I am under the belief that most people (we are referring to workers, students, colleagues, etc.) ask for help far too easily and too often. Many of us get questions at work or on a group project from a teammate that we don’t know the answer to, but we are able to quickly Google search and reply within 5 minutes. While this provides a level of credibility and value for the person supplying the response, it tends to have the opposite effect on the asker. How can we become better at distinguishing between when to ask for help and when to figure something out on our own?

Why try to figure it out myself?

There is always a cost-to-benefit analysis that must be done when deciding if you should sink time into figuring something out. You could always easily ask the professor or colleague a quick question if you know they have the answer. The problem is, there are some drawbacks to taking the easy way out.

Most don’t learn best that way.

Most people learn best by doing. If you always ask someone for help, you will rarely learn that answer. It is usually best retained when you have to figure it out yourself.

You are using up someone’s time.

Although you may need the information you are requesting, the person you are asking may not. So, you are using their time to help you, which most are happy to do, but you have to consider if it is a valuable use of their time.

It doesn’t make you look good.

If the responder to your question easily found the answer to the question, they may be frustrated that you did not try to figure it out yourself. “Why did you come to me without taking any time to look it up”?

How do I problem solve?

Any time you are given a task or problem that you are not comfortable with or don’t know the answer to, there are a few things you should consider before reaching out for help.

1. How long will it take me to figure out?

Although this answer is not always cut and dry, you should be able to get a rough estimate of how long the task will take. If it is going to take you hours to figure out, it is probably worthwhile to outsource your question. If it is 5 minutes and a quick Google search, then definitely try that first.

2. How much time will it take the person you are asking?

Similarly, if this is going to take the person you ask an extremely long time to find an answer, then make sure you think about the consequences. You do not want them to waste a bunch of time on something that they don’t need to be doing. You may be better off figuring it out.

3. Is it a bad look for me not to know this?

Although often there is no need to be prideful about what you know, there are circumstances where you will not want to look unprepared or inadequate. If you are asking a basic question that someone in your position should know, it is always better to figure it out yourself than to ask your boss and give him a reason to question your competence. There is nothing wrong with not knowing things from time to time, but just make it clear that you are always trying to learn and better yourself by putting in your own efforts.

Conclusion

While there is nothing wrong with asking for help and saving yourself some time on something that another person already figured out, always be sure you are making the right decision for the entire team. Value your time and others’ time, and always continue to push yourself and learn as much as possible. Problem-solving is an invaluable skill in our field of software development, and you want to be the answerer more than the questioner!