fenici

Nope, I've never really been into it but I do try and make an effort with my colleagues who might be struggling / in a chatty mood. If I'm in a one on one chat / conversation with someone I like to ask them how they've been & what's going on. An extension/plugin for an existing tool might be interesting e.g. teams, slack etc. I tend to agree with other comments about an app not being able to replace the spontaneous in-person conversation we're talking about though.

I think there's something to learn from everyone we work with. Sometimes it's simply how to be patient and compassionate with people who are challenging to be around :)

Exactly the point of my post - OP doesn't have a mentor so he reached out to HN. In this case we're his mentors. Consider my post in the context of me trying to provide advice as a mentor. I am not sure how this is interpreted as being anti-mentor.

Which part do you disagree with? I didn't say mentorship isn't important - it's very important. The point I am making is it's easy to think the solution to ones problems will be solved by some external thing or person. But a lot of improvement can be found from personal development. When I read the post I get the sense that OP is perhaps lacking in confidence, hence my post. I am trying to see though the literal words to the meaning behind them. Perhaps I am wrong but I don't see how we have a disagreement.

It sounds more like a confidence / imposter syndrome issue than an actual lack of your skills or experience. Secret is, many thoughtful, intelligent people who practice self-reflection feel this way. We tend to overestimate the capbility of others and underestimate our own. Other people thought you were capable which is why they encouraged you and why you got the job. Maybe it's just confidence? Sure, you might not have the skills/experience required to really be successful right now but few people are. It can take time to figure things out. I say stick with it and continue asking these sorts of questions and seek help. As another poster said, what's your overall health? exercise, diet, mental health, etc. These things can mean the difference between success and failure yet the situation external to ourselves doesn't change. Keep looking for answers, you will find them.

It's the opportunity we're given, to either create a meaningful life or not. I'm kind curious to see what happens during my lifetime. Also, drugs :)

It depends on the size of your sales pipeline; if small or just starting out, a senior/lead should be able to do sales as well but not everyone is good at it. I've done each & both together. Solution design and pre-sales work aren't always compatible due to different turnaround times so prioritisation if being done as a combined role can be challenging.

Excel (I kid you not) and Skype. Does that count? :)

My primary investment is in Australian residential property, secondary is broad index funds (Vanguard ETFs), third is cash. I don't trade stocks, it's too much like gambling IMO.

The project I'm currently working on uses SQL database replication from production to populate data into the UAT and SIT environments.