In Office Hours Episode 10, SmartLogic’s newest developers, Emma Whamond and Micaela Cunha, join Elixir Wizard Owen Bickford to discuss their onboarding experiences, joining a new engineering team, and navigating an unfamiliar codebase. They share tips and challenges on learning new programming languages like Ruby and Elixir while ramping up for active client projects. Emma and Micaela emphasize the value of starting with tests and seeking guidance from teammates when diving into unfamiliar projects.
Our guests provide valuable guidance for anyone navigating the transition into a new software development team, highlighting the importance of collaboration, continuous learning, and community support in the tech industry.
Key topics discussed in this episode:
What to expect when joining a new engineering team
Navigating existing codebases as a new hire in Elixir and Ruby
Applying previous work experience to software development
The importance of tests and team communication in unfamiliar projects
Learning Ruby as a C++ and JavaScript developer
Differences between dynamic and static typing
Building team camaraderie and intentionality in remote work environments
The steep learning curve of the onboarding process, including documentation, codebases, and client meetings
Relying on teammates for guidance and overcoming the fear of asking too many questions
Updating documentation within project repositories
Learning team dynamics and identifying domain experts for targeted assistance
Domain-specific knowledge: being a senior developer in one language vs. another
Building friendships and connections within local tech communities
The welcoming and supportive nature of the tech industry for newcomers
Links mentioned:
Elixir Programming Language https://elixir-lang.org/
Ruby on Rails https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/
Ruby Koans - Learn Ruby language, syntax, structure https://www.rubykoans.com/
Elixir Language Learning Exercises (Elixir Koans) https://github.com/elixirkoans/elixir-koans
The PETAL Stack in Elixir https://thinkingelixir.com/petal-stack-in-elixir/
Alpine JS Lightweight JavaScript Framework https://alpinejs.dev/
Phoenix LiveView https://hexdocs.pm/phoenixliveview/Phoenix.LiveView.html
WebAuthn Components passwordless authentication to LiveView applications
https://github.com/liveshowy/webauthn_components
Gleam functional language for building type-safe, scalable systems https://gleam.run/
The Future of Types in Elixir with José Valim, Guillaume Duboc, and Giuseppe Castagna https://smartlogic.io/podcast/elixir-wizards/s10-e12-jose-guillaume-giuseppe-types-elixir/
Git-Blame https://git-scm.com/docs/git-blame
nix store https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/nix-store
Code and Coffee https://codeandcoffee.org/ Special Guests: Emma Whamond and Micaela Cunha.