Its probably going to take a month to get familiar with the code base if it has enough complexity. Most companies aren't all that good about documentation.
I've never understood where this sentiment comes from. I drop into a lot of unfamiliar codebases as a contractor, and I'm always fixing bugs and making meaningful contributions on day one.
Speaking and working with other consultant folk, my experience doesn't seem unusual. I haven't experienced first hand this concept of a new hire who is unable to contribute for an entire month. But I do see this sort of comment from time to time, so it must be a real thing somewhere.
It's not about the codebase but the business rules.
I was once handed an insurance codebase and a list of open bugs after the maintainer left on short notice. I fixed a few bugs, which led to more bugs being opened from users in other states. WTF?
Turned out that the business rules naturally varied per state regulator but had never been implemented. Just wading into code would never have resolved that. It took months to compile the documentation before touching yhe code again.
You can't make meaningful contributions on Day One in any regulated industry. Especially as a contractor where the fines might be passed along...
Exactly. It's not so much the technical knowledge as it is the domain knowledge.
So "fixing bugs" and "making meaningful contributions" is a lot easier if you only focus on syntax and not on what the software should achieve in the real world.
If you can run it. I’ve been asked to fix bugs in code that nobody knows how to run or even compile... there’s one copy running in production that somebody deployed a year ago.
I used to work at two different programming jobs where people commonly said you weren't really useful until you'd been there multiple years. In both cases I agreed.
I don't even think I have finished signing papers doing the mandatory training etc. getting my computer accounts etc. on day 1, but I have always been a full time employee.
