Stage 1 · Lesson 1 of 7
Reading your contract before you sign
Your is the written agreement between you and the company. It, not the phone call, decides your pay, start date, hours, leave, probation (a trial period at the start) and (how long you must keep working after you resign).
Read every page before you sign. Compare it with what you were promised: salary, bonus, title, location or remote terms and start date. If something differs, ask politely in writing before you sign.
That is the only moment when changing a term is easy and normal. Keep a copy somewhere outside work systems. Your probation, leave and notice period all come back in the workplace basics stage.
Common trapsigning on the day it arrives because you are excited and afraid of losing the offer, then finding a term you never agreed to on the call.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with· follow one of these
- GuideFreeJob Scams (FTC Consumer Advice)
US Federal Trade Commission
The warning signs of fake job offers and payment requests, useful wherever you live
- BookPaidThe Missing README: A Guide for the New Software Engineer
Chris Riccomini and Dmitriy Ryaboy (No Starch Press) · Beginner · $29.99 print, $23.99 ebook
Read the first two chapters before you start: what the first year looks like and how you will learn
Practise
Keep handy
Also worth your time
- The Pragmatic EngineerGo deeper
How tech companies work from the inside, when you want the wider picture of your new industry