What should I do and not do when starting my first full time job?

Don't accept that the culture at your workplace is "how things have to be in the real world".

Every time I've left a job out of frustration with the work culture I've been told "It'll be like that everywhere." That statement has been wrong 100% of the time.

Actively seek out data to challenge the status quo. Does one have to work long hours to get promotions? Does one have to work long hours to get good pay? Do you have to compete with your colleagues to get a promotion? Do you have to have thick skin and take abuse for career growth? If you're failing is the solution to buckle down and try harder?

For all these questions look around at other roles in the company and in other companies. Don't believe any conclusion based on your own experience.

The answer to all these questions is No, but if your work culture believes the answer is yes you may be limited in your career growth.

Be nice. And helpful. Generally when someone asks you for help on something, or when you are assigned to a project, that means they need help! Take the time to understand how it works, reason correctly about what needs to get done, be self-starting, and get the stuff done. Clearly communicate with others in your team and don't be afraid to use your supervisor to resolve problems that keep moving things forward. Be the guy that can get given something and sort it out - or start something new. Any work environment is very different from school - much to learn about the way things work.

Remember that your employment is a business relationship between two entities: yourself and your employer. They owe you nothing, neither do you owe them. Don't try to turn it into a lifestyle, work unpaid overtime, or sacrifice your social life or other important things for the sake of a job.

Always give reasonable notice before taking time off or quitting, and try not to burn bridges. Your colleagues will be a valuable resource for your professional future.

Don't be "that guy". Politics, religion, your sex life - keep them outside. While at work, focus on your work and avoid divisive or potentially alienating speech (I would also include workplace relationships here - as a general rule, just don't do it, #1 source of drama and unpleasantness).

Remember that HR works to promote the best interests of the company, which may not be the same as your best interests.

Show up on time, everyday.

Don't be a jerk.

You don't need to win every conversation.

And finally, just make it a year. Later you can always find a better job, but that first year is essential

You never get graded in the real world. That may sound good except that what happens instead is that you get judged behind closed doors and you never definitely know what people thought, you just see a consequence, like, "you get fired." While great leadership can clarify what is going on, they can't fill every gap. An organization may set a lower bar than what you're capable of; do you just aim for that, or do you try to go farther? If you do farther, will you get a jealous backlash from coworkers? Everything is contextual, and office politics often rope you into the hot seat.

So the only way you can definitely "know how you're doing" and not become an anxious mess is to work towards developing your own grading system, with your own rules, principles, and standards. You don't have to rush it - you have your whole career to perfect that system, but it's actually the basis of how you operate, and not whatever specific thing you've been hired for or assigned to.

Commit to at least a year. It can be a really shitty job. They might underpay and overwork you. Roll with it and do your best for that first year.

My first job was quite dead end but I'm still reaping the results of that hard work 10 years later. It snowballs, not just skills but the people you come across who end up working in different places later. Everyone knows a guy and when you have 3-4 seemingly unrelated people talk well about you, you can get anywhere you like.

1) Write down everything you learned when you started that wasn't written down for you on a wiki page!

Have the next person revise it when they start.

2) Keep a daily log of what you did, errors you troubleshooted, or any other peice of information that might be useful in the future.

3) If your team doesn't do retrospectives regularly, do them for yourself. It's the best way to ensure you make progress towards your personal goals.

You'll find things that are stupid, both in the code and in company policies and procedures. Keep your mouth shut about them for a while (say, three to six months), until you see if there's a valid reason for those things. If not, then you can say that they're stupid. But not your first week.

First impressions are important - dont do or say anything stupid or risky the first period of time. Dont take liberties before you have a good balance or your "trust account" if that makes sense.

Be humble and informative; not brash and know-it-all.

Expect work to start slow and then ramp up over time. This is the way of internships and big companies.