What is the estimated time to master and start effective work after joining a new project?

The timeline for mastering and starting effective work on a new project depends on the project's complexity, the developer's experience, and the quality of documentation. Usually, for a junior developer, it can take from 1 to 3 months, and for a middle-level developer — from 2 to 6 weeks.

Main adaptation stages:

• Immersion in business logic and project architecture — studying requirements, documentation, code.
• Setting up the environment and familiarization with tools — building the project, running tests.
• Completing initial tasks under the guidance of a mentor — fixing bugs, small features.
• Transition to independent work and participation in planning.

It is important that the team provides support and the opportunity to ask questions, which significantly speeds up adaptation.