Yes, I think that this is a rather typical 'programmer growth curve'. You start with spaghetti code which just works (hopefully), after a while you are taught

Yes, I think that this is a rather typical 'programmer growth curve'. You start with spaghetti code which just works (hopefully), after a while you are taught how to do things 'properly', resist to it a bit and suddenly you have an epiphany - design patterns should be everywhere, etc. After over-engineering some projects, with loads of UML diagrams and stuff, you step back and stick to simplicity. And I believe it's a good curve. You learn why some certain things (like overengineering) doesn't work, hopefully it happens early, and learning from trial and error is much more valuable compared to when someones teaches you how to do things 'properly'.