How do you tell how good of a programmer you are? Is there a fair and accurate ranking system for programmers? Well today I am going to tell you about something I found to be very helpful in this matter. It is a vastly under rated method for determining your programming skill in a real way. The best thing is it doesn’t take very long.
Why is this even necessary? Well if your prepping for an interview either as the interviewer or as the interviewee you need a way to determine if the job and interviewee are good fits for each other. This is something most interviewees tend not to think about but it’s important to success.
Another reason you might be interested in determining your skill level as a programmer is simply because you want to improve and figure out what your weak points are. There is a lot to programming and everyone always has room to improve. In today’s fast paced job market you don’t want to get behind.
Now that you know why you should be interested what is this solution I have been talking about? Well it’s the Programmer Competency Matrix by Joseph Sijin. I discovered it last year while trying to figure out a better way to document, prove, and improve my skill set. I’ve been programming for a long time for my age and I’ve picked up a lot of skills along the way. Unfortunately a lot of companies look at me and see young pretty college age woman which is accurate but my skill set is not entry level. When I was actively pursuing a corporate path this was a problem for me. Now that I’ve gone freelance nobody cares which is both freeing and a little sad. I’ve worked very hard to get to where I am today and it’s nice to feel like my skill set is appreciated.
What is so great about the Programmer Competency Matrix? Well it is simple but quite comprehensive. It can be both because it consists of skills and knowledge broken up into logical sections and you rate yourself per section based off of what you know. It’s cumulative. After taking it you can say I average out at a specific value, these are what I am strong in, and these are the things I am weak in.
I encourage you to head over to https://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/ and take it today. If you feel comfortable maybe share your results in the comments.
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