Tons of great stuff and I'll add what I can from 15 years as a full-timer preceded by 10 years as an amateur. I've in settings ranging from a startup I founded to a large insurance corporation. I'll just keep it to bullet points:
- Relationships are key to your career. Align with good people and maintain those relationships.
- The product is more important than the code.
- Keep up with the latest tech, but don't necessarily use it.
- When starting a new job, learn the business first. Understanding what the product does and why is crucial and doesn't take long to learn.
- Avoid an adversarial relationship with other departments like marketing and accounting. Work together with them (back to point 1).
- Share your wisdom, don't hoard it.
- When you are no longer curious, something is wrong.
- Writing code is simply that. Enjoy it, don't glamorize it, and try not to obsess over it.
- Relationships are key to your career. Align with good people and maintain those relationships.
- The product is more important than the code.
- Keep up with the latest tech, but don't necessarily use it.
- When starting a new job, learn the business first. Understanding what the product does and why is crucial and doesn't take long to learn.
- Avoid an adversarial relationship with other departments like marketing and accounting. Work together with them (back to point 1).
- Share your wisdom, don't hoard it.
- When you are no longer curious, something is wrong.
- Writing code is simply that. Enjoy it, don't glamorize it, and try not to obsess over it.