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How proficient do you rate yourself in your most coded language? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by Croquette@sh.itjust.works to c/programming@programming.dev

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Hi,

My question certainly stems from the imposter syndrome that I am living right now for no good reason, but when looking to resolve some issues for embedded C problems, I come across a lot of post from people that have a deep understanding of the language and how a mcu works at machine code level.

When I read these posts, I do understand what the author is saying, but it really makes me feel like I should know more about what's happening under the hood.

So my question is this : how do you rate yourself in your most used language? Do you understand the subtilities and the nuance of your language?

I know this doesn't necessarily makes me a bad firmware dev, but damn does it makes me feel like it when I read these posts.

I get that this is a subjective question without any good responses, but I'd be interested in hearing about different experiences in the hope of reducing my imposter syndrome.

Thanks

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[–] Kissaki@programming.dev 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I am very proficient in my primary language, C#.

Writing more context out feels like boasting, so I think I will skip that and go to a summation/conclusion directly.

Knowledge and expertise comes from more than the language. Which you hinted at. The language is only our interface. How is the language represented, how will it transform the code, how will it be run. There's a lot of depth in there - much more than there is in the language itself.

I learned a lot, through my own studies and reading, studying, projects, and experience. I'm a strong systematic thinker. It all helps me in interpreting and thinking about wide- and depth- context and concerns. I also think my strengths come at the cost of other things, at least in my particular case.

You're not alone. Most developers do not have the depth or wide knowledge. And most [consequently] struggle to or are oblivious to many concerns and opportunities, and to intuitively or quickly understand and follow such information.

Which does not necessarily mean they're not productive or useful.

[–] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

Through the different replies, I reflected on what I know and what I do for work and I feel like my skillset is more akin to a generalist/integrator, which is needed. But I also feel like everyone in my domain does that. Which might or might not be true.

I guess knowing our strengths and weaknesses is also a skill in itself and a little bit of self doubt here and there can help us grow and direct our knowledge in a certain direction.

Thanks for the insight.