
Ask HN: How to know when you're intermediate level? - curiousgal
Let&#x27;s take Python for example. What skills, concepts, libraries, and knowledge do Python programmers who consider themselves intermediate&#x2F;advanced have? How do you know when you are no longer a beginner?
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brudgers
The Programmer Competency Matrix is a reasonable [and general] way of looking
at the issue: [http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-
matrix/](http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/)

On the other hand, one of the most influential essays I've read on Hacker
News: [https://sivers.org/below-average](https://sivers.org/below-average)
raises the question of why would anyone not want to be a beginner.

Norvig puts it perhaps more palatably:
[http://norvig.com/21-days.html](http://norvig.com/21-days.html)

Good luck.

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curiousgal
Those were among the best articles I've ever read online! Thank you so so
much!!

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smt88
If you're talking about applying for a job, let the interviewer/employer
decide if you're the right fit. Labels like "intermediate" are subjective,
nebulous, and not widely agreed-upon.

For your own purposes, apply for jobs (or try out projects) that seem out of
your depth. Break them up into chunks and Google your way through them.

~~~
tedmiston
On a related note, startups, especially early-stage ones, often inflate job
titles.

One thing you could is step through the more advanced O'Reilly books for
Python, or whatever topic, and see how much you already know. They happen to
have quite a large collection of good Python books.

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id122015
beside skill level I found there exist also domains of application. Given that
programming is applied to many fields, it would be challenging to work with
everything, like biochemistry or launching rockets etc.

I had the same questions as you, and I confirm those labels are subjective, so
I stopped feeling not experienced enough.

