So, a piece of advice for all new programmers that want to find the best way to progress.

When I first started, I had this set list of things that I believed to be critical to being an elite-grade programmer, some of which was actually detrimental to my ability to perform. Here is some advice you should heed, because I have learned it the hard way.

1. Cater your tools to you, but don't overdo it.
I used to believe that using terminal editors, and more "hardcore" (difficult to use) editors would in the long run make me a stronger developer, and in turn, be capable of more. I learned this the hard way with Vim, an editor which I have significant appreciation for. Every time I opened up Vim in the last little bit, I just get an extreme sense of exhaustion, and I realized that I was overdoing the tool catering. VSCode, though it is missing a lot of really nice shortcuts that Vim has, doesn't make me feel exhausted. So I tweak it to have all the extensions I actually use, a great theme, and a font that I love (Fira Code, Dracula Theme, Git Lens, etc)

2. Your language of choice does *NOT* make you a lesser or better programmer.
High-skill programmers are high skill programmers, regardless of the language they choose. Though I thoroughly appreciate C, and would love to do a few projects in it, I actually code in Typescript daily at work. I know C, Python, Lua, Javascript, C#, and F#, all of which contributed to the belief that you choose the language based on the needs of the thing you are creating. You don't need C if you'd be better off with a NodeJS Express server, and you sure as hell shouldn't try to use Javascript to do 3d game engine development (and if you do, don't expect it to be fun).

3. Shit takes time
Programming is a long, arduous path. It is not easy, it is not simple, and it is a constant learning experience. You will never stop learning. The day you stop learning, you are no longer a "developer".

4. The basics are important.
The basic datatypes, algorithms, and design patterns are boring as fuck to learn. They're the most difficult things to get through, but once equipped with these, they come in play as some of the most critical pieces of knowledge you should know.

5. Code is meant to be read.
Write your code so most people can understand what is going on. I can elaborate on this further, but generally, follow a consistent style, add comments, and be vigilant with formatting the code to be as expressive as possible with as little code as possible. So, don't instantiate an object, then assign to each individual field after it without some formatting. Add some spaces so the start of the word lines up.

6. You are not Linus Torvalds.
This was a serious confidence killer for me. I was always comparing myself to the greatest programmers there are out there, and if I wasn't at least "close", I was never good enough. I can firmly confirm that this line of reasoning is *bullshit*. I mean it. If you know the basics, and textbooks don't really offer too much anymore, you're good.

7. Proof of your work is more powerful than your certifications.
Your GitHub/GitLab/Project Repos are more critical than any piece of paper you could ever have. If you have just something on your GitHub, solving actual problems, you will get further than just a cert/degree. So, think of a project and work on it. If you give up on the project, /state why you gave up/ in the description.

8. Put yourself out there.
If you don't have a job yet in development, put yourself out there. The world will not give you what you do not ask and work for, so work for what you want, and ask for work. Ask for what you're worth, and check yourself that you're being reasonable. If you do not have the balls to apply and go to interviews, why would the world give you a job?

9. Don't be an elitist.
Elitism will cost you more jobs, more time, more head ache, and more suffering than you could imagine. I have not experienced this myself, but I've been witness to the side effects. The elitist programmers who talk about "perfect code" are the ones that never get anything done, aren't fulfilled in their careers, and learn the slowest. Dogma and elitism will kill your future harder and faster than mistakes.

10. Always remember what you love about your craft.
There will be periods of time that stretch for weeks where every day you go "God damn I hate this", and you forget why you do this. But seriously, take some time and remember what you love, why you love, and how you love your craft. If you're not doing this because you love it, get out of the way so someone who wants it has a chance. Do something that actually speaks to you.

That summarizes a list of things that I have learned in my time programming that I believe will be critical to the success of every and any programmer that is just getting started. Never stop dreaming, noobs ;)

I hate it when I try and have a discussion with another dev and the conversation devolves into something akin to:

Me: I'm doing a thing in y language! How do I do z using y language?

Dev: WHY ARE YOU USING Y LANGUAGE?! Y LANGUAGE SUCKS AND IF YOU USE IT YOU'RE STUPID. ALL REAL DEVS USE X LANGUAGE.

I just wanted to know how to do something. Maybe I don't want to do it in another language. Maybe I have to use this language for work/study. Maybe I've just been given legacy spaghetti code and can't change the system easily.

Why do people feel the need to do this? And if they want to flame a language why can't they do it constructively?

Dev: If you are trying to do a thing in y language, why don't you try using x language? It offers an easier way for you to complete the task that you want, and it has other amazing features too!

Then you could actually respond with the appropriate response which would be thanks but no thanks because of this reason or thanks i'll check it out.

No need to be so elitist all the time.

Can someone explain to me why the fuck I should even care about the fact, that some companies collect, use and sell my data? I'm not famous, I'm not a politician and I'm not a criminal, I think most of us aren't and won't ever be. We aren't important. So what is this whole bullshittery all about? I seriously don't get it and I find it somewhat weird that especially tech guys and IT "experts" in the media constantly just make up these overly creepy scenarios about big unsafe data collecting companies "stealing" your "private" information. Welcome to the internet, now get the fuck over it or just don't be online. It's your choice, not their's.

I honestly think, some of these "security" companies and "experts" are just making this whole thing bigger than it actually is, because it's a damn good selling point. You can tell people that your app is safe and they'll believe you and buy your shit app because they don't understand and don't care what "safe" or "unsafe" means in this context. They just want to be secure against these "evil monster" companies. The same companies, which you portrayed them as "evil" and "unfair" and "mean" and "unrepentant" for over a decade now.

Just stop it now. All your crappy new "secure" messenger apps have failed awesomely. Delete your life now, please. This isn't about net neutrality or safety on the internet. This is all about you, permanently exaggerating about security and permanently training people to be introverted paranoid egoistic shit people so that they buy your elitist bullshit software.

Sorry for my low english skills, but please stop to exist, thank you.

Fuck Apple. You'd think at least a Keynote is something that they make available to the plebs, but nah, you need Safari or Edge to watch it. Fuck your fucking proprietary bullshit, you fucking elitist pieces of shit.

So about 3 weeks ago I was laid off from my dream job due to corporate bullshit. From the feedback received since then it is clear that the company made a mistake hiring a brand new React dev while they really needed an experienced one. Because the consultants who were supposed to be weren't. And the other in-house front end dev was an elitist asshole. And I never received proper feedback until it was too late. Actually I still don't have proper feedback save for some vague stuff which really sounds like the kind of feedback you'd give someone in the middle of their learning process. They even said eventually given more time I could have made it. But alas they felt they had to make a call in the best interest of the company.

Things moved fast since then, I took a week to recover and then I spent time updating my resume before getting back in touch with the recruiter who got me my last job. Great guy and he was happy to help me again. Applied to some positions, got some replies, first in person interview I go to they are immediately willing to take me on.

So now I'm supposed to start tomorrow but somehow I'm having my doubts. The company isn't an IT company but rather a fashion company. They believe in developing in house tools because past attempts with external companies resulted in them trying to push their vision through. Knowing who they worked with I agree, they tried to oversell all the time. But after talking with their developers I noticed they are behind on their knowledge. But so am I. So there was no tech interview which means I am getting an easy way in. And if they honour their word I'll be signing tomorrow for around my old wages.

So you'd think that sounds good right? And yet I'm worried it's going to be another shit show working on software without proper analysis or best practices. I mean the devs aren't total idiots, they are mediors like me and I think their heart is in the right place. They want to develop a good project but it will be just us 3 making a modern .net wpf application with the same functionality of the old Access based system currently in use. I was urged by the boss to draw on my experience and I think he wants me to help teach them too. But I'm painfully aware for my decade since graduating I'm a less than average .net dev who struggles with theory and never worked a job where I had someone more experienced to teach me. I coasted most of the time in underpaid jobs due to various reasons. But I'd always get mad over shitty code and practices. Which I realize is hypocritical for someone who couldn't explain what a singleton class is or who still fails at separation of concerns.

So yeah my question for the hivemind is what advice would you give a dev like me? I honestly dislike how poor I perform but it often feels like an insurmountable climb, and being over 30 makes it even more depressing. On the other hand I know I should feel blessed to find a workplace who seems to genuinely believe that people grow and develop and wishes to support me in this. Part of me thinks I should just go in, relax, but also learn till I'm there where I want to be and see if these people are open to improving with me. But part of me also feels I'm rushing into this, picking the first best offer, and it sure feels like a step backwards somehow. And that then makes me feel like an ugly ungrateful person who deserves her bad luck because she expects of others what she can't even do herself :(