Don't get hassled by opinions of other people but keep improving. Here is how I would rank the things that makes a good programmer in a real world: 1. Abstract

Don't get hassled by opinions of other people but keep improving. Here is how I would rank the things that makes a good programmer in a real world: 1. Abstracting a problem - Understanding/analyzing problems and finding solutions. You first need to be able to solve it before anything else. 2. Coding Efficiency - How quickly you can code it? In most scenarios (at job/freelancing/etc), the ability to deliver a working solution on time matters most. You can always improve the code if it is not perfect but it is hard to make up for a lost customer/time. 3. Code Efficiency i.e. How fast the program runs? If your solution works the next thing to ensure is that the performance is good. 4. Simplicity/Readability/Maintainability - After that you can refactor the code to make it more simple, readable, and maintainable. 5. Enacpsulation and everything else comes later.