The latest articles on DEV Community by Haya Aljuraysi (@hayanj). https://dev.to/hayanj https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4021343%2F5e267f40-7ac4-4d7b-baf2-571223aae8f7.jpg https://dev.to/hayanj en Haya Aljuraysi Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:49:08 +0000 https://dev.to/hayanj/my-journey-to-become-a-better-backend-engineer-1-4lnk https://dev.to/hayanj/my-journey-to-become-a-better-backend-engineer-1-4lnk <p>Hi everyone! this is my first post here on dev.</p> <p>About 4 days ago I realized I'm stuck as a mid-level backend engineer, and honestly, not even a good one.</p> <p>Some background: I have a CS degree and started working as a software engineer in 2022. I spent a year and a half at a financial company, then moved to one in the tourism industry, and now I work at a client-based company doing multiple projects.</p> <p>For a while I've felt like my growth here is blocked, so I started looking for another job. That search made me realize something uncomfortable: I've been relying on AI way too much. So now I'm trying to cut down on AI for my tasks, and I've decided to build a couple of projects that'll actually challenge me and help me learn.</p> <p>I've got two projects in mind: a stock exchange engine and a collaborative music production system. I'll share how it goes, including the parts I get wrong!</p> <p><em>(English isn't my first language, so I used AI to help polish the wording. The story and the projects are all mine.)</em></p> devjournal