Things I wish I would have listened to&#x2F;learned better early on.<p>1. Don&#x27;t overthink the problem.<p>2. Don&#x27;t try to engineer for the unknown, work with what you know and what is specified.  You can&#x27;t plan for anything else, no matter how good you think you are. As stuff pops up, address it then.  Be brutally clear about this to your employer&#x2F;client.<p>3. Nothing beats experience, but execution.  Even if you have a ton of experience, but don&#x27;t execute it doesn&#x27;t matter.  In fact, experience sometimes cripples people into not executing quick enough, usually because they are trying to think through things too much.  Basically, don&#x27;t let your brain get in the way.<p>4. What zerodefex said is really pretty accurate.  What a hacker would produce is a lot like what you produce when you have some experience but aren&#x27;t trying to impress anyone or think through all possibilities.<p>5. Done is better then perfect.