The Subtle Sign You're Growing as a Coder
Source: Dev.to
You Know You’re Growing When…
- You don’t get stuck on compilation errors for missing semicolons.
- You’re not rushing to code without doing some planning.
- You know when your code looks or feels funny.
The Subtle Sign of Growth
You let others into your code and you don’t take critiques on your code personally.
My Journey
In my first job I didn’t want anyone else to touch my code. Each team member worked solo, with almost no collaboration. After finishing Clean Code, I thought only my code met all the standards, and I didn’t want anyone else to “infect” it.
At my next job the story was almost the same. I worked on the core features of the main app with a small team, and only a few people touched my code. It hurt to see my code rewritten during an app redesign to make it scale. My code felt like a precious ring that nobody else should touch.
After moving between projects and companies, I eventually learned that I am not my code. Critiquing my code isn’t critiquing me. Bugs happen. When that happens, someone will pick my code and say, “Who wrote this crap?” The same way I said that when I inherited somebody else’s codebase.
Getting your code in front of others—letting them change it, tweak it, and critique it—is the key to growing as a coder.
Takeaway
- Share your code openly.
- Accept feedback without taking it personally.
- Write simple, maintainable code that others can inherit and improve.
Further Reading
Grab your copy of Street‑Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding here. This is the roadmap I wish I had on my journey from junior to senior.