I just read this great article by Matt Sencenbaugh that details his experiences as a Junior Developer, and a list of what he wishes someone told him when he was first starting out. You can find the article here:

On Being A Junior Developer at mattsencenbaugh.com

I like reading stuff like this because I find it interesting to see other developer’s perspectives on being Junior, as I myself am one, having about 2 years of industry software development experience. I think the main point that Matt has written about is the necessity of planning. I’ve found that above all else, if you don’t take the time to plan out your application and how the different parts interact with one another, you are doomed to fail.

This is because in the world of software and web application development, we are working on sometimes immense projects that have a very complicated relationship between components, and it can be very detrimental to keep all of this structure in your head. Also if you are working in a team, no one will know what the hell you are talking about unless you have your planning done because your fellow developers are not mind readers.

After all, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”