Im a nurse and most nurses seem to agree 2 years is the mark when you become proficient.
I passed the nclex but there are so many things you only learn by doing and living it, not reading it on a book or on a lecture by a nurse who stopped working with patients 20 years ago.
This sucks because until then your coworkers are not going to fully trust you and, in my case, they want me to do things their way, because otherwise it’s wrong. Add 6 nurses to the mix that feel entitled to this and you’ll understand why Im burning out: every one of them feels entitled to correct me, but the way one works contradicts how the next one does.
I wonder if this is a rite of passage across industries and workplaces and if in some industries it takes way less than 2 years to be proficient.
If this is how life is, how do I survive till year 2?
You guys get proficient at your jobs?
I’ve been working in my role in network security for over a decade and I still feel like I don’t know anything sometimes. The thing I did learn though, was to recognize when I needed to improve my skills and when it was just imposter syndrome.
In your case, I would do it the way you are asked, rather than the textbook way. Then after things are sorted out, speak with them to figure out why they do it that way instead(be careful with your tone so you sound inquisitive rather than critical). If they’re worth working with, they will give you an answer beyond “because I said so”.
I’m a Principal Engineer at a multi-billion dollar company and I can confirm, I don’t know shit.
The younger programmers always get surprised when I say: I don’t know! But we’ll figure it out!