Top Signs You're NOT Ready For a Programming Job

There are a few clear indicators that you're not ready for the interview process. In today's video I cover the things I see most often that are a clear sign you shouldn't be applying for jobs yet.
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[@AndySterkowitz]

Did this video help give you clarity about whether or not you're ready for the job hunt process?

[@JoshT4life]

can't help it always freeze up when doing coding challenge in front of someone

[@mehriabdukodirova9155]

It's very helpful. Thanks so much for an informative video!

[@Bestodds1]

Yes. Not what I WANTED to hear but it IS what I needed to hear. I'm not ready. Thank you.

[@angelamitchell5580]

It gives me some clarity about my job readiness. Being in coding boot camps have helped me talk through my code aloud and explain approaches/solutions to peers, but I want to continue practicing. Debugging is probably one of my strengths because of my attention to detail. My biggest worry is that I do not have many unique independent projects. I'm aiming to become a front-end developer, but I know I may need to build some full-stack projects to qualify for my first front-end developer job. I have no idea how to come up with ideas for a project. I have one idea, but it seems somewhat simple. I hope I'm able to create more complex ones someday.

[@Bestodds1]

@@angelamitchell5580 Perhaps there is an ordering/sorting/keep track of your stuff web app you could create.

[@florianrager9631]

1. can't Code in front of others (learn to deal with nervousness) 2. can't explain how data flows through your application (be able to give a high level overview of what happens when e.g. a button is pressed) 3. no substantial portfolio projects (not only build Todo Lists or similar simple applications) 4. inability to debug (be more conscious when debugging) 5. not practicing coding challenges (solving coding challenges becomes easier the more you do it) Good luck!

[@abulfazlhaidary2002]

You're the best Mr time saver!.

[@truboxl]

Is number 1 have to do with explaining the code? What about copy pasting code from Google? 🤣

[@istandaloneroronoazoro5188]

For the 2nd one, how do you actually explain the functionalities at a high level? I don't really understand the difference between me telling that "once the button is pressed, then the form will appear in front of you" and "when pressing the button, a function is going to run and something will be returned as a reaction." How can I explain it better?

[@cydrus2856]

5th do you mean leetcode or cp?

[@Kytrion]

This is helpful too kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYDHqqdmbK2Hr7s

[@arminlinzbauer]

Never had a portfolio (still don't), never did any coding challenge. Never had to explain data flow or anything. I think it depends on many factors of which the ones named here are only a small subset that may or may not actually be relevant for you. I live in germany and we have actual job training called "Ausbildung" where you attend a special job academy part-time while simultaneously gaining experience "in the field" by working at a company for a total of 2 - 3 years. The company even pays you for working there - it's not too much but once you're finished and you have good grades, you won't have too much trouble finding a job in your field. At least that has been my personal experience.

[@gr3t485]

Wow, it sounds amazing!

[@arash8761]

This applies more to the US because of laws that make it very easy to import labor from other countries and exploit them. Companies expect to get very well-trained and qualified workers without training them at all. Plus everyone wants to work for these big companies or in Silicon Valley where there's so much money flowing around, so that makes it even easier to attract people and then weed them out using stupid ideas like these.

[@daniel71626]

I have worked in a software company for 2 years, sometimes i still not feel ready. But im way better than before.

[@BillClinton228]

Even if you have worked in the industry for 10 years, there will always be people telling you or showing you, you're not good enough. There will always be something that you will be lacking that will be treated as if it's the worst thing in the world.

[@heathergray4880]

Imposter syndrome is real

[@CoDbrO9069]

How good is the pay?

[@-_-user2435]

@@CoDbrO9069 once u get seasoned in. The pay is great. Even junior roles get paid way more than other jobs. It's one of the highest paying jobs

[@jp-gy3vh]

Guys, just don’t think you have to be perfect at these things before applying for a job. A lot of hiring managers aren’t expecting you to be an expert already but they do want to see a willingness to learn and grow.

[@koustubhmuktibodh4901]

It's simple. Programming needs passion. Hard work will not guarantee interest or success in programming.

[@Code-tf2nn]

@@koustubhmuktibodh4901 yep Passion and Hardwork

[@ifeellikeiwasborntoloveya6547]

@@koustubhmuktibodh4901 u need both, a person full of passion without practice is probably just a dreamer

[@guitarman813]

There aren't many videos like this on KZbin. Too much hyped-up marketing on being a developer. But sometimes that marketing is false and doesn't exactly portray what software development actually means in reality. I certainly have the issues that are listed here. So will for sure work on these weaker areas throughout 2021 especially. Very useful Andy, cheers!

[@AndySterkowitz]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@yosuanicolaus]

It's been 1 year. How's it going?

[@sfafsashfdh6589]

@@yosuanicolaus he quit, he is in mountains now, living peaceful life

[@nonoob7]

@@sfafsashfdh6589 lol, seems legit

[@boy6530]

It's been 2 years how's the coding going

[@chriskerley1508]

1. Code In front of people. NOT important. If you can do 2-5 below, you will likely code better in front of others. 2. Data flow. VERY important. 3. Projects. EXTREMELY important. 50,000+ lines of code 400 real users. Many useful features (Build a facebook clone or something) 4. Debugging EXTREMELY important If you just using print statements, you DO NOT know what you are doing. Read about unit testing. 5. Coding challenges. SOMEWHAT important 90% of large projects is software design and testing. Only a small proportion of the code base is fancy algorithms. Focus on Software Design and Testing. New programmers seem to be weakest in those areas because those areas require experience. 90% of the time on the job will be software design and testing.

[@kyledrewes6552]

Hi Chris, in your opinion, are there any resources or books you would recommend that would specifically teach us how data flows ?

[@Izzat-bj1le]

why it is so hard to be useful :(

[@finmat95]

Facebook clone? 50000 lines of code? in your dreams.

[@remist]

@@kyledrewes6552 thats thing you dont have to learn , it comes from experience and just tells that you know what are you programming and how it works in core

[@LordmkKING67]

​@@finmat95 yeah, not like we are gonna apply for Senior position or some crap

[@elizabethgallagher3061]

#2 - Reason why I stepped back to dive back into basics. I realized anyone can follow a tutorial, but I couldn’t explain anything...reason being, I DONT KNOW ENOUGH. Hard pill for me to swallow... but I had to.

[@schanejohnson6815]

Dude, this is the best channel on programming period IMO. Keep it up, I’m 31 and stuck in a career I hate, but you’ve convinced me to give this my best shot.

[@salamjames3224]

Good luck bro. I went back to college at 30 (Currently 32) for a degree in computer science. I failed a bunch of classes and it's taking me 5 years to get a 4-year degree. Now I get A's and I'm about to have my associates in CompSci. It's never too late, I find that the more disciplined you are about it the faster it comes.

[@outside7]

@@salamjames3224 About the same here. Started computer science at 37, nearly done with the bachelor now. The good thing is, if you like coding, you'll get a job somewhere. Maybe not the first few applications, but you'll get there.

[@pfg222]

@@salamjames3224 hey don't worry I'm 26 and I started my CS degree in 2016. It's been 6 years, it is very difficult for me but I'm motivated to finish. I just need 1 more year and I'll get my degree. Doesn't matter how long it takes. As long as you understand it and put in the hard work of learning how to program.

[@digitalheaven_]

How's it going Schane ? Any updates ?

[@ohemgefatality]

I also want updates man did you make the switch

[@RaitzeR1]

I'm not really sure about some of the information in this video. I've been programming for 20+ years and been in various positions in IT for 10+ years (lead developer, CTO of a startup, consultant etc). I really don't feel comfortable programming in front of others even though I am a very social person. If someone just asks me to just code, it's super awkward and I can't really get in to any kind of flow. I don't think it's a bad thing. Interviews shouldn't really be about programming but problem solving and understanding the technology. Like you said, people should have portfolio projects. This should be the indicator of how well the person can code, not an arbitrary test that you should code in front of the interviewer. There is almost no situation in a day-to-day work where you build the software in front of others. Yes some people like pair-coding and it's a good exercise, but in my opinion shouldn't be done constantly as people solve problems differently and at different rates. 99.9% of your coding is done independently unless YOU specifically want to work differently. Also I don't find coding challenges to be at all effective. They are fun puzzles to work through but ultimately I find them to be nothing else than nice brain teasers. Most of your job as a programmer (especially entry level programmer) is to code already solved problems into the software you are working on. I would say a big majority of the code you are doing isn't things that are found in coding challenges as they are general problems and not specific like your day to day job.

[@deonrich3149]

Another great video! I used to see alot of these signs in myself. Its nice to see how much ive improved. Thanks for all of your help Andy!

[@kevinm5898]

0:00 - Can't code in front of others. 2:08 - Can't explain how data flows. 4:06 - No substantial portfolio projects. 5:26 - Inability to debug. 6:48 - Not Practicing Coding Challenges.

[@ErnestoCode]

I love your videos, Andy. You’re very original and very thoughtful about your content. Keep it up, man.

[@zezeandjr4110]

Another valuable advice-filled video, good job Andy, keep it up.

[@GuitarSlayer136]

Thank you for this. Imposter syndrome is a huge part of any industry obviously but it plagues creative jobs more than most. Its very easy to look at the content you produce and judge it as "unworth" or "not up to standard" and having a simple video that gives you checkpoints to work towards or compare yourself too is insanely helpful. I constantly feel like no matter how much I learn, Im just a fraud who can barely code. This has made me realise that even though I feel that way, im actually alot farther along than I gave myself credit for. I can do most of these things really easily but I would have told you "I am nowhere NEAR ready for a coding job"

[@tyb.c.4332]

I sooo relate to this... no matter how much time I spend learning I still feel like I'm at the bottom of "programmer mountain"

[@immortalredneck1259]

@@tyb.c.4332fr and the worst feeling is thinking that all the time I spent learning to code has been a waste but I guess we all suffer from self doubt because we haven’t “proven ourselves” yet

[@RipMinner]

Thank you for the pointers. They look like great pointers. And thank you for taking the time to help new guy's out with help like this. It is much appreciated. :)

[@dsds51621]

Thanks Andy. Your videos are down to earth and helpful!

[@will-i-am6225]

Thanks for the info. Any little bit goes a long way!

[@USMANMUSAADAMU]

Great content as usual. Thanks Andy.

[@dalitsobotha7932]

Very informative video. Thanks Andy!

[@octopusfly]

This was quite helpful. Thank you for sharing.

[@ryanventurino3578]

this is really awesome advice, man. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@luismarques3059]

This is so simple but no one even thinks about that. Not just to dedicate on projects but to a to-do list of projects. Damn, Andy. You rock.

[@christopher8147]

Very good tips. Thank you!

[@kramyshan8121]

This kind of information is really useful. Thank you very much and keep it up!

[@Un_Fulano_]

Very well explained and easy to understand, thanks Andy

[@kasunsudarshana4727]

Thanks for great advices. this is helping me lot to clarify what to do. Thanks lot again.

[@chriswashington8477]

Great video as always!

[@Supersonicboom7]

1) I still can't code in front of people and I can't code on the spot while explaining what I am doing. Reason being is that I don't believe anyone has the right to anyone else's thought process, they only have the right to the interface. It's the same principle of do not depend on implementation details over interfaces. I actually think this is a massive flaw with how the interview process is done. For context I've recently bummed a live coding challenge for a senior position at a well known bank, because I can't code on the spot. Later I had an interview at the same bank for a senior position on a different team without a live coding interview and now I work there. In my career the best solutions that have shaved off hours if not days of development time from my team I came too while meditating on it in silence for about 30 mins or so. In fact the last time I done it from my bed. I honestly think the first thing that comes into most peoples heads is generally not the ideal solution, so why do we encourage this rush? Probably why many if not almost all the codebases I've joined are already a mess. 5) Also coding challenges are pretty ineffective for a similar reason for 1). I'm glad that in Android Development at my level that these kind of ineffective interview processes are not the norm.

[@arash8761]

Good comment.

[@MrBranh0913]

I’m not sure I agree with reason #1. I’ve been a developer for over 15 years. It’s not common to code in front of others outside of interviews. And even then that’s more of a fad and hasn’t always the way developers were interviewed in the past. I’m still able to get employment *knock on wood*. And I hate coding in front of others. Most developers are taken out of their game when coding in front of other too. It’s not particularly effective anyway. Again leetcode interview are a fad and eventually the industry will grow out of it

[@arash8761]

It's because every company thinks they're Google or some other big company that can afford to weed out 10000 applicants for one job.

[@armennagapetian7779]

Same here when I code I need to be left alone , if anyone does not like that they can find someone else, I have been coding for 9.5 years and never had issue finding a workplace who understands that , other thing I don't do is Whiteboard or any type of assignments if anyone is even asking me to do any of those things, I simply move to next company because most of those companies make people write code for 4 hours and still not hire. Simply Refuse Market is hot and they are begging for Devs Know your Value and Never Bend Over.

[@aotechdev]

Andy Andy Andy Thank and Thanks again great and transparency help

[@RyanGazling]

Dude! This is a great help. I'll get on these

[@MilsonPazienza]

Very good your video, thank you bro!!!

[@mod_123_]

This video is the only video where I was able to figure out what my problem was, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Thanks, there are not many videos like this, most of what I see is people showing off their success of getting a job, saying redundant cliche advice, etc. But this video tells you the truth. thank you.

[@dipanpatel6454]

Im definitely not ready, but I only started 3 weeks ago lol! This video helps me to understand when I will be ready.

[@00el04]

Another amazing video, thanks Andy!

[@AndySterkowitz]

Cheers! Glad to help.

[@HowTo-lc2rp]

Your channel is motivating me and showing me the right direction , to how to improve my self being a programmer

[@rtothec1234]

One I will add to this is not understanding one’s local dev environment and/or not knowing how to set up one’s tooling. One time we hired a guy could not troubleshoot his own dev environment and would not try to learn. He expected other devs to do it for him. Eventually we let him go. He was dead weight since he’d manage to screw up his dev environment a lot.

[@romantyniv5381]

Great thoughts! Thanks a lot!

[@S4NTIS0]

Great advice. Now I also have a path to follow too.

[@shiuandai0426]

as a fresh learner, these advice are useful, thank you

[@Blecyn]

I like the angle you handle your topics from. Here for the deets and lessons.

[@AndySterkowitz]

I appreciate that!

[@lancasterspades6558]

Oh awesome I'll add this to the training.

[@meghannbenson9299]

Thanks! I'm going through Lambda School at the moment. I am about 1/3 done and trying to figure out where to put my focus because there is so much information. Your video is very helpful.

[@wahswolf88]

Good vid Andy, insightful . I must not be ready, though I have shipped 30+ apps for the company I work for. But I failed your first checkpoint LOL. I'm just lucky to have landed in a long term position that allowed for personal growth. Not many opportunities like that these days it seems.

[@shawngardiner2604]

This is some very good info!

[@joel9909]

AS LONG AS I CAN DO SOME GOOGLING, THEN I DON'T MIND CODING IN FRONT OF OTHERS lol. SOMETIMES I DON'T KNOW ALL THE SYNTAX BUT WELL I TRY.....

[@chrisfaber5049]

This is great advice! Currently going through the self taught process, and have been wondering, “When will I know when I am ready?” I know I won’t be an expert and that this field is continued education, so I may never necessarily ever “feel ready”. However, giving key skills and elements to be sufficient at and to focus on really helped me grasp a better concept of when I can be confident enough to give it a go.

[@tina360]

Thank you for the useful tips

[@florianadoumasse7808]

Thank you very much sir. That video gave me the areas I need to work on. You're a blessing 🙏🏾

[@yosifkalchev8615]

Thanks man. Very useful video :)

[@f00lishkl0wn]

Im self taught, 3.5 years of Angular experience and recently tasked with some api development in spring boot which im enjoying.... Admittedly, even in my first 6 months as a dev, I was still petrified of real, actual debugging. console.log or system.outs with java are a joke, but are what many new people are comfortable with. Working with observable streams on the UI side I very quickly realized what a handicap that mindset is, and am now OBSESSED with real, proper debugging!!!! Thanks for the video brother!

[@rogertunnell5764]

This is a good list! I would add to it the ability to test code. Testing is a skill set in and of itself, and when using test driven development (TDD), debugging becomes far more simple, if not mindless.

[@MrProjectmayhem]

Completely agree and something I was never taught in college or university. Had to teach myself how to find memory leaks and how to build unit tests. Thankfully there is a lot of examples out there to learn from.

[@LucasMeadows]

Did anyone else think they were tripping out at 4:00? 😂

[@AndySterkowitz]

LOL what! I did not mean for that to happen. Oh well...it stays :-)

[@NoName-nq8vc]

yes. It literally triggered a small acid flashback from years ago!

[@jassminherrera4958]

@@NoName-nq8vc Lmao 😂😂😂

[@adimaralimuddin96]

very big thanks for you sir. it's very helpful to me.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

A note: the more capable you are in writing code of any complexity, the more important it is that you are competent at debugging. There is never a skill level where you won’t have need of being proficient at debugging, as the more skilled you become in writing code, the more skilled you become at creating challenging bugs to track down.

[@timbogames4102]

Great video. Helped me an idea of what its really like to be a Dev.

[@enockomondi6588]

A great piece from my favourite guy

[@SeamusMcMichael]

I like the new setup

[@downanddirtytruth]

I found this to be insightful.

[@paininmydroid4526]

Really good advice.

[@bwp2bruce]

Please post more content like this. More useful than many other coding related videos.

[@LukeAvedon]

Great tips!

[@kuldeepdawar7496]

Helps me a lot .. Thank you

[@FacundoStettler]

Love the way this guy goes from happy smiley face to pocker face throughout the same sentence. Good stuff anyway, very helpful, keep it up

[@mehriabdukodirova9155]

I get so much value out of your videos/suggestions as someone just starting this career path, thank you.

[@AndySterkowitz]

You're so welcome!

[@jaydenmoon1165]

OMG thank you for the talking out loud info - when I code I talk as if I am on twitch explaining something - makes me feel good that I am not completely crazy when doing it XD

[@Fionaokee]

Thank you this is really helpful

[@andrewhawes2427]

Code wars might be good for #1. It just helped me quickly break out of this feeling of not knowing what I'm doing in front of others because I'm actually thinking about what they would expect a competent person to do rather than how to actually do what's in front of me.

[@talktomenowxbmc]

This is so true. I think may people fail to grasp that they not hired to impress someone with their knowledge but they are hired to demonstrate that they can solve the problems, explain how they did it and why they did it.

[@SonAyoD]

Fantastic video so useful and original

[@darkhorsemusicco.5156]

nice! good advice

[@samdroid37]

thank you!!

[@ademineshat]

Very useful 👍 thanks

[@dexterellis7973]

Thank you!

[@johncraig5979]

I've got the projects: 3-5 non-tutorial ripoffs (but helped implementing features from some), and I've got the theory and a good resume under my belt. Looks like I need more HackerRank/CodingWars with SQL/C# and go through those projects and understand/explain the flow/logic. I haven't had a proper interview since February 2020... mostly due to the busy work I do and the pandemic getting in the way.

[@ricardocolladodev]

Thanks you Mr Andy!, Thanks you so very much, i have a personal challange, to be able to look for a dev job within a year, and i've been wondering what are the factors, that are going to let me know that am ready for the interview, i wrote down some of your advices during this video one more time, thanks you so much for your videos!!!!!

[@billybob2647]

I disagree with debugger point. I have 20 year experience in software development and one of the first thing I learn was, not use the debugger to analyze problems rather analyze log files and find the problem. When you have a problem in a e.g power plant software in the field no debugger helps you

[@MotownGuitarJoe]

I've been coding professionally since 1983 (yes, 1983). I cannot overstate how valuable it is to use the debugger as a LEARNING tool when learning to code. This is very abstract stuff and can be hard to visualize. A good debugger is a way to visualize abstract concepts such as complex data structures. Added bonus: you actually learn how to use a debugger.

[@sunnywaykar7175]

Thank you very much sir

[@user-wl7yb4zb8p]

Many thanks for the very good advice. By the way, I'm curious what were the projects in your portfolio when you got your first job? Perhaps you already made a video about it.

[@SammyFuqU]

You're the truth man. I've been subbed for like ~8 months? I've studied like 5 different languages on a basic level. Cant figure out which language I like.

[@sethfrady]

Try not to focus so much on which language you want to work with, because most likely if you are wanting to get a job in the future you are going to have to adapt to whatever languages and tech stack a company chooses to use. Instead if I were you, I would look into languages that are going to market you well (such as the most popular and used languages ex. JavaScript, Java etc.) If its just a hobby I can understand trying to find "THE PERFECT" language for you, but in all reality its your problem solving ability that matters most, which can transfer to any language. I was like you once haha, that's why I'm saying this, I just figured I would stick with JavaScript because of all the learning material on YT.

[@JMRVRGS]

@@sethfrady Is it okay to solve a problem by copy pasting codes from searching on google? I solve some problems by just copy pasting and I know where to place it and how it works (kinda).

[@sethfrady]

@@JMRVRGS Everyone has different ways of learning. The reality is, in your job you will be copy and pasting a lot, but that also means you need to have a good understanding of it. When I search on Google for answers, personally (if I'm trying to learn), I type out everything word and line of code that I'm using instead of using the standard (ctrl c/ctrl v). This helps me understand what I'm writing as well as see the effects of what I'm writing in real time so that I can understand everything clearly. Yes, it takes longer, but if learning is your goal for doing the project anyway then taking this approach shouldn't be a big deal.

[@tareqislam1434]

Thanks man, a great self assessment video, make a whole series, all KZbin has is how to become, while we need the counter part too

[@PcHabitat]

Hi Andy, awesomely videos as always. You mention the JS Head First book, I believe the copyright is 2012 I believe. Can this book still apply to today’s new versions of JS? Thank you

[@alestairecaines5596]

You explained that so simple! You should teach code.

[@devgatling]

definitely choked up on my 1st coding problem during an interview lol

[@JasonJA88]

You're ready once you've master the art of www.google.com

[@klintz202]

What do you mean? I'm a beginner

[@JasonJA88]

@@klintz202 Soon you'll understand... just keep learning.

[@sidehustletips]

You get it. I get it. Andy makes it sound a lot more daunting than it is.

[@sullyswrldd]

@@JasonJA88 Literally how I started my first project, "How do I add a toolbar?" "Google: How to add a toolbar in HTML, CSS" "How do I write a for loop?" "Google: How to write a for loop" This to true.

[@renaisnisbett]

Very good tips Andy. Question. I've been learning JavaScript for 4 weeks now. Would it be appropriate to do the coding challenges now?

[@biancaverdree7514]

I truly needed to see this! Thank you so much 💜

[@TriInfinity]

I actually like your short top 3 list style. Does not help if one video has 61 points in it. Those are real problems some of use have. I myself was definitely in those situations in this year, even with 8 years of experience.

[@abdullahnasir8535]

Life is not a bed of roses. This man does not mince his advice.

[@patrickgold3616]

Would love a video (or post on your FB page) with some suggestions for projects in C# (I know you love that too) that would make up a decent portfolio to use for job applications.

[@Rickety3263]

CLEVER TITLE! If you said signs that shows you ARE ready I woulda skipped it altogether. 😅 i just tuned in for the punishment 😄

[@demidevil666]

Making a to-do application is considered something basic? To me that sounds infinitely complex already... F in the chat for my career.

[@AndySterkowitz]

It seems that way at the beginning. It gets easier the more you practice and learn.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

Start out with implementing a tic-tac-toe game for 2 players using the same device: it’s a very clearly understood problem and yet teaches so many things. Keep it truly simple by first doing a console app version of it to minimize the number of things you learn at a time.

[@pierreabbat6157]

Try writing a library for computing low-discrepancy sequences or a program for making a surface out of a point cloud. Those are a lot more complex than a to-do app.

[@ddddddd5425]

LOL, i worked on a todo app for like 6 months and ragequit. I've been a developer for like 8 years.

[@ddddddd5425]

@@pierreabbat6157 why are either of those harder than a todo app?

[@philmarsh3859]

some of us just need to start companies and/or confine ourselves to contracting jobs. For some of us, succeeding in groups is massively hard.

[@nanonkay5669]

I disagree with these points: 1. Can't code on front of people. A variety of people have a variety of personalities and comfort zones. If I can produce code that is very good, quality and efficient but operate poorly under peering eyes and pressure of being in the spotlight, you cannot write me off as a person who can't do the job. I'm not going to be in public competitions where I'm in the public eye, writing code on stage like it's a performance. As long as you can write good code and explain it, it goes a long way 2. Doing coding challenges. While this is not necessarily a disagreement, I'd say its not an objective truth. This is because it's just a skill that can just get you through an interview and maybe not end up facing coding challenges like those in the coding websites on the job. Yes they are good practice, but it is not objectively a tool to use to assess if you are ready to get a programming job. Some can challenge themselves by building projects all the time and never having to visit a coding challenge site. Again, if you can code, build something and explain it, that should go a long way.

[@ReneSaarsoo]

Could not agree more. I've never been good at doing these LeetCode problems, yet I've never been rejected during interviewing because of my coding skills. I guess a lot depends on where you apply to. Getting a job in the big FAANG companies has never been my goal. Although I have worked in a Silicon Valley company... got hired because the company wanted to use the software I had written, not because I excelled at some arbitrary programming puzzles.

[@Nellak2011]

I can do all of the things mentioned, except I haven't done too many coding challenges and also my projects are kind of insubstantial. I will work on this now that he brings it up. Thank you for the advice!

[@GutsofEclipse]

If you tackle substantial projects, and you actually get them up and running properly while avoiding spaghetti code, points 1, 2, and 4 will come naturally.

[@kevinm8865]

I suppose I'm not ready for developer job interviews since I don't do brain-teezers in my off-time. I get that these are common (possibly more often in code sweatshops) but what I find typically is being tested in intelligence or experience/familiarity with the problem-space. His tips are good for someone going into an algorithm-heavy job but I'd argue most routine developer jobs do not use this kind of logic that often ... and if it does it's more likely poorly written code than actually the most appropriate/necessary solution.

[@CoDbrO9069]

Phew I’m good. Just need to build a good portfolio. Any examples of good projects?