Today, after I looked at problem for a total of about five seconds and told a junior member of my team how to fix it, she asked me, “How could you possibly know what it was that fast?”

My answer boiled down to “long, painful experience.” I told her not to worry, she’d eventually get that fast or nearly so. She has all the tools but just not enough of it has jelled yet. Lately, because I am still training her but am trying to make her more independent, I’ve given her more leeway and told her fewer of the answers. I know she feels lost in the woods sometimes now and I try not to let her stray too far and get too frustrated, but I think it’s overall been good. She is learning quickly and is already a better troubleshooter than most.

But yes, I understand it can be very annoying when some hotshot comes and solves a problem in five seconds you’ve been stuck on for two hours. I understand, because people used to do that to me in math all the time, so I truly do get it.