How to Multiply Your Experience As a Software Engineer

A simple action that if you do it right, will multiply your experience exponentially!

Basma Taha

Feb 22, 2024

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Hello friend! 👋

Basma here. Thank you for reading An Engineer's Echo, your weekly publication of stories to equip you with the soft and hard skills to fast-track your growth in software engineering.

Reading Time: 4 mins.

"I enjoy reviewing others' code" that was the opening line of one of my recent LinkedIn posts, and it caught some people by surprise. 😅 I can understand why – I used to feel the same way.

In the past, I loathed code reviews. They felt like interruptions, forcing me to switch contexts and put in extra effort to grasp the code's context. It was frustrating. But then, I observed how great engineers leveraged code reviews and everything changed for me.

Today, I want to share with you how code reviews can be your golden ticket to enhancing both your technical and soft skills.

So, here’s what we’ll cover today:

Why code review is your golden ticket to advancing your technical and soft skills.
- Why it surpasses reading books.
- How it enhances your coding abilities.
- How it sharpens your communication skills.
- How it keeps you updated with different parts of the system.

Why Reviewing Code Is Your Golden Ticket to Growing Your Technical and Soft Skills

1. It’s better than reading books

One of the best ways to learn anything is by reading. As software engineers, code is our language. So, I'd like to think that learning from reading others' code is better than reading books.

Now, it may sound silly. But, hear me out...

The best way to learn, in my opinion, is by doing. And, since we can't do everything, the next best way to learn is to read what others have worked on. This way, you:

Clone others' experiences to yours.
Help people out.

This is two birds in one stone. Sounds like a good deal, huh?

2. Helps you become a better coder

This builds upon the first point. People come from diverse professional backgrounds and possess different experiences, coding styles, and skill sets.

By reviewing others' code, you're blending your experience with theirs.

Isn't this the essence of teamwork? The team combines its experiences to create collective intelligence. Just imagine having all your team's brilliant minds combined with yours. That's the power of reviewing others' code.

3. Helps you practice effective communication

Half of code reviewing is about communication.

It's about how you articulate your ideas, being concise yet direct, asking the right questions, and paying attention to details. It's also about communicating gaps in the code without being rude.

We'll delve into all of these points in detail in next week's letter. But to give you a teaser, if you put your heart into reviewing code and make the most out of it by:

Paying attention to details.
Inquiring about the context of the change.
Asking about anything that isn't immediately obvious.

And aiming for the best possible version rather than perfection.

If you consistently focus on these aspects in every code review you conduct, you'll gradually become the best communicator in your team. Everyone will appreciate your input in their pull requests to the extent that it becomes a significant point in your yearly evaluation.

4. Exposes you to different parts of the system

Another big win from code reviews is how they expose you to different parts of the system. You might be focusing on your own corner most of the time, but when you review someone else's code, you get a sneak peek into what's happening elsewhere.

It's like being invited to explore new neighborhoods in your city. You start to see how everything connects, and you discover things you never knew existed.

This exposure broadens your understanding of the whole system. You learn about different modules, APIs, and patterns that you might not have encountered otherwise.

And guess what? This knowledge makes you a more versatile engineer. You'll be able to jump into different areas of the codebase with confidence, tackle new challenges, and contribute in ways you never thought possible.

So, don't underestimate the power of code reviews—they're not just about finding bugs or improving code quality, they're also about expanding your horizons.

Key Takeaways:

Code reviews are like a secret weapon: They help you learn and grow faster than just reading books or coding alone.
You become a better coder: By reviewing others' code, you blend your experience with theirs, becoming more versatile and skilled.
Communication is key: Half of code reviewing is about how you communicate – asking the right questions, being concise yet direct, and paying attention to details.
Explore new territories: Code reviews expose you to different parts of the system, like discovering new neighborhoods in your city. This broadens your understanding and makes you a more adaptable engineer.
It's all about teamwork: The power of code reviews lies in the collective intelligence of the team. Working together, you can achieve more and create better software.

So, embrace code reviews as your golden ticket to technical and personal growth. Happy coding!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, let me know by hitting the like button ❤️ to help others find it on Substack, and share it to spread the love!