r/AskProgrammers • u/Conscious_Foot_429 • 2d ago
I just love coding and love doing competitive programming and leetcode but after doing it for over 1 and half years i just feel like coding sucks and i will never be as good as those Chinese programmers who does leetcode contest in under 5-6 mins and i feel like i wanna quit it at this point.
I am just saying this cause i am failing at running a leetcode (hard) ques .
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u/nian2326076 2d ago
Hey, it's normal to hit a wall sometimes, especially with competitive programming. The people who solve problems in minutes have been at it for a long time and practice a lot. It's not a fair comparison. Focus on your own progress instead. Break down problems into smaller parts, and don't rush. It's more about understanding concepts than speed at first. Also, try mixing up your practice with other resources or projects to keep it interesting. If you're prepping for interviews, PracHub can be useful for structured practice. Keep pushing through, and don't be too hard on yourself. Progress takes time!
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u/pete_68 2d ago
I've been doing this for 47 years. One and a half years isn't very long at all. It takes time to develop expertise. Don't give up. Keep pushing yourself and you'll continue to improve.
Learn from the people who are better than you! I've always preferred working with people who are better programmers than me because it's so much easier to learn in that environment. Jobs where you're the best programmer will make you stagnant.
Finally, there are probably always going to be a lot of programmers out there who are a lot better than you. It's a big field and there are some super-talented mega-brained guys out there doing it. That doesn't mean you can't still be a great programmer.
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u/Historical_Song7703 2d ago
How do I deal with imposter syndrome and confidence issues with how competitive the field has become now? Also if I get stuck on a concept that I can't seem to understand or learn while doing a project, what should I do?
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u/pete_68 1d ago
Oh hell, even I get imposter syndrome. It's stupid. I don't know how you "deal with" it. You just kinda do. I don't get it all the time. It tends to come up on specific contracts. Like I'll get put on a contract centered on some technology I've never used before and we're a consulting company, so I'm supposed to come off as an expert. It can be brutal.
As for getting stuck, I find AI is excellent at getting me unstuck these days. Anything from a conversation about the topic to having it actually write the code.
In the old days, you just ran late. Back in the early 90s I had a client that asked me to write some very specific graphical software for their business. I was not a graphics programmer and this stuff they wanted done (the kinds of things that are trivial in apps like Photoshop today) wasn't really well-documented a the time. Perhaps in research papers I didn't know about. But I poured over books for months trying to find any hint of how to do this stuff and eventually, I just kind of figured it out on my own, but I ran really late on that project. The client was totally understanding. They knew I was really trying to find the information and I'd report back on all the research I'd done. But it was a long, slow grind creating that app.
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u/Historical_Song7703 1d ago
i find the stuff that AI spews out to be inaccurate or off-topic many times though, do u use it for this use case?
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u/Negative_Effort_2642 2d ago
Consistency and not giving up is key in life