Teach programming!

Experienced engineers have learned lots of so called “best practices” or dogma. Mostly these are good habits that are safer ways of working, save time, and aid learning. On the other hand sometimes the context has changed and these practices are no longer useful, but we carry on doing them anyway out of habit. Sometimes there’s a better way, now that tech has moved on, and we haven’t even stopped to consider.

There’s a lot of value in having people on the team who’ve yet to develop the same biases. People who’ll force you to think through and articulate why you do the things you’ve come to take for granted. The reflection may help you spot a better way.

To take advantage you need sufficient psychological safety that anyone can ask a question without fear of ridicule. This also benefits everyone.

– Benji Weber, https://benjiweber.co.uk/blog/2020/09/06/reasons-to-hire-inexperienced-engineers/