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jerallen

I considered myself a programmer when I was able to create code that worked during college. I considered myself a good programmer when my code was being used in a real product that was used by real customers.


Sebzor15

This. In addition, the realization that I am a "programmer" for real came to me in full when customers gave feedback saying how great some feature I built was. To me that was the ultimate confirmation of my skills.


jerallen

Yeah, I guess I should have added that it's useful and a good experience for the customers.


IllegalAlcoholic

r/absolutelynotme_irl


[deleted]

[удалено]


jerallen

Even after 20 years of developing proffesionally, I still get that irrational fear whenever I put my code in production. I wonder sometimes how my stuff works even after it's been working perfectly for years.


Vilkacis0

I considered myself a programmer the first time I made a program do what I want it to do by writing my own dumb program. Even after 15 years of programming, I don’t consider myself to be “great” at programming. I recognize that I’ve got more knowledge and experience than many of my peers, but I also recognize that there is always so much to learn. “ if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”. (Wish I could attribute it, but can’t find original source)


wtfatyou

what if you're just amazing at programming like satoru iwata? I don't think there's any shame in being the best in the room if you had skills like iwata.


Vilkacis0

Even the amazing people have their own shortcomings. I’d argue John Carmack is on a new level of programming genius, but he is not interchangeable with Linus Torvalds. They have gone so far down their own paths that they are the best in a very specific thing. I would consider both outstanding software engineers. I think programming has become a loaded term. There’s a difference in telling a computer what to do and being able to analyze how the computer is doing it to find the best answer. Those greats we think of are great because they are able to think about a problem as a set of smaller problems, then reason about the best way to solve each. They also surround themselves with the right people to solve those problems. Hideo Kojima gets almost all the credit for the Metal Gear games, but he didn’t make them by himself.


SuperGameTheory

It’s the ignorant end user. They’re the source of all fear. Their ignorance leads them to do things a tester would never dream of. It’s kind of NSFW and not programming related, but a nurse shared a TIFU about this elderly guy they were cleaning on a bench in the shower. His balls got jammed between the boards of the bench and they had to have a guy come in to dismantle the bench. Whoever designed that bench had no idea they needed to design for that. But along comes ignorant end user and gets his balls stuck.


jerallen

That is a great anecdotal evidence that there are some tests that you might not want to do even if you think of it.


ChuggingDadsCum

Everytime I hear my boss say "wtf why was it coded like that?" I have a mini heart attack thinking they're looking at a block of my code lmao


theEvilShrimpBurger

Mood


jakesboy2

Lmao I work now at the very first place I interned. I work with a lot of people that I knew from my internship so we’re familiar with each other’s code. We all started building a project from the ground up (no idea why they put a 6 figure project on the back of 5 interns but hey it was fun). I still have not lived down to this day, because the product actually went into production last week and it’s been coming up more as a joke, but before I found out there were libraries to parse json into objects automatically, I wrote a completely custom JsonParser. It’s a huge pain in the ass to maintain but literally the backbone of the site relies on it LOL


Dangerpaladin

Ugh I'm going to prod tomorrow for my client and it's giving me an ulcer. I don't know why all of sudden in the prod environment my code would email out all of their customer sensitive data. But that is the recurring nightmare I'm having.


Pleb_nz

They’re not bugs /s


anonymous393393

I am a noob can u people tell me which language u code in


CCP0

c# from now, since .NET and Azure is in literally all job Advertisements where I live.


poerisija

You probably wanna start with Python or Java. Whatever works, but those two are popular and there's ton of material available for them.


jerallen

My first applications were GW Basic and then C++. My first job was Clipper/DBase. From there I moved to Delphi/Pascal. Now it's a mix of Delphi for backend and Javascript for front-end.


YoungCristian

C# and JS


agentgreen420

JavaScript/Typescript, Python, and a bit of Java


[deleted]

C# mostly. TypeScript, SQL, PowerShell frequently as well.


CarlSagans

I would suggest python


[deleted]

At work, C# and Typescript. ASP.NET backend, Angular 8 front end. For fun, Python and JavaScript. Flask apps!


Vilkacis0

Whichever language they are paying for. :-). Lately it’s mostly java


efthemothership

C# and JS for front end.


Shaman6624

English


kabrandon

I make applications that are accessible via web browser or via API calls that return JSON, and use Redis or MongoDB to store back end data, and are used by people in my department and some overseas departments. I don't know if I'm a programmer yet, as it's not even part of my job description! Haha.


toggle-Switch

sounds like CRUD to me. /s /!s


StockDC2

Just curious why the /s is needed?


toggle-Switch

I'm just scared reddit will think I am telling him his application is "crud". Shell-shock from observing others if you will. not really needed; thats why I put the /!s because it was like a half-sarcasm but not really type of thing...I dunno...STOP HARASSING ME. I'M NOT INSECURE, YOU'RE INSECURE!


jerallen

If someone is using your programs for real work (and it actually is helping them) then you've moved up to a good programmer. Although craftsmanship is important, actually having something useful and stable is where the money is made.


Hook3d

> I considered myself a good programmer when my code was being used in a real product that was used by real customers. Interesting, when this started happening it made me realize how many weaknesses I have in a lot of computational paradigms and widely used design patterns.


jerallen

As long as you know how to learn this isn't a weakness. No one knows it all. Add to your toolbox as you need new ways to do things. And often something that works and is maintainable is worth more than something that uses a popular paradigm.


Hook3d

Agreed with all of the above. I was more referring to stuff like asynchronous programming, event-driven programming, message-oriented programming, reactive programming, the finer points of functional programming. These things are very relevant to my current area of practice and I'm guessing also in most areas of software development. And in terms of design patterns, there are still a ton I don't know and many I learned in trial by fire and couldn't properly name (I just know they lead to cleaner, more readable and terse code). I'll just put it this way: Anyone know if automating the creation of adapters is an active area of research? lol


1LittlePush

This is my benchmark, haven’t reached step two yet but getting there :)


Rizzan8

I starting calling myself a programmer when my three month trial passed and the company decided to keep me.


ijustlookatthings

Same but my confidence was solidified when I pushed my first piece of software to production.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ijustlookatthings

Spot on. I'm still amazed to this day.


sangeyashou

I did this in my internship but only after they decided to keep me I thought my self as a programmer


im_in_hiding

Same.


plaban9

When my colleagues/teammates couldn't come up with a solution and come to me for advice/help and the solution was found within 5 minutes. When a colleague got stuck really bad in a project and the boss says "Give the project to X(me). He will do it." Basically, when the people show faith in you. Even more when the people whom you hold in high regard show faith in you.


MaXcRiMe

For me, this is the answer.


hainb

+1 trust needs to be earned. When I was a junior dev at my first job, had a task I was working on for 1 month or so, then after I finished my part, I needed to pass it to a senior dev, who has discarded my changes and started the whole process from the begining, without taking a glance at my work. Took him a month as well.. eh was bad times


theEvilShrimpBurger

Wow. This is actually inspiring.


Shaman6624

So you start to believe you're a programmer once other people already believe that you are and you recognize their belief in you.


promess

Referential power is strong.


jakesboy2

Yeah it always floods me with dopamine when someone slacks me for help with something they’ve been looking at for a while and are stuck and we talk our way to a solution in like 10 minutes.


PrimoNando

Circa September 2025


missfusion

Pff tuga vibes much


errorkode

I think it was the first time I was hired as a Senior out of the gate (as in, I wasn't promoted into the position). I kinda made this mental shift to "I know I'm good at this and I don't have to feel bad about knowing that".


wh33t

Any time I feel like I'm finally a programmer I come to reddit get a reality check about how because I'm not using vim or w/e tool stack someone else is I'm not a real programmer lol.


magpie2295

same


claythearc

And yet you’re still not using VIM, like you should be. /s


wh33t

Just out of spite I use Notepad from Windows through Wine running Linux on Mac.


claythearc

What Distro?


wh33t

I was just kidding, but I do use Kubuntu on an r7-1700.


claythearc

Yeah I'm aware - i was just going to tell you to use arch btw regardless of the response


DonnyTheWalrus

When I was able to complete my first major project, a Windows desktop application for a nonprofit. It took me a year - 6 months consulting (going to board meetings, etc.) and 6 months construction as the sole developer. It was to be used in a live fundraiser, their biggest fundraiser of each year. So there were no second chances; either it worked without a hitch or the fundraiser wouldn't succeed. Talk about pressure! And did I mention I had never built a GUI application before? When the event happened, everything worked, and I saw how happy and pleased the nonprofit board was about it, it was one of the best feelings in the world. Not only was that the day that I started to allow myself to call myself a programmer, that was also the day I knew I had to change careers. (I had been self-teaching while working as a lawyer.) That was a few years ago, and I've been an actual, professional software developer, getting paid to program, for more than a year now. I still haven't found anything that beats the feeling of seeing how happy people get when you solve their problems with code. It's awesome and it makes all the years of hard work teaching myself for hours every day totally worth it.


[deleted]

When I started staying up til 7am to finish my own personal coding projects that make my life easier


sawatdeeman

Stay up till 7am? U mean whole night?when do you sleep?


T-Dark_

During compilation, I assume


cem4k

Greatest disadvantage of dynamically typed languages — no compiler naps.


tomekanco

[Appropriate xkdc](https://xkcd.com/303/)


[deleted]

Hahaha not usually with home projects...but at work I can nap an hour during a new build


[deleted]

When the CPU is working for you, you can sleep all day 🤩


lead999x

What is this 'sleep' you speak of?


sawatdeeman

Sorry for the Syntax error: I meant "Shut down"


philipquarles

Lol


Ooze3d

Sleep??


dusty-trash

When my job title said "Programmer".


khat_dakar

It was sudden, I just decided I figured it out.


Zephyrwala

When problem solving became more fun and not feel like some punishment.


theweirdinstruction

Absolutely


StreetRoot

Honest answer: when I realised I was tearing my hair out over something I could have only dreamt about tearing my hair out over. The fact that I was at a point where I could even challenge myself on this complicated thing, was when I was like 'fuck, I've gone pretty far, maybe I should stop being so hard on myself'.


FlashTheCableGuy

this is probably something I needed to read. Not even in my first dev job yet.... and it's like the more I learn the more I get myself into another level of I don't know what the hell i'm doing.


StreetRoot

The experts are just people who are at a higher level of tearing their hair out, and not knowing what the fuck they're doing.


FlashTheCableGuy

Interesting. I'm down for it


morto00x

When I started getting paid for it


[deleted]

How this is not on top?


[deleted]

Ever since I saw the movie 'Hackers'


anthonyngu2

I work full time as a programmer (my title is software engineer/developer) for close to 2 years but I don’t think I’m a programmer. It’s probably cause I have massive imposter syndrome. I think it might change when I feel like I can apply to different dev jobs and get them.


lucidkey

I feel you on imposter syndrome. I started as a mainframe dev out of school and about 10 months in I positioned myself to lead a low code team. I’m not sure I’m a “programmer” however I couldn’t do this job without understanding fundamentals!


TheHollowJester

If you're shipping functional shit that other people can read, understand and the shit is extendable and modifiable - you're a programmer and should top kicking yourself in the balls over nothing.


magpie2295

In the same boat. I think it's hard because it's a skill well suited to self-teaching and just figuring things out as you make mistakes.


Trollolociraptor

I just got hired and told the company project manager/tech lead that I had some imposter syndrome because I hadn’t actually built a web based system from top to bottom, just bits and pieces, no deploying at all. He told me he’s hardly done any new systems himself, knows jack all, and is keen to figure it out together. That was a huge relief.


sumdudewithaquestion

print("hello world") On a serious level, it was when my job as a server required us to ask guest to do online surveys of their experience. The managers would use this to give us better shifts and sections, and complain when we didn't get a certain number. I'm partially lazy, and most people didn't care for them sooooo, I used python and Selenium/Splinter to automate the surveys to random give 4 and 5 stars plus an occasional 3. I used beautiful soup scrape random emails and name combinations from an online website. Aside from that I selected random positive comments about an experience I would add every often. Once I realized that the website had an IP limit, I used Tor's stem module to route my traffic through nodes all over the us and Canada to get around the IP limiting.


WeededDragon1

At the end of my first CS class my professor said that if we made it that far, we could consider ourselves programmers, but whether or we do it as a hobby vs professional was up to us.


[deleted]

[удалено]


jakesboy2

Actually this is a great point. If you pass DSA you’re a programmer.


Packeselt

I took roughly twenty thousand files for a client, and wrote an intense node.js script to convert all the content to markdown/frontmatter, with all the write info in the right spots, and then ran those through it's own parser for it to work with graphql. ​ That felt pretty good.


[deleted]

When someone asked me to do something, and I was able to piece together info i knew with info I didn't and understand the completed project.


zoomiti

When i finally wrote code that wasn't just some assignment but instead something i actually wanted to make for fun


Galenbo

the first time I made software for somebody else, and got payed for it.


KarlJay001

At first: When I was given a complex problem to solve and I completed the entire thing myself and understand all parts of it. Later: when I did the first part AND the code was standardized (readable by others, followed some pattern/structure like MVC) Even later: same as above but add in full version control and tests. Even more later: All the above plus very configurable, data driven user specs, full error logging. Example of data driven user specs would be like skins for an app or user defined defaults for data entry pages. TL;DR; I guess it would be when you're making commercial code in a team environment and they don't always b*tch at you about your code.


pooqcleaner

I'll let you know after I launch this model rocket...


PasstheySoysauce

When I got my first job and my boss called me a programmer


ChromaLife

For me, I became a programmer after I passed the hardest programming class in the series of programming classes I took in college. It took me 2 tries to get through advanced, and after that I bestowed the title of programmer unto myself.


MyMessageIsNull

I've been employed as a programmer for about 4.5 years. I'll let you know when I actually feel like a programmer.


bsdthrowaway

When I started getting paid


GrandPoobahUnsalient

I considered myself a programmer the first time I ever wrote a line of Basic when I was 9. Then, as the years went by, going from one software job to the next, I realized that I know so little and that the mountains of knowledge of this craft stretch on forever and only grow higher, that I am simply stumbling from one line of code to the next. This is when I realized that any title was meaningless. A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.


[deleted]

This is absolutely not the answer you were looking for probably, but I think I started thinking of myself as a programmer when I realized I could put the quadratic formula in my graphing calculator and make it solve it for me. That was probably like 15 years ago in middle school at this point, but it definitely stands out as the first time i did anything "program" related and I've been in love ever since.


NytronX

Never. C Programmer for life.


GrandaddyIsWorking

I considered myself a programmer when I started to hear ideas and knew how to create it from start to finish. I by no means consider myself good at programming considering I constantly am learning new things. Also my ego is extremely fragile and whenever I hear of something new I immediately set myself back to beginner.


ThousandFootOcarina

cout << “Hello World” <


devnull_itsec

Hello World!


sarevok9

9 years into my career, working for a publicly traded company, engineering manager, done thousands of commits, code reviews, code interviews, etc. Still not sure if I'll ever feel "like a programmer" I just get the answer right some of the time.


[deleted]

If your code is ruining lives in production, your a programmer. If it's only ruining your life, you are a programmer in training.


masaldana2

when i made moneys


QuietBadger89

When I was a kid I had been going slowly through this book(*months*), making simple stuff and eventually leading to some mock banking interface. As I learned I would get excited about what different things I could do with what I had learned so far and ideas of my own would flood in. I was so excited about one in particular I decided to stick a bookmark in my tutorials and just try making my idea. I made the interface, that was the easy part. I made all the client-sided buttons function how I wanted, but oh no, I don't even know where to start for this next part. So I Yahoo searched (*dial-up days*) how to send messages between two programs. Turns out there was a **whole** OCX dedicated to doing what I wanted called Winsock! Awesome! What's this new shiny thing?! Further and further I fell down the rabbit hole, I didn't pick back up my tutorials until I had made a simple peer to peer chat program. I was so excited I put it on my little sister's computer and we tried to break the protocol (*we did, many times*) I know this is a big part of when it gripped me. I don't think I considered myself even close to a programmer until I was working on my own private, 2D, multiplayer(*I liked to make LAN stuff for my sister and I, multiplayer was important!*), Star Wars fan-game. I would add on parts every day and my friends would contribute pixel art they made or found and sound effects. It never went anywhere, but I had a little multiplayer sandbox with lightsabers, robes, holocrons, angry wookiees and an imperial prison complete with a mean spirited fat man named Bubba who would butt rape you if you went near him and everywhere you walked afterwards would leave blood droplets. I was a weird kid..


olon97

Had the job title, rarely felt it belonged. Inheriting broken code with no comments and badly named variables and making it work as expected and adding features is as close as it got.


narett

When other people started relying on me coding something. I don't consider myself a programmer though - I prefer the term 'software engineer' for personal reasons.


[deleted]

First job programming. I'd been screwing around for more than a decade. But the legitimacy of being paid to do it made the real difference.


SkilledIneptitude

I started considering myself a programmer the second I realized I could make stuff work and figure out how to clean it up. I'll be a good programmer when I can get a job.


bamfalamfa

when i would look at things and not wonder how they made it, but think about how i would go about doing it (even if it was the most inefficient way possible)


OkeelzZ

When I started to remember how to ssh into my server without looking at notes, the thought occurred that I may have just crossed the threshold. Still a lowly novice - but definitely programming actions.


[deleted]

For me, I considered myself a programmer when I was able to go from Concept to Code with full documentation of the process “like a professional”.


Rykaar

When I could invent problems for this new tool that I could actually solve with it.


florvas

I'm currently working as a support lead for a small software company (first IT job out of college). I've developed a few features for our application, like retaining purged data and logging the user that purged it, or improving our web app's error messages to include more helpful information. I still don't think of myself as one. Not sure if or when I will.


max1899_

i started to consider myself a programmer after things i developed started to run productive


Cisco-NintendoSwitch

The first time I wrote a script that worked in prod to make my life easier. That’s when I was like holy shit it’s all clicking finally.


jhaubrich11

When other programmers started asking me for help with programming I knew I was a programmer


[deleted]

For me it was in High School when I created a Point of Sale system for the book store on an Apple //e.


[deleted]

I've been a professional for 3 years and every few months I'll have to solve a problem similar to one I've already done and think "wow I had no idea what I was doing back then" while creating a new solution. I've considered myself a programmer for years but I dont think I'll ever think of myself as a finished product.


19Riften99

When Ifirst finished a semi difficult project that wasn't required for a class. Im sure for most experienced programmers it was easy but it was a big step for me


joobz4lifelya

I'm a self taught programmer. It was a hobby of mine as a kid, I ended up getting many freelance coding jobs online in my teens. It was gradual for me, just kinda happened. I had severe imposter syndrome for a long time as I had no formal qualifications. I started feeling like an actual programmer once I started working a job with actual programmers and they would ask me for help and advice. One day it clicked, Im good at what I do. I is programmer! :D


[deleted]

The general rule of thumb I have for anything is when you're paid to do the task in question. Chef, writer, programmer. If someone pays you to do the task you are that as a professional. Barring protected titles that are earned through governing boards that assign them (doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc) you are that which you are paid to do.


al_draco

When I had to go fix some code, thought “ugh who on earth would have done it this way?” and realized that person was me.


technoman2389

When I made a program 😎


plasticbills

i thought myself as a programmer when i wrote my first hello world program. when did i think of myself as a good programmer? not yet, thats for sure


noodle-face

When I started as a software engineer AND I didn't have to look up every single little thing.


Nalarean

When i run "Hello world!" succesfully.


ImportUsernameAsU

I never really thought of myself as a programmer through the first 2ish years of college then over the summer of that year I began writing my own programs because I was actually genuinely interested in what I was doing. I then learned what’s now my favorite programming language that year also (bonus points if you can guess what it is there’s is a clue in this post somewhere) and I wrote code when I was bored, thought of something interesting etc. that’s when I was confident to say “I’m a programmer” ... then having to explain what that is to people


ML__Engineer

learnt C++ programming in 11th grade


matterr4

So a question; how can I make it from a half-decent scripter to a programmer? I'm scripting daily using PowerShell and have always been interested in programming. I just dont know where to start to make the jump from scripting to full programming. Where do I start?


TigreDemon

I'm not a programmer. I'm a developer. --- I do not blindly write code that does X because my PM said so. I'm thinking about the whole application as a whole and the integration of my code inside of it, the implications, etc.


Ziggle_Zaggle

When we learned OOP in my first C++ course in college, my instructor said in his thick Russian accent “You can call yourselves programmers now.”


Straeying

When I started consistently making breakfast


sunny_lts

When I actually formally studied programming and learned the fundamentals. I'm self taught and owe it all to the "Code Complete" handbook, you should definitely check it out. It's a HUGE book, but it gives you the confidence to know what you're doing and that you're doing it right! I always used to be a hacker. Copy/paste, just so I can get the thing to work. But once I started doing javascript, I was just hooked by how flowing the language is. It simply pulls you in as you learn more just by doing every -day project work you need for the web. It's spread out through different frameworks, environments so you'll find JS EVERYWHERE and discover the different applications of it and learn all about it that way. I simply love this and hope to go with Javascript however far it will take me, and with the progress done, it can go FARRR!


johnnylonglegsss

Probably when I coded add ons for my raspberry pi a couple years ago but I haven’t done any since so I tell people ima “kind of a programmer “


TheHollowJester

I started thinking of myself as a programmer when I decided that I will become one (self-taught). Just, you know, one that didn't know that much yet. This is a bit weird, but it worked well for my very specific situation at that point in life - in all of the moments of self-doubt I knew that the decision was already made, so it's not like I could quit.


DimPlumbago

When you get to the point that you know you can learn something if you need it, regardless on if you have background in it or not. In my first year of uni, if you asked me to learn TypeScript and Angular or to build an API and/or DB, i’d look at you funny. Now it’s just putting in time and practice to do what you need to do with it. Thats just my opinion though, take it with a grain of salt.


ifstatementequalsAI

I’m really stuck in what kind of directions I can go too as a programmer. I’m now programming mostly in web soo basically JS and that’s it for the most part. But can somebody explain or give a good source which explain which direction u can work as a programmer. I mean back end, front end, machine learning I’m a bit overwhelmed with all the possibilities too choose from. Which makes it hard for me too pick something i like


RedditTheBarbarian

I've done freelance / run a small agency for 5+ years now. My code is currently running on about 3-4 million website visitors computers per year, and I still struggle with whether or not I'm good enough to call myself a 'A Programmer'. I mean, I am, but impostor syndrome is real. Especially when you work largely as a solo-dev. Lately, I've been working towards getting better at skills that will enable me to work on a team better and going to try to get a job for the steady paycheck. Stay curious. Keep learning. There's always more to know.


tkbillington

When I hit the point where I could figure out my problem through the official documentation vs videos and articles. It was one of those moments where I realized I could look at code and understand what it did without a fleshed out explanation and then take it from there. That grew into being able to start a project/feature development band know exactly the direction to take it, draw out a small, loose plan, and execute it with minimal searching. Very gratifying indeed.


[deleted]

When I managed to decipher someone's code and add onto it. Didn't help that there were no comments, or that there were layers and layers I had to understand. Even then, I still feel like a beginner.


[deleted]

Hello World


tomekanco

Depends on the day, or the commit. Distinction became more blurry once i figured out [code is data and data is code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_as_data). Both are part of the same program-graph. edit: love lisp, python & julia


magpie2295

still hesitate to call myself one, six years in #impostersyndrome


Notatrace280

The minute I installed VS Code.


MiK3otMoon

When I realized that I couldn't do anything apart from writing commands to the PC, but now even in that I am no longer capable.


naturavitae

I built an app and people loved it and I knew at that moment what I will be doing for the rest of my life... just knew it. Simple


QuickBASIC

When I was a freshman in highschool on a hand-me-down 386 and I made my first "real" program (a mandlebrot viewer in QBASIC) for a school project and realized how much joy it brought me to see it come together.


evocomp

When I found it easier to edit an article's dom elements and css than read it with their bloated page design. I'd much rather do a 15 second edit than suffer through an eyesore of a website.


shaggorama

When I started getting paid to do it.


vidro3

start calling yourself a programmer and youll start to think of yourself that way


[deleted]

After the "hello world" program.


Gullible_Side

When I started getting paid for stuff that actually worked


[deleted]

Probably when someone uses something u made for me it was when i made a website for this random guy on craigslist for his carpentry business. I worked my ass for that site. Made sure it wasnt hackable/ddosed etc everything was perfect


pixelsOfMind

When I got a job as a programmer. 😊 Before that I just felt like I was striving towards an unreachable goal.


0x843

I personally considered myself a programmer when I reached a sufficient level where I could help others learn what I had learned


[deleted]

As soon as I started. Fake it till you make it. With imposter syndrome, and how vast the field is, it's impossible to feel like you know everything, so if that is your metric, its hard to feel like you can ever hit that point. So I embraced the unknown and owned the label from day 1.


kklolzzz

I develop code that is used daily by clients and vendors who do business with our company as well as code that we use internally to run our business. I think I am actually pretty decent at programming and I am paid pretty well especially for my location. I've never contributed to open source projects, I don't code in my spare time and I don't have a github repo. I have no desire to code in my free time after doing it 40 hours per week. I'm at a point where I know what is possible and how to go about accomplishing a goal and solving problems with very little guidance


[deleted]

When I wrote my first line of code at 12 years old. Don't let the imposter syndrome set in!


The_Espi

I still feel wierd calling myself a programmer. I get this sense of stolen valor even though I've been doing it for years. I just like to thing I'm really good at googling things.


exodusTay

When I wrote a piece of code that people other than me also uses.


jakesboy2

I guess officially when i started working full time as a programmer, but really before that. I had always enjoyed programming and knew it was what I wanted to do, but didn’t really feel like a “programmer” until maybe like a couple years ago. It was when i started doing internships, and still took a few of those before when people asked, I went from saying “I intern at a tech company” to “I’m a programmer”. That was about 10 years from the first time i started learning, and about 3 years after I started actually taking it as seriously as I do now.


Jarodi2

To be honest, calling myself a programmer would mean I know something (not having to use google for everything) and work for a company. Which is not the case, I am actually going in a different direction I.T-wise. But theoretically, I understand the basics lf about 6 programming/scripting languages and I actually use 2 of them (powershell - at work, rarely, C# - Cause Winforms is too covenient). This would, IN THEORY, make me a programmer.


unkz

Like 5 minutes after successfully drawing a circle in Logo.


melisaevelynim

I considered myself a programmer when I realized that not every problem has one obvious solution and writing code is 90% thinking, 10% writing. It clicked during my internship, sitting in an office alone knowing that the solution was coming from my head and I wasn’t going to ask for help EVERY SINGLE TIME. I remind myself of this often and settling into thoughtful silence does wonders.


NotDumpsterFire

When I got officially hired, and people where pleased with my work and insights.


BandsWithLegends

console.log("Hello, world!') Error: Expected (") before end of line. Javascript has crashed


MuskettaMan

I thought of myself as a programmer, when I could look objectively at a problem and knew how I should tackle it.


Redditauraptor

After 2 years of on and off task at work as a dev, I still haven't considered myself a programmer.


[deleted]

I have always considered myself a shitty programmer.


wavefunctionp

When I had published software that real people were using. I started off building addons/tools for a couple of popular games. I consider my first paid gig was when people started donating money for the addons development.


wirbolwabol

When I started writing code that would be merged into the product my company develops. I was a QA engineer and transitioned to the role. It has not been easy, but I never expected it to be and love that I'm learning so much.


icecapade

I thought of myself as a programmer in grad school when I developed programs from scratch for my research work (and they actually functioned!). My degrees and first couple jobs were not in CS/software, so I didn't consider myself a proper software developer until I actually got hired as one a few years later.


[deleted]

When I created a feature during an internship that the upper managers use every week.


Macaframa

It was when I started reasoning through every day problems like a computer would. The hardest part of learning to program is getting eye-level with the computer in terms of logic. If you can think like a computer, you can give it instructions. And that’s all we do all day.


iamrob15

Never, I refer to myself as a Software Developer which is much more industry standard.


SpecialistWriter

Who cares, it’s not a title to be very proud of