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Asking for help.

It's 100% a pride thing, I feel like I should be able to be presented with a topic or problem and be able to completely understand it and work with it in a reasonable period of time.

But that's not how it works out, and I'll bash my head against a wall for far longer than I would've had I just asked someone more knowledgeable about the topic for assitance. And it's frustrating and a waste of time but I do it anyway.

Finding people who are experts on the thing you're doing and conveying the context of the problem can be a whole thing in and of itself sometimes too, which doesn't help

Comments
  • 5
    I have this too, while I'm still learning software development, ironically. Luckily, I have a coach I can talk to about this stuff. Here's some advice I've learned from him and from experience.

    Ask your coworkers if they'd find it annoying if you'd ask then questions every now and then. Probably they wouldn't mind, because most people want to help. Since you probably will remember the solution, you won't ask the same things twice.

    Don't be daunted by rants here on devRant that curse people asking questions; those are about stupid people asking stupid questions. Asking questions is perfectly fine in a healthy work environment. When in doubt, ask about your behaviour or the other person's thoughts (meta communication). It will not only help you to understand your actions, but also your coworkers' feelings and thoughts. It will also help you ask good questions when actually necessary. And they will understand you better too!

    Ask yourself: what's the worst that can happen?
  • 2
    Agree with @eeee, by asking questions to your colleagues, not only they help you, but by explaining things they can achieve better understanding things.

    You know what they say: you don't perfectly know something if you can't make your grandparents understand it :p
  • 2
    I started working at Mercedes as someone who drives cars and does minor fixes.

    I knew nothing about cars.

    I learned very quickly that there is NO shame in asking questions, even if it's asking how to refill washer fluid in front of customers who paid $50k+ for their car.
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