What We Wish We Knew When Starting Out as Developers

2025 06 13 · 12 min read

When starting out as a developer, everything feels new: technology, teamwork, expectations. We’ve been there. 

In this blog post, we share lessons that helped us grow as coders, teammates, and professionals. Whether you’re joining the academy or landing your first junior role, we hope our experience gives you a head start on lessons we’ve had to learn the hard way. 

Matas: From Student Academy to Full-Time Developer 

My journey at Baltic Amadeus began three years ago through the Progress OpenEdge Academy, which is now opening its doors again. At the time, I was still studying at university. As part of my curriculum, I needed to gain some real-world work experience over the summer. While still studying, I doubted whether I was ready for real projects.  

After completing the Academy, I was offered the chance to stay with the company – and looking back, that decision made all the difference. I quickly noticed that my university peers who also took part-time development roles grew much faster than those who stuck only to theory. The hands-on experience made a huge impact on my technical skills, problem-solving, teamwork, and confidence.  

One way I measure my growth today is by looking back at my old code. Some of my early solutions make me cringe, but it reminds me of how far I’ve come. It’s a clear sign of how much progress I’ve made.  

If there’s one thing I believe strongly, it’s this: there’s no substitute for real-world experience. Getting involved in actual projects and working alongside experienced teams accelerates your growth faster than any textbook ever could. 

Justinas: From Self-Taught Developer to Growing Professional 

I started my career at the same academy as Matas. I had some different backgrounds and experiences. I had about 6 months of coding experience and no degree. My friends often told me that I’d become a good programmer because of how I solved problems, my attention to detail, and my logical thinking. I guess the same details were noticed by Baltic Amadeus’ team, which gave me a chance to prove myself. And there I am – successfully growing as a developer at Baltic Amadeus.  

There are soft and hard skills. Hard skills can be learned, while soft ones must be developed over time. Like every junior developer, I had to walk through the same challenges as others. The only difference is that I had no degree, and all my experience comes from practice. Sometimes, practice can be hard, but it is crucial for growth. It is said that practice makes perfect.   

Now, after all that practice, we can share our knowledge with those who’re just starting out. Here are a few pieces of advice for the road to be less bumpy.

Tip 1: Ask Early, Ask Smart 

One of the most important lessons you can learn early is this: if you’re stuck, ask for help. Don’t wait. Don’t let the fear of ‘looking silly’ hold you back. Every senior developer once didn’t know what a ‘for loop’ was. Therefore, you should know that asking questions is part of the journey.  

At Baltic Amadeus, mentors expect questions. You’re not judged for asking. You’re encouraged. And it’s not just about getting the right answer – it’s about truly understanding why something works the way it does.  

When we first started out, one of the biggest challenges we faced was knowing when to ask for help. We had this mindset that we needed to figure everything out on our own – that if we just kept digging, eventually, we’d find the solution.  

Most of the time, though, it just led to wasted hours and inefficient results. Usually, our team would only realise we were stuck during our daily standups or when someone checked in to see how we were progressing. It wasn’t ideal – not for us and definitely not for the project.  

Eventually, we learned a simple rule that changed everything: if we were stuck for more than an hour and couldn’t find a solid path forward, we would stop and ask for help.  

And when you do ask, don’t just come with the problem, come with your idea, too. Instead of saying, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ you can say: ‘Here’s what I tried, here are two ideas I thought about – which one makes more sense?’ Mentors really appreciate it when you show that you’ve already spent time analysing the problem. You’re not just asking for the answer – you’re asking for guidance on your thought process.  

Adopting this habit made a huge difference. Not only did it save a ton of time, but it also helped us avoid “reinventing the wheel”. More experienced developers often had insights or shortcuts we would never have thought of.  

Tip 2: Understand the Problem Before Writing Code 

When we get a new task, it’s tempting to dive straight into coding. That’s a common mindset when starting out. But true progress starts when we slow down and make sure we fully understand what’s needed.  

We both remember running into a similar situation early on. The task seemed almost identical to something we’d handled before, so it felt safe to skip the details and just get started. However, in both cases, the similarities were only on the surface. The actual requirements turned out to be different in a few important ways.  

That false confidence led to a lot of wasted time. We had to redo big chunks of work, creating extra effort for reviewers and testers who had to go back and double-check everything.  

Since then, we’ve learned a simple but crucial rule: Even if something feels familiar, always double-check the details before coding.  

Rushing into code usually leads to: 

What actually helped us avoid these mistakes was changing our approach: 

One small thing that really helped us build better habits:  

We both keep short checklists when starting a new task. It helps to focus on what needs to be done and what still needs clarification. Matas uses Obsidian, a lightweight note-taking app that helps organise ideas and avoid missing details. 

Tip 3: Legacy Code is Our Bread and Butter 

When working with Progress OpenEdge projects, you’ll often find yourself deep into legacy systems. Whether you’re maintaining old code or modernising it, there’s no getting around one thing: you must dive into existing codebases and understand them.  

Sure, there are plenty of jokes about legacy code, like ‘don’t touch it or it breaks’, but the truth is, the messier the code, the more you learn by working through it.  

We once heard a story from a colleague who had to migrate a seemingly simple screen from an old app to the web. At first, it sounded straightforward, yet once he opened the code, it was pure chaos. Picking one value in a dropdown would magically change half the form. 

Database calls were scattered across dozens of random procedures. Validations were hidden in places no one expected. After months of bug hunting and late-night fixes, he summed it up perfectly: ‘This isn’t a job, it’s a struggle’. 

We’ve both felt that same pain when working on older parts of our projects. Sometimes, figuring out what the code was supposed to do is harder than just rewriting it. 

Tip 4: Clean Code Shows Respect 

Writing clean, consistent code is about avoiding confusion, bugs, and wasted time. 

Recently, Matas ran into a method that looked like this: 

The method adds an error if values are duplicated – but returns `false`, which completely messes with the logic when used like this: 

Because of unclear behaviour, Matas had to fix multiple places across the project. Peer review also became painful because understanding what the method actually did was harder than it should have been.  

Bad code doesn’t just slow you down, it also spreads problems. That’s why we follow the Boy Scout Rule: always leave the code cleaner than you found it. Good, clean code is respect for your teammates, your future self, and the system you’re building. 

Tip 5: Clear Code Beats Clever Code 

You might be able to write a “clever” one-liner that’s super-efficient – but in actual projects, clarity beats cleverness every time. 

Many developers, including us, have to unlearn the habits we picked up at university, where raw efficiency and showing off smart tricks often seemed like the goal. But in professional development, things are different: 

We’ve seen it happen. Someone writes a “smart” solution that saves maybe three lines, but the next person spends half an hour just trying to figure out what’s happening. 

How Baltic Amadeus Helps Us Grow 

The Baltic Amadeus team really invests in your development. You’ll work on projects alongside experienced developers who mentor you, review your code, and help you think like an engineer, not just a coder. The team focuses on building your technical skills as well as your ability to solve problems, work in a team, and think critically about software.  

One of the best parts of working at BA, especially as a student or junior developer, is that your growth is built into the system.  

You Will Get a Mentor 

From day one, you’ll have an experienced developer as your mentor who will provide: 

Your mentor is there to ensure you’re never stuck alone, and to accelerate your growth into a confident, capable developer. Mentors are not there to point out every mistake but to guide, encourage, and challenge you in the right direction.  

Support in Every Aspect 

At Baltic Amadeus, you’ll be involved in multiple ongoing events, meetings, and opportunities for personal growth: 

Managers notice and support every extra step you take toward personal growth. 

Not Everything Is About Work 

It’s not just work, lunch, coffee break, work. There’s more: 

As introverts, we always find getting to know new people at work a bit hard. But these kinds of events made it so much easier, being outside the usual formal environment and doing something fun together. You get to know your colleagues as real people, not just as names in a project management tool. And honestly, it makes a huge difference when you return to work. It’s easier to communicate, trust each other, and support your team when things get busy. 

The Last Thoughts 

Starting your career as a developer is exciting – but let’s be honest, it can feel overwhelming. New tools, new expectations, new ways of thinking – sometimes it feels like you’re standing at the bottom of a huge mountain, wondering where to even start. 

The good news? You don’t have to climb it alone. 

Bring curiosity, the questions, and the drive to improve. The rest? It will come – and trust us, it’s absolutely worth it. 

If you’d like to speak to Baltic Amadeus experts about any Progress OpenEdge services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.