It never gets easier, you just go faster.
software-careerdeveloper-advicelearningskill-development
Abstraction: Career advice letter to new developers on growth and persistence
Key points:
- Greg LeMond's cycling quote "It never gets easier, you just go faster" captures software career progression: today's hard problems become routine; new harder ones replace them
- Skill accumulation is non-linear — smooth stretches alternate with periods of fumbling in the dark; early projects yield outsized learning
- Author's career lesson from a canceled WAP project: learned to break down problems, discard bad code, and evaluate business tradeoffs
- Career paths in software are non-linear; following interest over prestige leads to better outcomes and faster learning
- Practical tips: become great at debugging, respect your team, ask questions, make time for learning as part of the job
- Letter authored by Rebecca Campbell (20+ years experience, startup co-founder)
Connections: Skill Development · Software Career
Source: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2020/04/27/it-never-gets-easier-you-just-go-faster/