ground with me 15 years ago than most people will. that me with five years’ experience might not have understood at all.
Me with five years’ experience suspected many things that were true but missed some important one. I’d probably have to feed his ego by confirming some of those things before moving on to the difficult bits.
But who is to say that me with less Impostor Syndrome would be a better person? No, the main value in learning from the past is improving the future, not nostalgia or regrets or what ifs.