I suck at coding

I suck at coding

[liam]

Hopefully you see this comment since I'm a full-time Software Engineer in the US who has worked with different types of people (contractors, employees, etc) and also helped my team interview candidates for potential hire.

A contract doesn't necessarily mean you'll be converted into a full-time employee nor will your contract be extended even if you do really well. Reasons could be anything like the following: limited budget for the project, they can't afford to keep you, contractors were only intended to get the project started and/or teach the other devs, and possibly much more. Companies may already know they're not gonna extend your contract when they hire you, but they won't tell you until the very end of your contract. Did they say they're not extending your contract due to any issues (e.g. not a cultural fit, work was not up to standard, etc)? If not, then I wouldn't sweat it and even if so, then it's also something you gotta realize that they have to give some reason due to HR/politics. If there are big reasons that come in mind to you, then maybe it could have been something you did and if not, then maybe it's just the company. You have to sometimes think of the politics involved within companies and not just your role on a team.

I myself am paid really well as a Software Engineer and have contributed deliverables that has been commended by teammates/upper management, but I've never once thought "I am so GREAT/superior at programming." To me, coding is something that you can always improve on because the code you write today can always be refactored for improvement by either yourself at a later point in time or someone else. I can however recognize bad behaviors and coding habits/practices demonstrated by developers which should definitely be improved or else you may end up in a lot of bad situations.

Another thing is that interviews do NOT reflect whether you are a good programmer or not. There are so many developers who ace interviews because they prepare/study so much for them (especially FAANG) rather than use their real-world experience. You need to practice being good at interviews (HR, behavioral, technical, non-technical, etc) and also demonstrate a lot of things while you code even if you do have a lot of real-world experience. Nowadays, companies want the total package from a developer: good teamwork and communication skills, strong leadership/an active voice, a lot of YOE, great mentoring ability, architecture/system design knowledge, business knowledge, etc - all while not being super expensive. This is NOT realistic for a company to be looking for because it just makes the interview process that much harder for candidates.

Keep your head up and continue interviewing. Everyone goes through rejections until they finally find that 1 company that gives them a chance. The things you see about people getting multiple offers from Amazon, Google, Meta, etc all at the same time is a fairytale and shouldn't be expected as the norm.

[RenteaRadu]

Keep at it man! There is always room for improvement for everyone.

[imohs]

“I'm worse at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed” Kurt Cobain… just keep going bro!! Don’t give up… Regards from Argentina

[jamesdietsch]

So sorry to hear man. Don’t give up. Sadly the recruitment process is awful for Devs . I got tired of industry and ended up teaching instead which was a much better fit. Maybe consider teaching?

[flaviopnt]

Well, as a junior looking for his first job, I'm a bit discouraged right now ahah
Don't worry man, failure is part of life. Everyone can see you have big passion for programming and I'm pretty sure you will find a great company to work with! In bocca al lupo 💪

[knnethtan]

Nothing is right or wrong, just follow your passion, and you surely will do better than yesterday.

[seanknowles]

Bro keep it up :)) we are all shit at programming. Someone once said to me that it never gets any easier as you grow the problems you solve only get harder lol

[MeruertA]

in any case, no job is worth mental health. the main thing is not to give in to sadness and remember to praise yourself

[JimmyArogen]

I’m sorry to hear about you not being extended.
But we as humans tend to always interpret things from a low self esteem perspective. That though, does not have to be the correct explanation.

There are a hundred different reasons you would not get extended, and many of them has very little to with you.

Same with the interview, the company might have had too many men employed and was on the lookout for female programmers. Also, sometimes rockstar-programmers seek the same job you do, and then we will not stand a chance.

Another thing on top of this is that skilled people always compare themselves with overly skilled people, never ever with average people. So if you are a person striving to get better and more competent it is easy to get discouraged, but do not.

Programming is the verb, the thing you do as a developer. But it is not the most important thing, the main thing is to make money for the company.

If you are a super skilled programmer and the other programmers can hardly read your code, then you are not as valuable to the company as you could be. Companies need stable people, that create business value, so always think what lowers cost and raises income for the company.

A friend of mine who is insanely gifted said this. -“Always try to make yourself replaceable”. It is counter intuitive but works great, if you are replaceable your are worth more to the company as those with invaluable skills tend to get too expensive and costly to make redundant. A person they can hire and let go as the need arises tend to be highly appreciated and in many occasions end up working full time there.

In my experience users see only the façade of the code. Most code underneath it, like 90% of it, is horrible.

Sure high end employers will try to get the best there is, but in my eyes, the best is the one that is always trying to get better and do not take shortcuts to get there.

Keep up the good fight, work hard and eventually things will work out 🙂