How bug-fixing made me a better developer

- 2 mins

Originally published on Medium.

“Someone spills milk on the floor, you need to clean it. Someone else breaks a bottle, you also need to fix it.” I felt this way while working as a bug-fixer, fixing what was broken by others. While fixing software bugs is a fantastic process of getting a developer comfortable with the code base, it can easily become a frustrating experience over a lengthy period of time.

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Source: http://cliparts.co/

I worked for a little under a year as an entry-level software engineer at a US-based EdTech startup and a good part of my time on the job was spent fixing bugs on the platform. Frustrating and mundane as it sometimes was, it provided invaluable experience for me as a junior developer seeking to improve my skills in software development. I have met many junior developers in the same boat as I was so I decided to write this post with the hope of inspiring them that there are core skills to be learnt while fixing bugs. Here goes a summary of the lessons I learned, sometimes unwittingly, during my experience as a bug-fixer:

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Bug-fixing can be a frustrating but invaluable experience. Rather than pulling at your hair, focus on the learning experience that comes with each bug. I am glad for the time spent working as a bug-fixer. The lessons I learnt from the experience has helped me improve immensely as a software developer.

Thanks to the Engineers at the EdTech startup for patiently mentoring me all through the time I spent working with them. Thanks to Chibuzor, Uzo Awili, Ebun Omoni and Blessing Orazulume for their help with this article.

Kosy Anyanwu

Kosy Anyanwu

The lady who travels the world and loves karaoke

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