Hello, dear Dev.to community. I need to get some things off my chest, so here I am, hoping to share... Tagged with burnout, productivity, beginners, career.

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Advice from an experienced IT professional: prioritize consistency in your career, embrace the struggle of learning, don't cling to a bad job, consider the benefits of job hopping, and seize even small opportunities. Also, don't be intimidated by jargon and abstractions.

I’ve worked in IT for over 10 years. Here are 5 things I wish I knew when I started

2. You will struggle and not understand things – and that’s normal (and it will get better over time, but not completely)

4. Frequently changing jobs can be beneficial, but not for everyone

5. Don’t miss opportunities, even if they seem small or insignificant

And one more thing: Jargon and Abstractions

WOW… I might have to write a “I’ve worked in IT for over 30 years.” article and add some other snippets that could have been added to this list :)

As someone who stayed at my first company for 11 years, I fear I pigeonholed myself with an older stack and now struggling to find a job because everyone is using React and other crap. So, beware of persisting too long in older tech. I stayed up to date on the trends, but that wasn’t enough to qualify for jobs requiring actual experience in the newer stuff. It’s rather frustrating, because I have solid insights and wisdom that only come with time, but that doesn’t seem to get you as far in an interview. Don’t allow yourself to be pigeonholed like I did. 😔 I’m literally looking for AI internships now, LOL.

Great post!! I think all the points will help people in all stages of IT.
The two points that resonated with me:
The main one being “Don’t cling to a Bad Job”.
I’ve done this and it lead to a decline in my mental health and I could not figure out what was going on. You did a wonderful job explaining how to identify if you’re stuck.
The other point that stuck out to me was switching jobs. I may be someone who benefits from switching more frequently. I’ve heard many people warn against this but I’ve haven’t seen many people that this has hurt. It looks like if you stay for at least 6 months then you’re golden.