Not sure I am good at programming, but I would list the following: Programming, a lot. And I would add, staying on the same project for long enough to get the

Not sure I am good at programming, but I would list the following: Programming, a lot. And I would add, staying on the same project for long enough to get the pain from your mistakes. Working alone, because it prevents "easy help" and forced me to dig hard on some problem that needed solving. At the opposite side of the spectrum, having super rigorous colleagues that did not mince their words and explained and asked me to redo work multiple time if needed (I only had that for a few months but I think it was a turning point). Practicing multiple languages and shipping something with them. Building a mental model, I consider that software engineering is 90% a communication exercise towards colleagues or your future self.