DEV Community: Rirash

You’re Doing It Wrong The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything

Rirash — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:17:37 +0000

The Stuck Developer

My friend—let’s call him Hamza—was trapped.

Not in a dramatic, cinematic way, but in the slow, soul-crushing grind of job applications, unanswered emails, and projects that vanished into the void. Every day, he sat in the same dimly lit café, headphones on, fingers flying over his keyboard, eyes hollow. His laptop hummed with life; he did not.

I slid into the seat across from him, asking the same question I had for months: “Any responses?”

A slow shake of his head. His gaze stayed locked on the screen, as if staring harder might summon an opportunity.

Then—intervention.

A man at the next table—mid-30s, beard, hoodie that read “Backend Never Dies”—turned toward us and said:

“You’re doing it wrong.”

Hamza and I froze. The stranger didn’t apologize. He stood, grabbed his coffee, and joined our table like he’d been invited.

“Not trying to be rude,” he said. “But I’ve been where you are. And I see this every day.”

His name was Alex.as he introduced, No last name, no LinkedIn plug—just Alex. A former telco engineer turned backend developer who’d helped a dozen juniors land jobs. Not by teaching them to code better, but by showing them what nobody else would.

Hamza leaned in. So did I.
The Hard Truths

Alex asked what Hamza had built.

“A blog API, a to-do app, some microservices…”

A knowing smile.

“Let me guess—FastAPI, PostgreSQL, maybe Docker, but nothing actually deployed? No README, no architecture diagrams, no proof of how you think?”

Silence.

Alex leaned back, locking eyes with Hamza.

“Here’s your first truth: You’re not being ignored because you’re bad. You’re being ignored because you’re invisible.”

“You’re solving problems no one sees. Building things that don’t break. No logs, no tests, no real-world mess. That’s not backend engineering—that’s just coding.”

Then, the gut punch:

“Have you ever debugged someone else’s broken code?”

Hamza admitted he hadn’t.

“Second truth: If you can’t navigate chaos, you’re not ready. Most juniors think the job is building. It’s not. It’s fixing.”

Alex pulled out his phone, opened GitHub, and showed a repo—messy, imperfect, but alive. Daily commits. Failure logs. Diagrams. Notes on what went wrong.

“Hard truth number three: Nobody cares what you can do in theory. They care what you’ve done when everything exploded.”

Hamza swallowed. “Then… what do I change?”

Alex didn’t hesitate.

“Build ugly. Build broken. Deploy something that crashes—then show how you fixed it. Write logs. Document failures. Make your GitHub a war story, not a tutorial graveyard.”

“Don’t apply to 100 jobs. Apply to 20—but make sure your work screams, ‘I solve real problems.’”

Then, the final blow:

“Stop calling yourself a ‘junior.’ Say you’re a backend developer. Act like one. Nobody hires people who look unsure. They hire people who ship.”

With that, he stood, leaving one last piece of wisdom hanging in the air:

“You don’t need permission. You need proof. Stack rejections like XP. At 50, you’ll be unstoppable.”

And just like that—he was gone.

The Turnaround

That night, Hamsa deleted every half-finished project. He picked one idea—a Quran recitation tracker—and rebuilt it, differently.

- Schema first. He mapped the database on paper before writing a single line.

- Tests, logs, edge cases. He hunted for bugs instead of avoiding them.

- Public deployment. He put it on Railway, documenting every failure.

Six weeks later, a DM:

“Saw your repo. We’ve got a junior backend role. You game?”

He started two months ago.

Now? When he sees stuck developers, he tells them what Alex told us.

The Takeaway

This isn’t about luck or genius. It’s about shifting your mindset:

From “Please hire me” to “Here’s what I can do.”
From “I need more tutorials” to “I need a messy project to fix.”
From “I’m invisible” to “I’ll make you see me.”

Being ignored isn’t rejection—it’s feedback. “You’re not visible yet.”

You already know enough to build something real. The question is:

Will it be another perfect, forgettable project—or something ugly, broken, and impossible to ignore?

The Backend Growth Roadmap (Do This Now)

Pick one real-world problem (e.g., Quran tracker, budget app, reminder system).
Design your database first (think relationships, constraints, scale).
Build → Break → Fix (embrace the mess).
Add logs, tests, error handling (simulate production chaos).
Deploy publicly (Railway, Render, Fly.io).
Document everything (README, failure logs, architecture diagrams).
Share with proof (Post it. Tag devs. Ask for brutal feedback.)

Stop waiting for permission. Start building proof.

Inspired? Tag a developer who needs this. Or better yet—open your IDE and build like it’s the project that gets you hired.

Why You’re Not Making Money or Tangible Progress

Rirash — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 06:42:10 +0000

The Painful Reality of Hard Work Without Results

Imagine working or studying for more than 10 hours every day, yet feeling like you’re stuck in the same place. No real progress, no financial breakthrough—just endless effort with nothing to show for it.

I know that feeling because I was once there. For five years, I worked tirelessly, believing I was a professional, yet I had no clients, no major achievements, and no financial growth. It was frustrating. I started questioning everything: Was I not skilled enough? Was I missing something?

But then, I discovered the real reasons behind my stagnation, and everything changed. Today, I want to share with you why this happens, what causes it, and most importantly, how you can break free and start making real progress.

The Trap of "Feeling Busy" Without Moving Forward

Many people believe that working long hours is the key to success. You might think, If I just keep pushing, things will eventually fall into place. But here’s the hard truth: being busy doesn’t mean being productive.

For years, I woke up early, stayed up late, and filled my days with endless work. I convinced myself that I was making progress. But one day, I looked back and realized that despite all my effort, I had nothing to show for it.

I was caught in a cycle of:
✔️ Learning more instead of applying what I knew.
✔️ Working without a clear direction or strategy.
✔️ Avoiding the uncomfortable tasks that actually move the needle.

The solution? Stop focusing on doing more and start focusing on doing the right things. Ask yourself:

Am I just learning and working, or am I applying and executing?

Am I focusing on what truly brings results, or just staying busy?

If you feel stuck, it’s time to shift your mindset from "hard work" to "impactful work."

The Skill vs. Business Gap: Why Being "Good" Isn't Enough

Have you ever seen someone with less skill than you making more money? It’s frustrating, right? But the truth is, being good at something is not enough.

For years, I thought my skills would naturally attract clients and opportunities. But then I saw people who weren’t as talented as me landing high-paying projects. That’s when I realized: success isn’t just about skill—it’s about visibility and positioning.

If people don’t know you exist, they won’t hire you. If you don’t market yourself, no one will see your value. That’s why you need to:

Build a personal brand. Show your work, share your knowledge, and let people know what you do.

Network and connect. Opportunities come from people, not just skills.

Solve real problems. People don’t pay for talent; they pay for solutions.

If you’re not making progress, don’t just focus on getting better—focus on getting seen and selling your value.

The Fear That’s Secretly Holding You Back

Many times, the biggest thing stopping us isn’t a lack of skills or opportunities—it’s fear.

I spent years avoiding the things that could actually change my situation. I didn’t share my work because I was afraid of judgment. I didn’t reach out to clients because I feared rejection. I told myself, I just need more time to improve, when in reality, I was just scared to take action.

Fear keeps us in our comfort zones, convincing us to delay the very things that could lead to progress. But here’s the truth: success is on the other side of discomfort.

If you feel stuck, ask yourself:

What am I avoiding that could change my situation?

What’s one uncomfortable step I can take today?

Growth happens when you stop waiting and start doing—even when it’s scary.

Final Words: Take Control of Your Progress

If you’ve been stuck, it’s time to make a change. Stop believing that just working hard is enough. Instead:
✅ Work on what truly matters, not just what keeps you busy.
✅ Focus on visibility and marketing, not just skill.
✅ Stop letting fear hold you back—take bold action.