🚀 Building My Project During Job Hunt — Should I Go Solo or Use ChatGPT?

Hey devs! 👋

I’m currently between graduation and my first job. Instead of just waiting, I started working on my own project — SafeScan, a smart product & ingredient safety checker that I’m building using React, Node.js, MongoDB, and a bit of OCR with Tesseract.js.

But while working on it, I’ve had this ongoing question in my mind:

🤔 Should I Build This Entirely On My Own or Use ChatGPT as a Guide?
Here’s what I’ve been experiencing:

🔹 Doing it solo forces me to Google a lot, struggle through docs, and figure out every detail on my own. It’s slow — but deeply satisfying.

🔹 Using ChatGPT speeds things up. It’s like having a senior dev next to me. I can ask questions, debug faster, and get clarity on tough concepts. Honestly, it’s helped me stay consistent and motivated.

Also, let's face it — AI like ChatGPT is becoming a part of our daily life. Knowing how to use it smartly does boost productivity.

🧠 But Here’s Where I’m Stuck…
Even if I understand the code and concepts ChatGPT helps me with, interviews are a different game. You’re expected to write the code yourself, explain your thought process clearly, and solve problems without any help.

So now I’m a bit confused:

Is building a project with ChatGPT really helping me become interview-ready?
Or should I force myself to build everything solo, even if it’s slower and more frustrating?

💬 What Do You Think?
👉 Have you built projects with or without AI assistance?
👉 Do you think using ChatGPT helps or hurts long-term growth and interview performance?

I’d love to hear your experience and advice — I’m still figuring out what’s best for learning, growing, and eventually landing the right job.

Thanks in advance for reading!