How will I know I am proficient enough to call myself a coder?

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I’m curious when I will know when I am an expert coder?

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Expert? You need a least a decade of experience i would say. Being able to translate requirements into good clean, readable and maintainable code.

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Technically speaking, you will never be an expert. There will still be more to learn. I feel like once you’ve been doing coding for a living for about 10 years, and are a senior developer. I bet you could call yourself an expert coder. Basically, Stetim is right :slight_smile:

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Expertise is obviously a scale, and the further one is along that scale, the more energy it requires to maintain as technology evolves.

So to attain and retain ‘expert’ status in various technologies is less pragmatic than being able to build stuff in various technologies.

In my view one shouldn’t be too concerned about status games; building stuff doesn’t require any status or permission.

A good coder is curious, always learning, integrating learning and applying new techniques, through building real stuff.

For most real-world purposes, the definition of expertise will be how long you have been a good coder.

So the trick really is just to focus on being one of those.

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so good. maybe mastery at one side definetely.

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In my humble, inexperienced opinion, no one can ever know everything there ever is or was about a particular subject, especially one as complex and continuously evolving as coding. I really like what antonjw said about being a good coder. Just recognize it and keep on keeping on learning.

All one can do is act as a sponge, soak up as much knowledge as possible, and continue to humbly learn new things every single day. Life’s a learning experience like that, and it definitely applies to coding. I feel the more open I am to knowing I don’t know it all helps me learn even more. :slightly_smiling_face:

Yes, there are some really seasoned coders out there. (NOT me.) I’ve heard it’s hard work and dedication. I’ve heard it’s 10% learning and 90% sweaty, gritty, work and practise. I’ve heard you just gotta keep going!

Yes, the road is long. But we can do this! :tada:

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