A good manager, especially if they can recognize weakness in the existing code base, will let you refactor things. I've quit a job before when I wasn't allowed to rewrite code which actually wasn't even functional.
I've been extremely fortunate and that most of my recent managers have been okay with me either completely rewriting the code base, or implementing my own practices. I have no qualms about leaving a job where I'm not able to do my best work.
👤 detaro
If I'm given the task to do so.
👤 tboyd47
Refactoring things is part of the job. But while new on a team I prefer to err on the side of caution. You can learn a lot more by observing and listening sometimes.