Obviously, no one expects a newly graduated hire to know everything during their first week, but early impressions stick. Question for the managers and senior engineers on here: What can a new grad do in those first few days to make you incredibly glad you hired them? What sets them apart early on?

It took me a long time to say it out loud, but I regret choosing this path. The pay is stable, but the constant pressure and lack of fulfillment are leaving me feeling like I'm ready to exit. I’m actually thinking about a total career change later in life. Has anyone successfully walked away from engineering after a decade plus?

A senior engineer on my team is leaving, and our manager sent a link for a farewell gift card. She mentored me when I was a junior, so I want to chip in, but I can't see what others are giving and have never done this before. She makes great money if that matters. The default options are $20, $30, and $50. What's standard here? Is $30 enough, or should I go higher since she helped me so much?

What’s one engineering “best practice” that you think is actually overused or applied in situations where it doesn’t add much value? For me, it’s excessive documentation on very small, low-risk changes. Documentation is important, but I’ve seen teams spend more time documenting simple fixes than implementing them. Where do you draw the line?

I’m not a morning person and usually roll in around 10 AM. I justify it because I'm always totally caught up or even ahead of schedule before I leave for the day. Still, I'm getting the side-eye from upper management, who get here at 8 AM or earlier. It feels like they think being late means I don't care, no matter how good my output is. Shouldn't high-quality work protect you from the optics of being late?