Re:Ask HN: I've realized I'm a bad software engineer and I'm...
by grassgreener on Wednesday March 31, 2021 @11:10AM
(#26648291)
I have been a semi-similar position, worked 3 years in non-tech world where I was a full-stack tech lead wizard champion. But decided to go into tech, since I wasn't learning anymore and was tired of being considered a senior in my field when I actually was just senior in my role.
Long story short, joined tech, got wrecked and started to doubt about my skills.
Things to keep in mind:
- you got hired. unless they did a shit job interviewing they probably know that you are not Martin Fowler
- you made this career move for that very reason: learning, getting your ego shuddered a little bit
- talk to your supervisor and share your feelings
There might also be some other issues here that are not completely tied to your skills/competences. Some projects are tough. I would not consider working on a codebase that is full of hard coded values, magic and hacks "medium difficulty". In fact, this sounds like a really difficult task as you have to make constant trade-offs (refactor/rewrite/leave it alone).
Anyway, don't be so hard on yourself, we all suck at our job. Communicate with your team.
Long story short, joined tech, got wrecked and started to doubt about my skills. Things to keep in mind:
- you got hired. unless they did a shit job interviewing they probably know that you are not Martin Fowler
- you made this career move for that very reason: learning, getting your ego shuddered a little bit
- talk to your supervisor and share your feelings
There might also be some other issues here that are not completely tied to your skills/competences. Some projects are tough. I would not consider working on a codebase that is full of hard coded values, magic and hacks "medium difficulty". In fact, this sounds like a really difficult task as you have to make constant trade-offs (refactor/rewrite/leave it alone).
Anyway, don't be so hard on yourself, we all suck at our job. Communicate with your team.