This is a submission for the 2026 WeCoded Challenge: Echoes of Experience

A trip down memory lane

I still remember my final interview.

It wasn’t a coding challenge or another algorithm question.

It was just a conversation.

We talked about my background in business and finance.
The internships I had done.
The projects I had built, including a drone media company and a project management app I had sold to an architecture firm in Belgium.
My short experience as a product manager in a startup.

Compared to the previous rounds that were full of logical tests, coding exercises, and pair programming, this one felt different.

I wasn’t trying to prove I could code but just talking about my life.
I was showing how I think, how I learn, and how I approach problems through my past experiences.

A week later, I got the offer.

Not for a standard role, but for an engineering graduate program.

And looking back, that moment changed everything...

The fast track wasn’t accidental

I went from coding bootcamp to senior software engineer in just over 5 years.

I worked hard.
I built side projects.
I kept learning constantly and found great mentors.

But the biggest accelerator early on?

The structure and exposure from that graduate program.

It gave me:

  • exposure to different teams and problem spaces
  • hands-on experience across technologies
  • a safe environment to learn fast and make mistakes
  • a cohort of peers growing at the same pace

Over the following years, I noticed something interesting.

Many of the highest-performing engineers in the company came from that same graduate track.

Not just technically, but in how they contributed to culture, collaboration, and leadership.

Why junior engineers outperform (when given the chance)

From what I observed, graduate engineers tend to overperform for a few key reasons:

  1. They’re hungry
    We were eager to prove ourselves. Every task mattered.

  2. They learn fast
    Coming from bootcamps or self-taught paths, learning was already part of our identity.

  3. They bring different perspectives
    Many of us didn’t come from traditional CS backgrounds.
    We approached problems more practically, often with product or user context in mind.

That mix created strong synergies within teams:

  • theoretical depth from experienced engineers
  • practical execution and fresh thinking from juniors

And the ROI for companies is real

Investing in junior developers is a healthy strategy.

Here’s what I saw:

  • High employee retention
    When a company invests in you early, you stay. Trust goes both ways.

  • Stronger leadership pipeline
    Training juniors forces senior engineers to mentor and that builds leadership skills fast.

  • More diversity in hiring
    In my experience, graduate programs brought in more women and more diverse backgrounds than traditional hiring pipelines.

  • Stronger engineering culture
    A company known for growing talent attracts better people over time.

What helped me go from junior to senior

On a more personal level, here are a few learnings that made a big difference for me in the last years:

  • Leverage your non-technical strengths
    My background in business and product helped me early on.
    I contributed through communication, organization, and initiative, not just code

  • Adopt a T-shaped development approach
    Go deep in one area, but stay curious across others.

  • Be visible
    Share your work. Communicate progress. Talk about impact.
    Silence slows your growth.

  • Document your journey
    I kept a developer journal to track what I learned and achieved.
    This helped massively with confidence, reflection and arguing my case at promotion rounds.

  • Build relationships
    Inside and outside of work. Your network compounds just like your skills.

  • Get involved beyond your team
    During my time at the company I:

    • spoke at internal conferences
    • contributed to the engineering blog
    • joined hackathons
    • participated in threat modeling sessions

The human side of growth

When I left the company, what struck me the most wasn’t the projects, nor the crazy amount of merch I had accumulated over the years...

It was the people.

At my farewell drinks, many of those who showed up were from my original graduate cohort.

We had all grown not just as engineers, but as people.

And that’s when it really hit me:

The real ROI of investing in juniors isn’t just technical output.
It’s the humans you nurture and the culture you foster over time.

Why I’m sharing this

Two reasons.

1) For companies
Cutting junior roles because of AI-driven productivity gains is a short-term decision.

From what I’ve witnessed, it’s a mistake.

The long-term ROI of investing in junior engineers, especially through structured programs, is massive.

And much of that value is human, not just technical.

2) For those on non-traditional paths
If you’re coming from a bootcamp, self-taught journey, or an “irregular” background suffering from imposter syndrome:

That’s not a weakness.
It’s your edge.

We live in a time where different perspectives are more valuable than ever.

Lean into them. Keep building. Keep learning.

None of this happens alone.

This is also a thank you to everyone who helped me along the way:

  • mentors
  • managers
  • teammates
  • fellow builders
  • friends and family

💬 Discussion

I’m curious to hear your thoughts:

  • Have you seen junior developers outperform expectations in your teams?

  • Are companies underinvesting in junior talent today?

  • How has AI changed (or not changed) the value of hiring juniors in your experience?

  • If you’ve gone through a graduate program, did it accelerate your growth?

  • For senior engineers: how has mentoring juniors impacted your own development?