Embrace the Chaos!

Being just yet another software developer in a large enterprise is a pain. You are surrounded by legacy code, inconsistent architecture, low quality standards (assuming they even exist), lack of coding discipline, broken or dirty unit tests, mediocre programmers, and so on. On top of that, the management is very chaotic: no strict plans, no task management, no objective metrics, no quality control, and no light at the end of the tunnel. You feel like a cog in the machine: arrive at nine, leave at five, be quiet, and paychecks will keep coming. If you are talented and ambitious, sooner or later you will start thinking about ~~suicide~~ resignation. But hold on!

Try to think differently!

Look at it from a different perspective. Imagine what it would look like if everything was totally different: the architecture is clean, the code is perfect, the documentation is outstanding, the team is full of experts, the management is transparent, the plans are up to date, the metrics are obvious and regularly collected, and the quality is under tight control. This would be the end of the tunnel! There would be no room for improvement anymore, since everything is already perfect. How would you feel now? It seems that it’s exactly this scenario that would give you the feeling of being merely a cog in a well-oiled machine.

If you want to make a career and you have the energy for it, the first scenario is a much better place to be: such an imperfect system needs improvements. And, of course, the one who makes them gets the rewards: bonuses, a promotion, a raise, and so on.

If you see the issues around you, both technical and managerial, and you know how to fix them—great! This means that you are already ahead of many others who decided to put up with the routine and just wait for the next paycheck. Use this situation in your own favor: contribute and succeed.

Those who complain about the system are the ones who are expecting to be nothing more than those cogs in the machine. They don’t see themselves as system changers. They expect to play by the rules and expect the system to take care of them. Don’t be like that. This is not how you build your career up. This is only how you spend another few years with no fun.

Instead, embrace the chaos!

Be thankful for its existence—your career can grow because of it.

The boss doesn't lead the team, doesn't have a plan, doesn't manage you, and doesn't explain anything. What do you do?
— Yegor Bugayenko (@yegor256) February 2, 2020