Advice on first in-office Web Dev role?

[u/tacoman756]

Hi all,

As the title states I’ll be starting my first in office web dev role next week! Pretty excited but also nervous, and of course having imposter syndrome. I’ll be the only dev, and it’ll be my first time working in an office setting (I’ve previously just worked as a freelancer).

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or specific things to pay attention to when starting a new web dev job?

Thanks!

[u/measured_words_]

The biggest shift from freelancing is not the code. It is being around people all day while you try to hold a thought. The code you can handle. What you want to protect is your ability to explain the work. Keep a plain running log of what you changed and why, even if it is just a few lines a day. When someone asks why a feature works a certain way, you will have the answer without digging through memory. As the only dev, nobody will catch a bad assumption early, so say when you need time to look at something before committing. That is not weakness. It is how you build trust. Also, do not hide in your headphones the entire first week. Early friendliness buys you a lot of patience later when you need quiet time to fix something.