4/ If I ever got in over my head, and I did, then I simply crashed and burned until someone more senior could help me out of the mess. And that was the worst position in the world for me to be in.

The senior coworkers were a mix. Some were upset to have to take time out of their day to help a new guy, others were enthusiastic to teach me. But I found something valuable out - There were senior guys who knew less than I did and had confidence to carry them through.

So this was an important lesson - not everyone is a rockstar all the time, your heroes are human and flawed, we're all fumbling our way, etc etc.