Interviewer:
Invert this binary tree
Junior dev:
Here's the algorithm I memorized
Experienced dev:
Let me find a library for that
Senior dev:
Does inverting the tree align with our core business objectives?
Junior dev: "why isn't this working?"
Senior dev: "oh, you just need to do X, Y, and Z"
Junior dev: (wow they're so smart)
Senior dev: (wow I made that mistake so many times)
GitHub Copilot is really amazing. I used to spend hours writing error-prone & sometimes incorrect code manually, but now, that error-prone incorrect code is automatically generated in seconds.
Developers:
"I guess accessibility is important to some people, we'll get around to it"
Developers at conferences:
๐ฃ๏ธ "CAN YOU INCREASE THE FONT SIZE I CAN'T READ THE CODE"
โ๏ธ React tip: when conditionally rendering component based on some string enum (like a role), use an object to map enum values to components.
This can be cleaner than using conditional operators, and it keeps the logic organized & clear.
Junior developers:
"I have no idea how to solve this one problem; I'll never get good if I just keep Googling for the answer"
Senior developers:
(46 tabs open to Google and StackOverflow for one problem)
If you're using Tailwind, don't sleep on child selectors. They clean up your styles and eliminate repetition.
Vibe coding agents aren't smart enough to do this.
(if you're using CSS, keep scrolling)