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Tuesday marked 6 years since getting my first dev job at 28 
I worked right through it & didn't even realize it. 
Looking back, years 2-3 were the hardest because I wasn't quite a beginner anymore but lost on how to improve.
Here are some lessons I learned that helped:
I worked right through it & didn't even realize it. Looking back, years 2-3 were the hardest because I wasn't quite a beginner anymore but lost on how to improve.
Here are some lessons I learned that helped:
Feeling stuck is sometimes a sign that you've exhausted the shallow end of knowledge on something. As a boss once told me, "Dig deeper." Start looking through the layers of abstraction. What's happening inside that framework? What's happening in the browser?
Don't underestimate the value of learning in public, even just with micro-blogging. (I am still learning this.) It helps other people just as much as it helps you, and it gives you a reason to keep yourself accountable.
I learned more from mentoring a more junior coworker than I did being mentored in many cases. Help someone who is a few steps behind you -- it will help you solidify your learning while also making a tangible impact in someone else's life.
I've gotten ridiculously lucky with a few of the bosses I've had, so let me tell you: a supportive manager who is in your corner and wants to see you grow *is possible* and makes a huge difference. Don't settle for a toxic environment and listen to your gut.
I don't have a CS degree & even though we all hate whiteboarding, my lack of deep understanding of algorithms & data structures has been come up a few times. I wish I'd started learning that earlier if only to make interviews go better.
You don't need to be working on the latest and greatest tech to make a good living. There is a ton of work out there for legacy code and while it isn't the most fun, it will pay the bills. My first job was SQL + old .NET + jQuery in 2014.
Don't let anyone gatekeep you for the type of computer you're using, the language you're writing in, or the editor you're using. The compiler doesn't care and neither should you!
Ask for help and get feedback sooner than you think you need it.
If you've made it this far, I just want to tell you you're doing great and to keep going. Push through those few years and reach out if I can help!
