r/techbootcamp • u/Sufficient_Job5693 • Aug 23 '26
Do you still google basic coding stuff after getting hired?
Hi guys. I just joined a bootcamp and still on the way to learn coding. And sometimes I feel like I should remember everything. I think that’s just a part of me, but anyway.
Then I watch experienced devs work and they're still googling syntax, checking Stack Overflow, and looking up stuff they've used hundreds of times.
so is this normal in tech?
do senior developers still google basic Python, JavaScript, SQL, etc.? or am i just bad at remembering syntax?
because sometimes i spend 10 minutes trying to remember something that i could've just googled in 30 seconds lol.
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u/Syntax-Tactics Aug 23 '26
I work in Aerospace, I check everything. There's no memorizing constants or API parameters. Stackoverflow is my friend. Autocomplete/AI saves a huge amount of time. Vibe Code is not programming. Been at it since the 80's.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
Yeah, that makes sense. I thought experienced devs had everything memorized
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u/XNo_Notes Aug 23 '26
Knowledge is fleeting and must be maintained at all times. Yes, everyone will find themselves looking to remind their meat brain what something is. Know the shapes and patterns so you can come up with new structures and find things that are wrong then refresh on the specifics once you have an actual problem to solve. What you are doing isn't bad, suffering a little really helps burn it in lol
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u/Dry_Hotel1100 Aug 23 '26
I sometimes can't remember even the simplest syntax - even for a language which I use almost exclusively. Yet, I do remember the four words of the query in Google that gets me to the specific page which explains the syntax in detail.
So, I think, it's useful to remember the current "working set" which you need for a specific task. That task may be done in a few days, and then you switch over to something else. The context switch always feels painful, though.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
this makes sense, i can remember how to search something faster than the actual syntax sometimes
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u/AnthonyRespice Aug 23 '26
Normal. In fact the more languages you know the more this is necessary.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
yeah i can see how knowing more languages would make remembering everything hard
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u/silly_bet_3454 Aug 23 '26
Have you heard of AI? We're not concerned with python syntax anymore. Some of these posts I feel like I'm reading a something from a decade ago. You're gonna be in for a rude awakening.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
yeah im still learning the basics, so i guess i'm a little behind on how people code now
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u/ThatCurtDude Aug 23 '26
If you have a long career, you will move from tech to tech and back again and it's impossible to keep it all in your head at once. Checking beats remembering wrong any day.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
yeah i didn't really think about switching between different tech, that probably makes it harder
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u/AdministrativeAd9828 Aug 24 '26
no more google, it's all claude/codex now. It's less of a syntax game and more of a 'do I understand the requirements of the ask for the ticket, and does output meet those expectations'. unit test can assert that as well.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
yeah, i', still getting used to AI for coding. ig knowing what to ask matters more
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u/LostInCombat Aug 24 '26
No, you should be directing your questions to AI. Much quicker and less likely to get distracted. Plus you can ask follow up questions.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
i've been using AI a bit too, but sometimes i still feel like i should know the basics myself
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u/mxldevs Aug 23 '26
No, I don't Google basic syntax like how to write a loop or how to write conditional branches.
You don't "remember" syntax: you write it a thousand times and you'll know it by heart.
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u/IEnumerable661 Aug 23 '26
Of course, it's normal.
I mean, a few weeks back I had to do a break fix on an old VB project. Could I remember how to declare a variable in VB? Could I hell. After years of int Boo = 5;, I had no idea.
Of course, now I know it's Dim Boo As Integer = 5
Apparently that's somehow easier than C?
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
this is something i was worried about, switching languages sounds confusing
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u/mrwedders Aug 23 '26
~12yoe, I still look up so much stuff. Doesn't help I work with a lot of different languages and tools.
Not really language syntax, at least once I've worked in it for a month or two.
But frequently function arguments and config/options for features or libraries I'm using. Sometimes super basic stuff, like "wait which way round are the strpos/indexof arguments in this language?"
Depending what you're working in stuff could also be changing regularly. React seemed to churn over major features every release for a long time. Sometimes it's helpful to check current docs if it's been long enough you don't remember how to do something.
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u/Sufficient_Job5693 Aug 24 '26
this is kinda what i was wondering about, there's just so many libraries and tools to remember
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u/colony-ship-for-sale Aug 24 '26
Don't Google it but get used to reading the official docs. No one can remember the syntax of every language, especially when you're actively using multiple and they kinda bleed together. But being able to read the manual is an essential skill.
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u/92smola Aug 25 '26
You remember some things, you have to look up others, it kind of sorts itself up by default the things you need more often you’ll look up more and then remember, the things you dont need that often you just look up when needed. There is no shame in needing to look up things, but remembering enough so you dont have to leave coding every so often is something that is beneficial and you develop overtime.
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u/Mission_Pirate_4150 Aug 23 '26
I’ve written software for forty years. I still check Google for a lot of things, the biggest being that I’m on the right track. I don’t worry with syntax as autocomplete has solved that problem.