“How can I learn it all and how long will it take?”

That question has easily become the most common to come through my inbox. A request that is so common and emphatic that I can feel their energy oozing through the screen on my end. There is nothing inherently wrong about this curiosity. I would be surprised if you hadn’t asked the big questions somewhere along your development journey.

How long will it take me to learn X? How did you get a job at Y? Will it take me long to get a role as a senior Z?

Here we go: I don’t know the answer.

Great opening statement, right?

There is a lot to it. It would be arrogant to even consider the thought that my experience and imagination could cover even minute percentiles of the developers out there and how they’ve gone about their career. If you’ve ever read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, then you’ll know that there are many factors to success that range anywhere from personal talent and perseverance to the old adage of “Right time, right place.”

The public surface of what you see does not spell the story of one’s every waking hour. As obvious as that may sound, it is necessary that you understand the weight of that statement.

There is an unruly number of listicles that push unrealistic narratives, but today feels like the appropriate time to respond to those who asked the…