[willwagner]

Here are a couple things that have served me well:

* Own what you own 100%. Be proactive, ask questions so you understand context, and raise concerns along with possible solutions when they pop up.

* Help others when you can. If you are going to be in this industry a long time, your network of colleagues and friends will help you long past your current gig. They can help you solve problems and avoid bad technical choices and when you are ready to move on, they can help you find a new job. The kindness you show others pays off in many ways.

* It's easy to get emotional when you are passionate about a job or a project and that passion can quickly turn into anger. Before sending an inflammatory email, sleep on it.

* Learn the tools of your trade well. Know your editor, debugger, devstack, monitoring tools, deployment tools, etc. I'm a bit hyperbolic but the single best thing I did in the last 20yrs was learn vim well.

* Work hard but pace yourself. Put aside time for yourself to stay healthy.

* Enjoy the moment even when it's stressful. You'll eventually look back on your career and see that the highlight reel features some "against all odds" moments and battle scars.

* Keep learning