[psmithsfhn]

i'd guess you're like most programmers.

we start doing it, get better, and then stop getting better. and that's it.

if i had to do it again and actually get better?

man, tough.

i would guess by 'better' we actually mean 'faster'. we could talk about quality/bugs/big-O/etc. but that's boring.

i know some of these will be off the table for various reasons, and not saying i would do them myself, but i would consider:

* ask better devs how to get better/faster. -- including shadowing them for an hour or two once a week -- this also includes learning how to use a debugger properly/etc. or anything else that you don't _have_ to know to be a dev * take a formal comp sci class. to me, the main goal of doing any kind of certification/class is to boost your self-confidence. of course you'll learn, but having confidence is important so you can dwell in a hopeful/contented present -- i.e. your coding won't be distracted. * learn LISP * _really_ learn the languages/tech you're working with. instead of being 'just' a hacker, take some amount of time each week to go deeper. * switch to a non-coding position :)