The latest articles on DEV Community by Tim Noetzel (@tnoetzel). https://dev.to/tnoetzel https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F169129%2F39de250c-0b29-4691-bde1-b04fbe78c30a.png https://dev.to/tnoetzel en Tim Noetzel Wed, 05 Jun 2019 20:00:42 +0000 https://dev.to/tnoetzel/developer-rites-of-passage-2g8p https://dev.to/tnoetzel/developer-rites-of-passage-2g8p <p>Recently, I've been meeting a lot of newer engineers who don't really feel like they're "real" developers yet.</p> <p>This got me thinking a bit about what constitutes a real developer and why <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome">impostor syndrome</a> is so endemic in tech.</p> <p>While I'm generally of the opinion that <em>anyone who codes is a "real" developer</em>, I also think it's worth celebrating the rites of passage that junior devs tend to go through.</p> <p>Here are a few that stood out to me on my journey:</p> <ol> <li><p>Writing my first <a href="https://javascript.info/recursion">recursive function</a></p></li> <li><p>Debugging somebody else's poorly documented code</p></li> <li><p>Setting up my first <a href="https://www.timnoetzel.com/bluehost-vs-godaddy/">cheap web host</a></p></li> <li><p>Releasing my first app</p></li> <li><p>Migrating from a cheap hosting to AWS</p></li> <li><p>Releasing my <a href="https://github.com/tnoetzel?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;tab=repositories">first public repo</a></p></li> <li><p>Being generally useful on Stack Overflow</p></li> <li><p>Mentoring other developers</p></li> </ol> <p>Obviously, none of these alone make you a "real" developer, but they're fun milestones nonetheless.</p> <p>How about you? When did you finally start feeling like a real engineer?</p> beginners discuss