> It makes me question how I was hired in the first place.
It is called imposter syndrome. It is very real and very common. As a JavaScript developer I encounter this among my peers all the damn time.
First, consider what it takes to be a professional software developer. The requirement is to pass a one time drug test and successfully answer questions in a 30-90 minute interview. Done.
Consider, conversely, all other white collar professions. They have licensing, certifications, educational requirements, and legal compliance. There is greater oversight and compliance to become a truck driver than a software developer.
The closest uniform indication of competence (if you can call it that) most software developers experience is demonstrating experience with a tool or framework. To me this says you more than new and probably better than negligently incompetent. It doesn't tell me that you are an excellent specimen of solving original problems.
Secondly, I suspect you go to work, achieve your assigned tasks, and then forget about programming until the next day. This is problematic because in most cases there isn't much expected of software developers in the corporate world. Most of us are glorified and over-paid button pushers. Achieving conformance to nearly thoughtless tasks that could be better performed by software is not an indication of professional growth. There are many times I have encountered QAs who seemed far more brilliant at problem solving than the developers they were checking.
This is one reason why more ambitious software developers contribute to open source. Their day jobs are boring with no growth potential, but their software hobby is extremely challenging and solves real problems.
It is called imposter syndrome. It is very real and very common. As a JavaScript developer I encounter this among my peers all the damn time.
First, consider what it takes to be a professional software developer. The requirement is to pass a one time drug test and successfully answer questions in a 30-90 minute interview. Done.
Consider, conversely, all other white collar professions. They have licensing, certifications, educational requirements, and legal compliance. There is greater oversight and compliance to become a truck driver than a software developer.
The closest uniform indication of competence (if you can call it that) most software developers experience is demonstrating experience with a tool or framework. To me this says you more than new and probably better than negligently incompetent. It doesn't tell me that you are an excellent specimen of solving original problems.
Secondly, I suspect you go to work, achieve your assigned tasks, and then forget about programming until the next day. This is problematic because in most cases there isn't much expected of software developers in the corporate world. Most of us are glorified and over-paid button pushers. Achieving conformance to nearly thoughtless tasks that could be better performed by software is not an indication of professional growth. There are many times I have encountered QAs who seemed far more brilliant at problem solving than the developers they were checking.
This is one reason why more ambitious software developers contribute to open source. Their day jobs are boring with no growth potential, but their software hobby is extremely challenging and solves real problems.