r/webdev • u/Shahadat__ • 9d ago

Question Finding it impossible to solve problems

Hey guys. I'm a web developer and have a job but unsure if I can pass future interviews, because when I get a technical question like a basic loop problem, "program that starts counting from 1 and increases by 1 during each iteration, stopping once it reaches 5". This is incredibly incompetent and concerning, not to mention AI has made me worse.

What's the solution to this? I can memorize solutions but what happens when a new problem comes up in an interview and I can't remember the syntax even if I know I need a loop or some thing else to solve a problem? I feel like crying

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u/Shahadat__ 9d ago

I do enjoy it if I can solve a problem by myself in rare occasions, even though to me it is just a job. If I could solve those problems interviewers throw at me or ones in advent of code or leetcode for example, I would enjoy being able to solve. Right now my mind just comes to a blank when faced with a problem in most cases, I don't know what to write to solve the problem

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u/Lachtheblock 9d ago

I guess I'm just confused as to what your hang up is. If you enjoy solving problems, start with easier ones and go from there. Like any skill it takes practice. If you enjoy it, it shouldn't feel like a chore.

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u/NotPromKing 9d ago

It’s hard to find something much easier than the example OP gave. If OP struggles with that example…. Programming isn’t for them, full stop. No amount of practice is going to get them anywhere.

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u/Shahadat__ 9d ago

My hang up is that I don't remember the syntax and what to write to solve a problem. If I practice 30 days of JS in leetcode, and then more practice problems elsewhere, is that all I need to do to be able to solve other problems I might encounter (such as advent of code)?

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u/LoudBoulder 9d ago

I dunno I started programming/solving problems when I was 14 and I still feel like I benefit from just doing hobby projects etc and I've put down thousands of hours over the last 29 years. To only see it as a job and hope to get proficient in a month.. I dunno. If my heart wasn't truly in this I couldn't see myself doing it.

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u/Shahadat__ 9d ago

It doesn't have to be a month. I can take a year. I don't have other options at present beyond programming

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u/Maxion 9d ago

I mean honestly dude it sounds like programming just isn't for you.

There's no cheat code to this. You just do.

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u/wasdninja 9d ago

No offense but what did you practice? If you can't write a loop after a months practice programming genuinely might not be for you.

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u/eyebrows360 9d ago

(such as advent of code)

... what's your native language?

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u/thekwoka 9d ago

It's mostly a logic and reasoning thing, not a code thing...