Dev.to

Invest in your network, not your tech skills

Grinding leetcode is a waste of time. It's a low-leverage activity with extreme opportunity cost. It's like buying five lottery tickets instead of one. Let me explain. 1. Investing in programming ability has diminishing returns for your career The economic value of programming has never been lower. The number of programmers has never been higher. Thousands and thousands of programmers can credibly claim to be better at it than you. Most employers don't care. Most freelancing clients don't care. Nobody who pays for programming actually cares how good you are at it. People pay for results. They care about your ability only to the extent that you can deliver those results. Once you reach that bar, they care much, much more about other things. Do they like you? Do they trust you? Can you operate independently or will they have to hold your hand? Do you understand the larger context of what they're trying to do? This is the bar most developers fail to clear when they get cut from an interview process. 2. If you're reading this, you're probably already good enough Can you write fizzbuzz? Then you're technically qualified for most "senior" developer jobs. I'm not kidding. I've interviewed hundreds of people, and 90% of them couldn't write fizzbuzz. I'm not even talking about getting syntax right - I'm talking about pseudocode. I've talked to "senior infrastructure developers" who didn't know what Terraform is. I've talked to frontend developers who couldn't write valid css and html. My point is that the bar for tech jobs is lower than you think. It gets higher at more selective companies, but if you can code your way out of a paper bag, you still have a leg up on most of the competition. 3. AI is going to eat programming If all you bring to the table is your ability to code, your value is already decreasing. Outsourcing, no-code, and AI are going to keep wearing away at the foundation of your career. It might not collapse completely, but you won't be able to build on it. You have a window of opportunity right now to do something about it. You need to differentiate yourself and find new ways to create opportunity for yourself. So what can you do about it? Build the one thing that can be totally unique to you. Build the one thing AI can never replace. Build your reputation. Develop a network. Create a personal brand. Help people, connect people, and encourage people. Because then, people will remember you. They will like you. They will trust you. They will know who you are and what you're capable of. That's what will set you apart. That's what will create opportunities for you. That's how you build a foundation for a valuable, future-proof career. If you want to get started, head over to https://refactoryourcareer.tech and sign up for the newsletter!

Apr 16, 2025 - 16:06

Invest in your network, not your tech skills

Grinding leetcode is a waste of time. It's a low-leverage activity with extreme opportunity cost.

It's like buying five lottery tickets instead of one.

Let me explain.

1. Investing in programming ability has diminishing returns for your career

The economic value of programming has never been lower. The number of programmers has never been higher.

Thousands and thousands of programmers can credibly claim to be better at it than you.

Most employers don't care. Most freelancing clients don't care. Nobody who pays for programming actually cares how good you are at it.

People pay for results. They care about your ability only to the extent that you can deliver those results.

Once you reach that bar, they care much, much more about other things.

Do they like you?

Do they trust you?

Can you operate independently or will they have to hold your hand?

Do you understand the larger context of what they're trying to do?

This is the bar most developers fail to clear when they get cut from an interview process.

2. If you're reading this, you're probably already good enough

Can you write fizzbuzz?

Then you're technically qualified for most "senior" developer jobs.

I'm not kidding. I've interviewed hundreds of people, and 90% of them couldn't write fizzbuzz. I'm not even talking about getting syntax right - I'm talking about pseudocode.

I've talked to "senior infrastructure developers" who didn't know what Terraform is.

I've talked to frontend developers who couldn't write valid css and html.

My point is that the bar for tech jobs is lower than you think.

It gets higher at more selective companies, but if you can code your way out of a paper bag, you still have a leg up on most of the competition.

3. AI is going to eat programming

If all you bring to the table is your ability to code, your value is already decreasing.

Outsourcing, no-code, and AI are going to keep wearing away at the foundation of your career. It might not collapse completely, but you won't be able to build on it.

You have a window of opportunity right now to do something about it. You need to differentiate yourself and find new ways to create opportunity for yourself.

So what can you do about it?

Build the one thing that can be totally unique to you.

Build the one thing AI can never replace.

Build your reputation.

Develop a network. Create a personal brand. Help people, connect people, and encourage people.

Because then, people will remember you.

They will like you.

They will trust you.

They will know who you are and what you're capable of.

That's what will set you apart. That's what will create opportunities for you.

That's how you build a foundation for a valuable, future-proof career.

If you want to get started, head over to https://refactoryourcareer.tech and sign up for the newsletter!