You sound like a smart person, and using it to your advantage will benefit your career. There is a cognitive bias in psychology called Dunning-Kruger effect[1]

You sound like a smart person, and using it to your advantage will benefit your career. There is a cognitive bias in psychology called Dunning-Kruger effect[1], stating that individuals tend to rate their skills higher than their actual level, without realising they are doing so. You may have the skills you claim you have, or you may not. The only objective way of showing that is to build stuff, and let other see your skills through your work, not try to tell them with your words. "Show, don't tell" is a very effective way to get others see your level. And, with the technology continues to advance at a higher speed everyday, constant learning is pretty much a requirement to stay competitive for software developers. Nobody can choose your path better than you, every individual is different, and your life is yours to live as you see fit. A general advice would be to continue learning. Knowing the areas that you are weak, and admitting it is a great virtue. Study, learn, and use your newly acquired knowledge to build better stuff. And build projects. Contribute to open source. Write a blog. Do some contract work to have a portfolio to show that you are good, and earn money along the way. When you are applying for a job, having these under your belt to show to your prospective employer will get you far ahead of your peers. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect