> "Finally they let you hire some help and instead of getting busy helping writing tests and refactoring he starts thinking about the best way to throw you under the bus to your superiors."
Here's what actually happens.
By that point in a project's lifecycle, that's not what they usually ask of the new hires. People are usually tasked with fixing bugs/maintenance, and implementing new business logic. Both of which are extremely challenging and stressful when working on a project that comes with no tests, or documentation.
Your actual task as the new hire is to start generating more value for the company, but that's so much more challenging when you have no way of validating your solutions, no infrastructure to rely on, and no metrics or documentation to consult. At that point, being the new hire, you're taking a lot of heat for not getting things done on time - mostly through no fault of your own. At that point, "wanting to throw you under the bus to your superiors" is a very natural response - it's a defense mechanism, you're (rightfully) frustrated. You're between a rock and a hard place. At that point you're no longer doing software engineering, it turns to politics/coverups/fire-extinguishing on a daily basis. Can you not relate to that?
Here's what actually happens.
By that point in a project's lifecycle, that's not what they usually ask of the new hires. People are usually tasked with fixing bugs/maintenance, and implementing new business logic. Both of which are extremely challenging and stressful when working on a project that comes with no tests, or documentation.
Your actual task as the new hire is to start generating more value for the company, but that's so much more challenging when you have no way of validating your solutions, no infrastructure to rely on, and no metrics or documentation to consult. At that point, being the new hire, you're taking a lot of heat for not getting things done on time - mostly through no fault of your own. At that point, "wanting to throw you under the bus to your superiors" is a very natural response - it's a defense mechanism, you're (rightfully) frustrated. You're between a rock and a hard place. At that point you're no longer doing software engineering, it turns to politics/coverups/fire-extinguishing on a daily basis. Can you not relate to that?