Building Independence in Your Software Engineering Career

Proactiveness and ownership pays dividends

Early in my software engineering job, I received feedback to "show more independence." What does this mean? Acting on this feedback required shifting my mindset about executing projects.

Today, we will explore the true meaning of showing independence. We will also look at why it’s crucial for your growth and how you can develop this skill in your career.

Independence ≠ Lone Wolf 🐺

Some assume that being independent means figuring out everything alone and asking fewer questions. This leads to:

• Isolation: Missing out on valuable team input and feedback. Lack of communication and collaboration weakens team dynamics

• Inefficiency: Wasting time on solvable problems, which causes delays and reduces productivity.

• Burnout: Increased stress and decreased job satisfaction.

Software engineering is a team sport! You're working with your direct team, along with other teams within an organization. Teamwork is a vital skill to cultivate, as it will pay dividends in your career.

Figure 1: Wolves in a team!

How do I show independence?

Early on, I completed tasks assigned by the Team Lead/Senior Engineer and only learned what was needed for the task. When stuck for 30 minutes, I’d DM my Team Lead for clarification. These tasks were meant for me to onboard onto the team's systems. However, I was passive and relied on the Senior Engineer for guidance. Constant handholding is not scalable, as other engineers are busy with their projects. Also, I was not taking learning into my own hands.

Demonstrating independence is about being proactive and taking ownership. Benefits include:

• Better Problem-Solving 🔍 Skills: Investigating a blocker before seeking help makes you resourceful. It also deepens your understanding of the system. This accelerates your path to becoming a subject matter expert and attracting more opportunities

• Increased Trust 💓: Demonstrating ownership of a project shows that you can deliver a project responsibly. This builds a good reputation in the team/organization and opens up opportunities for higher-visibility projects.

Figure 2: The benefits of being proactive!

Actionable Behaviors

Demonstrating independence is not expected to be done overnight. The goal is to show an increasing level of proactiveness and ownership. Below are some ideas to help get started. This list is by no means exhaustive.

• Asking for help ❓ effectively: Before reaching out to the team for help, try to do some investigation on your end. You can look up past documentation, read through code, and sift through past questions. If you can't find an answer, reach out in a public channel (more eyeballs 👀 ) and show what steps you’ve tried and where you were stuck.

• Identifying Improvements 📈: Actively look for pain points in the process and brainstorm solutions. For example, if you encounter repetitive steps, find a way to automate them and share your solution with the team! If there's a confusing flow that isn't well documented, take the initiative to start a wiki!

• When tackling a project, take a bird’s 🐦 eye view: During the execution of the project, try to think about the problem from a high level. This type of critical thinking helps ensure that you aren’t just blindly following steps on a checklist, but understanding the why behind them. Ask yourself the following (including but not limited to):

  • What is the overall goal? Understanding the bigger picture helps align your work with the broader objectives and contribute to the end goal.

  • How do the different components interact? Grasping the connections between the moving parts can help you identify dependencies and potential problems.

  • What are the potential risks and challenges? Identifying these early on allows you to prepare and mitigate them early.

  • Are there alternative approaches? Considering different methods might lead to more efficient or innovative solutions, rather than only sticking to the initial plan.

  • What did I learn from this step? Evaluating your progress and learning points can help you grow and adapt.

• Communicating Effectively 🗨️: Regular updates demonstrate responsibility and keep the team informed. For example, create a dedicated chat or channel to share your progress, blockers, and demos for a project.

• Seek Feedback: Seeking constructive feedback from the team shows that you’re taking the driver’s seat in your growth.

⭐ Takeaways

• Receiving feedback of “needing to show more independence” is a gift 🎁. Others want to see you soar to great heights 🙂

• Independence ≠ working alone. It’s about being proactive and taking ownership instead of passively completing the assigned work

• Demonstrating independence by being proactive and taking ownership accelerates your career growth

📑 P.S

If you found this article interesting, check out the following two articles:

• Things I wish I knew as a software engineer: Contains helpful insights that I wish I knew before starting out as a software engineer

• Making the Most Out of Your Software Engineering Internship: If you are currently interning, this article provides actionable tips on making the most out of the experience. Otherwise, share this with an intern!

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