
Ask HN: How do you measure your level of expertise with a programming language? - farleykr
I&#x27;ve been reading about Quantified Self (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;quantifiedself.com&#x2F;) and the empirical measurement aspect of it seems like it could be a good fit for measuring level of proficiency in using a programming language while learning it.<p>I plan on tracking things like the learning resources I use and how much time I spend programming. But what benchmarks, milestones, or determining factors would you use in determining how &quot;good&quot; you are with a programming language?
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uberman
I used to informally pay attention to:

1) How frequently do I have to google for the correct syntax

2) How frequently do I google for an answer to a question I have already
asked.

Now, for the most part, the central parts of most languages just are what they
are and follow predictable patterns. Now, for me the measure I use is more
like:

"Given a problem, can I accurately estimate the cost/effort required to
provide a solution?"

That will depend on my ability to answer more specific questions like:

How well do I understand the ecosystem that surrounds a language?

If I have a problem to solve, do I know if that can be solved with the
"standard libraries"?

If I need extra libraries/packages, do I know what those actually are?

If so, can I use those libraries effectively even if I am offline?

and so on.

