Newbie IT: 5 skills no one teaches

A common problem of new friends: being assigned a task, saying "yes" and then doing the wrong thing. Everyone new to the profession wants to show that they can do it, so they still vaguely understand it, afraid that if they ask again, they will be judged as not knowing how to do it.

But confirming before doing is very normal — so is a long-time dev. The task is very clear, the documents are complete, needless to say. As for vague tasks, verbal tasks, tasks that arise during meetings/discussions - you should close them:

• "Dear Task ABC, am I going to do this or that?"
• "For this task, I use library X, is that what you mean?"
• "Here I understand to do step X → Y → Z, right?"

Confirmation not only helps you save time and stay on track, but also gives your big brother peace of mind.

Many people ask me about estimating skills. Thật ra estimate thời gian chẳng qua là khả năng nghĩ ra kế hoạch + các bước cụ thể để giải quyết, rồi quy ra thời gian. You just find it difficult because:

• I don't know what "steps" are, how to count them as 1 step.
• If you've never done a step before, you don't know how long it will take.

In the past I did this:

1. Divide the task into ~2 hour steps. Each step must be nameable in natural language.
2. Steps you've never done before → search tutorial/docs, imagine how long it will take you to do → multiply 1.5–2 times (because it's the first time).
3. Add it all up, then buffer ~20%.

Are you new or a lower estimate is needed to show speed. But the big brother doesn't need a newbie to do it too fast — it's better to do it correctly, because doing it again takes longer than doing it right from the beginning.

Giờ có AI thì estimate trong một nốt nhạc. But you still need to evaluate the volume yourself, so you can review the code and test.

Newbies are often afraid of being judged as bad, so if you encounter a bug or get blocked, you choose to quietly plow on your own. The result: a bug stuck for 2-3 days, or an incorrect way to get around it - affecting your progress and that of the whole team. What's worse is staying silent until the big brother asks a question before breaking up.

Set a time-box for yourself: 2 hours, half a day, or 1 day — don't make it too unreasonable.

At the end of that period, apply rule I again: "I have a problem, I've done a lot of research, I can name the problem and have at least 1 solution for you to choose from".

When working at a startup, a lot of tasks were created during discussions/meetings. "Yes yes yes yes" then... forgot. The boss assigns when he remembers, so when he "remembers" he will ask. There's a small task that takes 15 minutes to complete, but I forget, 3 days later the boss remembers, it's considered 3 days unfinished

Or when in a meeting, it sounds very simple and very understandable. But when I did it, I made a mistake — mostly because of the small keys falling out. At that moment, just take note, note the request according to your understanding.

After the meeting, send it back to confirm whether it is correct or not. Create a habit of checking the places you often take notes - less missed work and more accurate.