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by dkarl 2106 days ago
Keep programming. The only permanently bad developers are the ones who like the bad code they write. If you don't like the code you write, and you pay careful attention to code that you do like, you will naturally start to write better code if you let yourself.

> I have basically no CS knowledge

Lots of people have this knowledge, and it comes into play rarely enough that asking for help when you need it won't put a huge burden on your coworkers.

> my solution is more likely to be a complete mess

Think of yourself as a writer. Don't publish first drafts. Don't give people estimates based on when you can finish a first draft. If you can tell it's bad, you can fix it.

> I can recall my last interview tripping up on questions about very basic OOP concepts, which you'd think I'd have internalized now

Don't feel ashamed of that. What people consider "basic OOP concepts" is strongly driven by the language they use as their reference for OOP and even their style in that language. Javascript and Java have very different OO fundamentals. Learn what good code looks like in the language you're using, learn why, and practice.