Surviving as a Junior Developer in a Company Without Seniors (2)

We do live coding.

Although there is a seat, the CEO wants to quickly see the progress of app development, so whenever he has time, we do live coding together. Remove this feature, add that feature. When the CEO instructs, I add or remove the feature. I don’t know how it’s possible, but it works when I try.

I’m experiencing the ultimate in micromanaging that I’ve only heard about. I feel like I could handle any client now. There is a reason for this micromanaging: I don’t know how far to develop and refine. With the app deadline approaching and frequent weekend builds and deployments, it’s much better to finish at the desk and meet the deadline.

However, I understand because it’s a small company. I fully understand the CEO’s position. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be relaxed enough to understand the employee’s position when customers are constantly messaging on Channel Talk. Watching him handle dozens of calls a day right in front of me gives me a sense of responsibility to create a good product.

Nevertheless, a decent company

I have never demanded to leave work on time. The company insists on it. We leave at 6 PM without exception. Salaries are never delayed. Unlike most companies these days, both operating profit and sales are doing well. The commute is a 10-minute cut. The dormitory is really close, probably because it’s located in the Hanam Knowledge Industry Center. I wake up at 8 AM and leave at 8:30 AM. Despite all the difficulties mentioned above, the short commute time is a great advantage.

The people are nice. It’s just that there’s no fellow developer to work with. But you can meet developers through community activities, and recently, I attended hackathons bi-weekly to network with and be inspired by great developers. You can meet fellow developers through external networking as much as you want.

Overwhelming growth

You can’t expect to be satisfied with the first bite. Similarly, expecting everything from the first company is a luxury. The CEO, having worked at a company for a long time before starting his own, is growing through trial and error. He carries a heavy sense of responsibility in the process. I can feel it.

The same goes for me. I may walk the path of a CEO or co-founder someday, but I believe there’s no better role model than growing while watching the CEO’s sense of responsibility. Looking back at this article, it’s full of regrets about the company, but I think that’s why I can create a company without regrets in the future. At least, I want to create a company where my employees can immerse themselves in their work, experience good growth, and move on to better companies, so that good talent can come to our company.

I originally had no thoughts of employment. I was planning to co-found a company, but due to differing opinions on military service, we decided to prepare in our respective positions for a few years. I need to resolve the military issue first.

At this company, I’m contemplating “what kind of company should I create?” At the same time, I’m pondering what a company should be to an individual. Since I want to grow a company through bootstrapping without investment, I’m trying to grow this company. There will be hardships in the process of growing, but the learning from hardships is certain.

Thank you for reading.