What should a junior developer expect in their first 90 days?

Congratulations! Nobody expects a junior to be productive on day one. They expect you to learn quickly and communicate well.

Weeks 1–4: learn the terrain - Get the project running locally, and improve the setup docs as you go (an easy, valuable first contribution). - Take notes: architecture, who owns what, how deploys work, the team's conventions. - Ship something small early: a bug fix, a copy change, a test.

Asking questions well - Try on your own first (~30–60 minutes), then ask, sharing what you tried and what you think is happening. - Batch non-urgent questions. Keep a list for your 1:1 or a daily check-in. - Asking too *late* is a bigger problem than asking too much. Silence for 3 days on a blocked ticket worries managers far more than a question.

Months 2–3: build trust - Say when you're stuck and give realistic estimates. - Read code reviews carefully and don't repeat the same feedback twice. Review others' PRs too; it's the fastest way to learn the codebase. - Ask your manager explicitly: "What does doing well look like for me in the next 3 months?"

Feeling slow is normal. Everyone feels it in a new codebase.