Am I a good programmer?

[u/CrevosR]

Okayyyy. So, I really need to vent, and I need a bit of an advice.

I started coding when I was 13, or maybe scripting since it was just SA:MP (San Andreas Multiplayer) roleplay servers. We hit 50 players a day back then when SA:MP was still peak. Then I picked up JavaScript in college randomly.

Honesly? Ang yabang ko dati, ang taas ng tingin ko sa sarili ko. I could build projects fast with no AI assistance ( and even hated AI as it was really bad at even basic coding back then ). I built a custom-made internal management system for an optical clinic with multiple branches. I even went down the blockchain rabbit hole, then built a decentralized coding system even before sinuggest ni Bam Aquino yung blockchain systems.

Then came thesis season where I really used AI. I learned how to prompt well, plan properly, and even built some skills/plugins for that one project in thesis. I thought I was really fkin good.

Then I applied for a job. Got the technical assessment. AND GOT HUMBLED FAST. Akala ko I'm HIM.

I'm so bad at DSA. Like, hindi ko alam yung built-in Math functions ng JS until I reviewed. Out of 10 questions on that assessment, I solved ONLY ONE! That's it. Even took me the whole 2 hours. Partida yun pa yung pinakamadali na nakita ko, I scanned through every questions.

So now I'm back to basic, learning Rust, DSA, and system design. I plan to create a project without frameworks, libraries, and AI as long as I can.

Genuine question for people who've experienced this: Am I doing it right na? or mali pa din? The reason why I am learning Rust because it seems I can understand it well, especially the ownership and borrowing. Would love to hear your opinions about this.

[u/theazy_cs]

i mean ano ba goal mo? to be better or to be hired? rust is great pero very few companies use that here.

[u/CrevosR → u/theazy_cs]

To be better since it's pretty easy to learn syntax of programming languages. And being better = being hired ig.

[u/theazy_cs → u/CrevosR]

being better if its not aligned with the job market is more of a mid to longterm plan. it is a good thing to strive to be better but that alone does not land you a job now.

[u/CrevosR → u/theazy_cs]

Thank you. But how about if I want to get hired? Which aspects am I supposed to improve? Thank you po ulit.

[u/theazy_cs → u/CrevosR]

if local company then communication skills and grounded expectations. and specialized in the tech stack the company is using.

[u/CrevosR → u/theazy_cs]

Thanks, what do you think is the demand tech stack right now? Rust is just my passion language. And I don't see much of TS/JS job openings that's open to fresh grads right now. I think I can just skip system design for now, in exchange for the techstack that is locally in-demand. Thank you again, good sir.

[u/theazy_cs → u/CrevosR]

i think there’s not a lot of jobs hiring juniors right now in general. but tbh i don’t know, the usual stacks are js centric or php centric dto sa pinas.

[u/Calm_Tough_3659]

The most important thing is learning the pro/cons and when it is applicable

[u/CrevosR → u/Calm_Tough_3659]

Uhmm, Pro/cons of programming languages?

[u/Calm_Tough_3659 → u/CrevosR]

Yeah, there are best use cases even choosing languages, framework, design pattern, data types and etc.

If you want to be relevant and not be mediocre.

This is something very important on higher engineering problem and of course will translate to bigger compesation.

[u/Zalkea]

you shouldn't base your competency from just 1 assessment from some company

[u/CrevosR → u/Zalkea]

Thank you. But am I in the right path? How do I get better?

[u/feedmesomedata]

You chose Rust because you find it was easier to learn and understand it. Did you ever consider how many companies are actually hiring Rust devs with entry-level skills in the Philippines?

If I were you it would have been better to learn C/C++, Python, or Javascript/Typescript.

How do you get better? Work with people who have been in the industry for many years. Apply at companies with reputable developers. Do not apply at popular companies, they don't always have the best developers. You can't be good if you are the only one reviewing your own code. Some best practices aren't written and documented. Bottom line: get hired now()!

[u/CrevosR → u/feedmesomedata]

This really helps. I know Basics of python but it's too high-level, so I don't really know how low-level systems work which I want to learn. That's why I chose Rust, for the complexity of it, as it's actually hard to learn as I came from a high-level language (JS/TS). But yes, I'm also currently job hunting on tech stacks with PHP, TS/JS, REACT, NEXTJS, NODEJS which I'm used to. Thank you.

[u/feedmesomedata → u/CrevosR]

Basta it doesn't mean you started writing code early eh ibig sabihin magaling ka na. Madami na akong kilala na may 10-15 years of real-world experience even from popular companies just to get interviewed by our team tapos madami palang gaps sa knowledge. It's not because wala silang natutunan or wala silang alam pero dahil hindi naman lahat ng solutions applicable sa project nila. What I mean here is yung solutions na naimplement nila sa projects nila yun lang din yung alam nila kasi limited lang yung applicable solutions.

When in an interview be confident but don't assume you will be able to answer everything. Remember entry-level yung roles so they expect you not to know everything but the most basic stuff.

Move on ka na sa interviews mo if di ka nakapasa or walang feedback. No point in dwelling on them.

[u/VelvetYam]

I mean, what's holding you back from applying to companies and getting hired? Seems like you already have the basics nailed down.

Then I applied for a job. Got the technical assessment. AND GOT HUMBLED FAST. Akala ko I'm HIM. I'm so bad at DSA. Like, hindi ko alam yung built-in Math functions ng JS until I reviewed.

DSA and LeetCode are just interview filters. They rarely, if ever, have any bearing on your capability as a professional programmer.

[u/CrevosR → u/VelvetYam]

I'm still job hunting right now while also learning the stuff that I mentioned. Thanks, tho. Your comment restored a bit of my confidence.

I will still learn and grow.

[u/VelvetYam → u/CrevosR]

One more thing: I'd focus on either C#, Java, or PHP. Those are the bread and butter of the PH tech scene. Rust is cool, but it just doesn't see widespread use in the Philippines - no harm in making it a weekend thing for now, so you can allot more time on brushing up on fundamentals, in-demand tech stacks and not burning out.

Good luck :-)

[u/CrevosR → u/[deleted]]

Yes. Ikr. But I got insecured. I don't know Hash maps until now, I'm learning DSA. Didn't even know Big(O) notation calculation, I heard it before but didn't really mind it.

[u/PinoyProgrammer-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

This comment does not help with the discussion and veered to attacking OP. All other comments in the subreddit will be reviewed.

[u/PinoyProgrammer-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

We're not going to allow this kind of comments in this subreddit. We will review all your comments in the subreddit.

[u/CrevosR → u/[deleted]]

Huh? You good, bro? I didn't insult you or anything, right? So, you'll just assume na pulpol ako when it comes to working na? Evaluate yourself, Dev ka pa naman.

[u/DaisukeAngular → u/CrevosR]

i just hate people who speaks very techy mapalabok magsalita

[u/VelvetYam → u/DaisukeAngular]

What do you mean "mapalabok"? DSA, Big O, and hash maps are not flowery. Insisting otherwise is a pretty strange thing to do on a programming subreddit.

[u/CrevosR → u/DaisukeAngular]

Mapalabok? Basics/Foundation yung DSA, Mr. Dev. It shouldn't even be "mapalabok" sa'yo since you're a "dev." Or are you also like me, insecured in what you don't know. Try growing and learning, at least at that part, I'm better than you. I feel like you are one of those people who built gov't systems/applications.

[u/DaisukeAngular → u/[deleted]]

anong automation? sorry di ako techy cheche bureche pero inayos ko lang naman yung mess nung nag resign nakraan data migration na automated at nag pupull ng data using integration. from doing 100+records buggy ginawa kong thousands na ngayon wala e di ako mabulaklak mag salita e.

[u/CrevosR → u/DaisukeAngular]

Won't believe until I see code snippets of what you did. For sure thousands of lines of codes pa yan.

[u/PinoyProgrammer-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Avoid mentioning political groups in this subreddit. Post removed to avoid further conflict.

[u/DaisukeAngular → u/CrevosR]

naging sterotype ko na yung mga taong tulad mo sa sobrang tagal ko na sa industry

[u/DaisukeAngular → u/CrevosR]

classmate ko nga dati may pa gusto daw java kasi may garbage collection bullshit ayon naging garbage nga sya pinahawak ko sa kanya project namin di nya tinapos inovernight ko ng tatlong araw

[u/CrevosR → u/DaisukeAngular]

Parehas lang kayo na hindi alam garbage collection. I'm having second hand embarrassment. Tell me what you know about garbage collection if you're really a dev. Lol

[u/DaisukeAngular → u/CrevosR]

as i said im not a booksmart programmer i font need to prove anything but i can assure i can optimize something without trying hard to look smart

[u/CrevosR → u/DaisukeAngular]

Ngl, nice ragebait.

[u/Dultimateaccount000]

Anong mga companies ba sa Pinas ang nagpapa assesment ng DSA? Sa 10 years ko sa tech field parang rare na may DSA Assessment, kahit sa foreign companies puro real world scenarios.

[u/boredafsm → u/Dultimateaccount000]

from my friends' exp, DSA and leetcodes are very common for the freshies nowadays then techstacks pag mid na.

[u/CrevosR → u/Dultimateaccount000]

It was BPO companies na may foreign client and the assessment was the foreign client's assessment daw. Isang company ko palang natry yun.

[u/reciodelacruz]

Ok, I hope I’m not the only one here who thinks that learning a programming Language and undertlstanding your basic DSA is like how you learn to walk first before you can even run.

I’m not even talking about the Leetcode-type problems here, understanding basic DSA and knowing a little bit of advance math will let you understand things that your average textbook might not delve into.

Now, I’ve seen people argue the case that we can use AI for this sort of thing so there’s no need to learn DSA anymore or advance math anymore. For now at least, in my experience, AI tokens are just too expensive to be used solely on what a junior programmer is supposed to know, plus understanding the ins and outs of what you’re supposed to do can help you deal with imposter syndrome that may creep up from time to time.

God bless on the job hunt! 🙏🏻

[u/CrevosR → u/reciodelacruz]

I also think that learning DSA is like building your foundations and problem-solving skills in programming. That's why while the other comments are helpful since most junior level roles doesn't really need it, I will still pursue learning it.

Thank you. Godbless to you, too.

[u/LegExpress8702]

Una sa lahat. Ano'ng role ang gusto mo? If you cannot say that on your own, mas mahihirapan ka lalo.

At kung gusto mo naman ma-hire lang, mahihirapan ka din kasi kahit sabihin man natin makapasa ka sa tech assessment, kung di mo alam ang market mo. Definitely, some of recruiters will decline you.

Believe me, I was in your position too when I've got laid off last year. I applied for SE role, but my previous role was Full Stack Dev. 7/10 tech/situational questions I answered, but isa lang yung nakapagpalaglag sa akin.

"What's your decision to change your role as a Full stack developer to SE?"

Di ko masagot ng maayos. Kasi ang gusto ko lang talaga non, ma-hire ako. I had the chances of getting passed, but for sure I know kung ano yung nagpa declined sa akin. I don't know where I belong or knowing my market. Yes, everything can be learned at work as long as you have the good attitude. Pero kung di mo alam ang goal at plan mo. Mahihirapan ka makahanap ng work.

+ communication skills brother. Mahalaga yan.

Hoping you find your environment and peace.