A junior is someone with less than 2 years of experience. Someone fresh from school, Bootcamp, self-taught or just changed careers. Someone who is probably still trying to figure out if this whole “software development” thing is for them.
So, here's the thing. When you are a junior dev, it is really complicated to get a decent job or any job to start. I know it first-hand, I'm still on that journey.
Hiring junior devs comes with its share of benefits:
1. Mentoring is rewarding for everyone
Having some junior developers mentored by your seniors keeps both sets on their toes. It encourages pair programming and joint problem solving where juniors will ask questions resulting in the seniors reinforcing their own knowledge.
It demonstrates to your seniors that you have confidence in them and their abilities whilst simultaneously developing their leadership skills.
2. They bring passion and fresh ideas into your company.
Bringing new developers on board will provide your company with a fresh crop of new ideas. Coding best practices change quickly, and junior developers may bring new ways of thinking and problem solving to the table. Plus, junior developers are excited to be entering the field and testing out their skills for the first time, and their passion often helps reignite others’ enthusiasm for old projects.
3. Avoids butting heads
One of the main problems with having a company built of people at the same level, is everyone thinking they know best. If a problem crops up there is no hierarchy for difficult decision making. It is common for egos to get in the way of coming to the right solution.
Having a team comprised of varied weights means there is always someone to defer to when this situation arises.
4. Upskilling
Upskilling is when companies offer training programs and continuous learning opportunities to help employees develop new abilities and close the skills gap in your workforce. Upskilling allows employers to promote from within their organization and invest in their junior developers to mold them into the senior developers of your dreams.
In conclusion,these are some compelling reasons to add junior developers to your team make up. I believe a well balanced team is the cornerstone of a successful tech business and hope this post inspires you to make some junior hires this year.
Top comments (0)