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Personally I think it's one of those things that "you'll just know". If you're writing working code and are using those skills on an actual project, then you're

• MisterWebz 16y ago
  So when did you realize you were a capable programmer?
  • aarongough 16y ago
    That's definitely hard to answer. I thought I was awesome when I was in high school (I was about 16) but a few more years of experience made me realize how wrong I was. I'm 25 now and I think I have a good grip on the generalities of programming, but I still have a long way to go in really understanding the underlying fundamentals of various languages and some of the over-arching principles that govern language design and function. (It's worth noting that I've been a professional developer in various languages for about 4 years, and I've been programming for fun for 11 years.) Personally I think programming is like most other things. It's relatively easy to be minimally capable, but extremely hard to be really, really capable. Sorry for the long-winded answer :-p
• one010101 16y ago
  I agree completely. When you've written enough code that you have confidence you can solve real-world problems, you're there. In my personal case it took just a couple of years before I could sell my code. And now I've done it for nearly 30 more years. The best part is that you can sell your advice even before you can sell your code. That way you'll learn more about what the real world needs out of a programmer. And they'll pay you to learn!