Yesterday, during a team standup, a junior developer asked me: "How do you remember all this stuff?" I laughed. "I don't. I Google it. Every singl...
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:q!closes without saving:wqsaves and exits:exitI have to google this one:q! or :wq? Classic! Glad to know I'm not alone in Googling Vim commands too. Those little editor shortcuts always trip up even the most senior devs at times. 🙂
And always press ESC first! :-)
Exactly!...Just in case :)
This is a fantastic and validating post. Normalizing this is crucial for mentoring junior devs.
As an engineer with nearly 20 years in high-complexity domains (FinTech, pension systems), I'd add one crucial distinction: the difference between Googling for 'Tools' vs. Googling for 'Logic'.
Great point on Googling 'tools' vs 'logic.' It’s a subtle but crucial distinction. At Hashbyt, we encourage our teams to internalize core business logic so the Google searches focus on precise implementation details or syntax, not fundamentals. This mindset elevates engineering effectiveness.
Great article!
It's funny, when I started programming back in 1976, there wasn't even an internet. Example: I was coding an ERP system in ANSI C using vi on an SCO Unix environment in 1992, and there were no free SQL databases for Unix back then, you need to C-ISAM everything in C. My "Google" was a shelf of 17 Unix books, and later just as many for Pascal, VisualBasic 3, and the WIN API! We just had to work differently and really build our problem-solving skills from the ground up without the internet to lean on.
I personally tend to stay away from Stack Overflow. I've just always preferred to solve my problems myself or dive straight into the original documentation; that community isn't really my cup of tea. In fact, to this day, I still diligently maintain and expand my own personal knowledge base—hundreds of text files where I document every new skill, trick, and command I learn for my own reference.
But you're absolutely right—today, Googling (and now Gemini and OpenAI) is also my primary knowledge base, and I use it constantly.
I agree with you on so many points. In the end, it really comes down to having top-notch debugging skills, and as you said, experience is what makes the difference.
ESC :q!
Wow, Atomi, this comment is gold.
You’ve literally lived through the full evolution of programming, from the pre-internet era to today’s AI-assisted coding age. It’s amazing how you describe your “Google” as a shelf of 17 Unix books, that’s the perfect visual for how deep learning had to be back then. I completely agree; experience sharpens those debugging instincts in a way no search engine can replace. Whether it’s books, docs, or AI tools, it all comes down to curiosity and persistence.
We definitely need to catch up sometime, I’d love to hear more of those early dev stories 🙌
Great point on Googling 'tools' vs 'logic.' It’s a subtle but crucial distinction. At Hashbyt, we encourage our teams to internalize core business logic so the Google searches focus on precise implementation details or syntax, not fundamentals. This mindset elevates engineering effectiveness.
Such an inspiring perspective on how programming pre-internet built deep problem-solving skills.
I always have to google what the git command to undo a commit is...and how to do something basic with AutoMapper (a widespread C# mapping tool we use like blindly and end up regretting later)
Thanks, Elvis, for such a refreshingly honest and relatable take on what it really means to be a senior developer today. Your breakdown dispels the myth that seniority equals encyclopedic memory; instead, it highlights the essential skill of effective Googling and problem-solving speed.
Wow, what a fantastic and comprehensive article! Thank you for sharing!
Now that asking AI is common let me add something too, do not blindly accept AI's answer and try to show it edge cases and challenge it for a better answer.
Man, what an article! I'm beginning my freelancer webdev career and I don't have many contacts in the area, so an "honest talk" like yours here was fantastic to show me that everyone is going through what I am too. Thank you so much for this and God bless you!
Nice article, thanks for sharing your insight! I used to think senior devs had it all figured out, but it’s good to know you have moments like this too 😂. It’s inspiring to read because it gives a real glimpse into what day-to-day life is like for a senior developer.
Do not be ashamed! Memorizing everything in your mind doesn't mean you're a good developer, and googling everything doesn't mean you are a bad developer. When we use Google, we are also absorbing knowledge at the same time. And next time, when others google, they may find the knowledge you shared, just like what you're doing right now!
Absolutely! Every time we Google, we also learn and add to that shared knowledge pool. Normalizing this culture removes impostor syndrome and makes teams stronger collectively
Haha great :-)
Yeah some people have an "encyclopedic memory" - I'm also not one of those people :-)
I will forever be googling for "printf format strings".
great article. now I don't feel guilty about googling " mysql set safe mode off " every time i wanna do it.
So true! I felt like I was the only one doing this, but reading your words, I felt like I was looking in a mirror...
Yus. I started my career 10 years before the first browser so there's a lot of stuff piled in my brain and even more flushed out to make room. And yeah, I've even been a senior dev long before the first browser. I concur with everything above.
Do yourself a favor and just assume React has been bad for the industry. Tailwind too. Because we went off the rails about 15-10 years ago. HTML and CSS have come a long way. There are far better solutions.
I thought React was a breakthrough, then I realized Vue was all-round better and less quirky. Then Solid came along and everything just worked, and optimally! It was like React: The Next Generation. (I still love it but...) But they are all still "frameworks" to learn without really learning CSS and HTML. It's why we as seniors still struggle with all the various ways that centering something can fail.
The last line of Why Nue really drove it home for me. Who is it for:
And if you read the rest of that short page, you'll see what I mean about going off the rails.
Spot on about the evolution and the importance of foundational knowledge in HTML and CSS that frameworks sometimes push aside. At Hashbyt, we also see that solid fundamentals are what make navigating React, Vue, or Solid efficient in the long run
Hi, it was very interesting to read. I think this is very up-to-date confession, just nowadays google is very much being replaced by AI chats and AI integrations like copilot. Especially when you work in large company you get the access to "internal AI chat" which is presented as private one (I am not so sure about it but that is another story). So basically you do the same, but you type prompts like: "write the function in typescript which does this or that" or "optimize the code I paste under" or "why is this code not working?". This brings another threats actually, especially for juniors, when they do not verify the output with their knowledge (they often do not have one) or with their more senior team mates or at least with google knowledge. It may be switching off critical thinking to the greater extent than google search.
To sum up: I just want to say the majority of the IT world (medium and big tech for sure) is now using AI just as you are using google. I also think it is good under condition it is done in the right way (just like you said about junior vs senior googling). You are going to switch to AI soon as well - this is unstoppable revolution in my opinion.
Googling is totally fine, but how did it took you 20 minutes to google how to reverse array in Javascript? :D
nice article 👏🏻
Agree. There is no shame to google. Neither there should be shame to use paper or a coding agent. The point is not to remember everything but to know how to get the information back...