I am a software engineer that\'s had positions programming in VBA (though I dare

Question

I am a software engineer that's had positions programming in VBA (though I dare not consider that 'real' experience, as it was trial and error!), Perl w/ CGI, C#, and ASP.NET. The latter two are post-undergraduate, with my entrance into the 'real world'. I'm 2 years out of college, and have had 5 years of experience (total) across the languages I've mentioned. However, when it comes to my resume, I can only put 2 years down for C#, and less than a year down for ASP.NET.

I feel like I know C#, but I still have to spend time going 'What does this method do?', whereas some of the more senior level engineers can immediately say, "Oh, Method X does this, without ever having looked at that method before." So I know empirically that there's a gulf there, but I'm not exactly sure how to bridge it. I've started programming in Project Euler, and I picked up a book on design patterns, but I still feel like I spend each day treading water, instead of moving forward.

That isn't to say that I don't feel like I've made progress, it just means that as far as I come each day, I still see the mountain top way off in the distance.

My question is this: How did you overcome this plateau? How long did it take you? What methods can you suggest to assist me in this?

I've read through Code Complete, The Mythical Man Month, and CLR via C#, 2nd edition -- my question is: What do I do now?

Explanation / Answer

Congratulations!

From your description, you are an intermediate developer.

This phase will last about 3-8 years, depending on your willingness to learn above and beyond the problem of the moment

To speed the process, read, surf, blog, go to user group meetings, find a mentor, do independent research, code side-projects, and bury yourself in new technologies. This may shave a year or two off the time.

Or you could have a life outside of programming ;-)

Seriously, stay current and introspect, but turn the #%$@ thing off every now and then

Addendum: when you go outside, remember to wear pants.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.