1. Code Quality > Cleverness

The Shock: My "brilliant" one-line solutions got rejected in code reviews.
The Lesson:

• Readability matters more than showing off
• Consistent patterns > clever hacks
• Comment your code like you’ll forget it tomorrow (because you will)

2. The Browser DevTools Are Your Best Friend

What Changed:

• Mastering Chrome DevTools reduced my debugging time by 70%
• Pro Tip: Learn keyboard shortcuts (⌘⌥I on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+I on Windows)

3. Git Isn’t Just “Save Button 2.0”

The Mistake: Thinking git commit -m "fix" was acceptable.
What I Do Now:

• Atomic commits (one change per commit)
• Semantic messages: feat(auth): add password reset flow
• Rebase instead of merge when possible

4. Soft Skills Are 50% of the Job

Reality Check:

• Explaining technical debt to non-tech stakeholders is crucial
• "I’ll research that" earns more respect than guessing
• Pair programming accelerates learning dramatically

5. Documentation Saves Careers

The Wake-Up Call: Spent 3 days reverse-engineering a "simple" API.
New Rules:

• Write docs even if it’s just for Future You
• Tools like Swagger for APIs, Storybook for components

6. Imposter Syndrome Never Fully Leaves

The Truth:

• Senior devs Google things constantly
• It’s normal to feel lost when touching legacy code
• Progress > perfection

7. Burnout is a Real Threat

My Breaking Point: 80-hour week before launch.
Survival Kit:

• Pomodoro technique (25m focused, 5m break)
• Learn to say: "That deadline isn’t realistic"
• Side projects should feel fun, not obligatory

Bonus: Resources That Saved Me

🔹 CSS Tricks – For those "why isn’t this centering?!" moments
🔹 Stack Overflow – But always read beyond the accepted answer
🔹 The Pragmatic Programmer – Changed how I approach problems

To New Devs: You’ll make mistakes—everyone does. What matters is learning systematically. What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned on the job?