The Subtle Sign You're Growing as a Coder

I originally posted this post on my blog.

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

But there's another subtle sign of growth:

You let others into your code and you don't take critiques on your code personally.

And for so long, I failed miserably at that test.

Being an overprotective coder

Oh boy! In my first job, I didn't want anyone else to touch my code.

Each team member worked solo, with almost no collaboration. And after finishing Clean Code, I thought only my code met all the standards. I didn't want anyone else to infect it.

Then at my next job, it was almost the same story.

Along with a small team, I worked on the core features of the main app. Only a few touched it. And it hurt to see my code rewritten during the app redesign to make it scale.

My code was a precious ring, nobody else should touch.

Learning not to be one with the code

After moving between projects and companies, I eventually learned that I'm not my code.

Critiquing my code isn't critiquing me.

Bugs happen.
Edge cases get missed.
Requirements get misunderstood.

And 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.

Get your code in front of others. Let them change it, tweak it, and critique it.

That's the key to growing as a coder.

And that's why I wrote Street-Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding. Nobody told junior me that writing simple code others could inherit and improve was part of growing.

Grab your copy of Street-Smart Coding here This is the roadmap I wish I had on my journey from junior to senior.