Three Years Into Development — Still Figuring It Out
Three years ago, I started my journey as a developer with a pretty simple idea: Learn to code, gain experience, become good at it. Three years later, I’ve learned a lot — but I’ve also realized that becoming a developer isn't as straightforward as I imagined. I've worked with JavaScript, React, Laravel, PlayCanvas, WebGL, and other technologies. I've worked on real projects, dealt with bugs I…
Three years ago, the reporter embarked on a journey to become a developer, fueled by the simple goal of learning to code and gaining experience. Over the past three years, they have worked with a variety of technologies, including JavaScript, React, Laravel, PlayCanvas, WebGL, and more. They have contributed to real projects, faced challenging bugs, learned new tools, and collaborated with others.
The reporter acknowledges that they are not proud of never finishing personal projects alone or having an impressive GitHub contribution graph. They also admit to not mastering any particular technology and are unsure of where they truly excel.
Recently, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made the reporter question their future in the development field. While they are not afraid of AI taking over jobs, they are concerned about how AI's capabilities might impact their development journey. The reporter wonders what they should specialize in, focus on fundamentals, build more projects, contribute to open-source, or learn AI. This uncertainty has left the reporter feeling overwhelmed.
However, the reporter has come to realize that the answer may not involve chasing every new technology or trend. Instead, their next goal is to develop depth in their skills. They want to finish projects rather than constantly starting new ones, understand the fundamentals behind the tools they use, become better at building complete products, and learn to use AI effectively without becoming overly dependent on it. Most importantly, the reporter aims to turn their existing experience into actual expertise.
The reporter acknowledges that they still have many questions and that mastery is not yet within reach. They recognize that experience is not the same as mastery and that the next three years should be focused on changing that. Despite not having everything figured out, the reporter remains excited about the future and is eager to learn from others who are also navigating the development journey.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
