[papasmrf]

For myself, it will be three years in March 2015 when I first began to code. I am in my 30s and a lawyer by trade, with a life science background. My own assessment is that I have picked it up quickly, with good knowledge of PHP and Python, Javascript, and HTML/CSS.

But I am only just now starting to really understand the big deal about MVC, OOP, autoloading classes, testing, package management, versioning, etc. I think these concepts are what separates a coder from a skilled well rounded developer. As I have gone through the learning process, it took certain experiences with coding web applications (most of which I never released) where I could better understand why MVC or OOP was a better way to do things. My comprehension of those higher level topics came along much more slowly then did the syntax; and I don't think a 12 week code school can truly allow a student to grasp those topics (there just isn't enough depth of knowledge after 12 weeks).