The first aha moment–I wrote my first large project code using vb6. It was painful. When I started writing code using oop.. The basic concepts like encapsulation brought in the happiness a.k.a easy to change..

To keep track of the progress–
I do reviews and note the benefits of any design pattern I implemented.

Most of the design patterns or any principle didn’t make sense until you implement that.

Hence implementation and review are the keys for making progress.

I think most of our discussions were based around the concepts of Dependency Injection, Inversion of Control and design patterns. By discussing which design pattern to use and why we think it is the right choice we both learned the most about OOP and OOD.

Speaking for myself: Internal resisting factors were the ones that kept me check for a long time. I was always in doubt about my own skills because I had no one to tell me if my code was good or bad. I was only judged by “problem solved equals good code”. But after my coworker was able to use my code only by extending some interfaces (without making changes) I realised that all the hard work paid off. This was a huge boost of confidence.

Another way how I overcame my fears was start writing my own library. I only use it for myself but every time I extend it I make sure to go through the old classes. Most of the time I find things to improve or to refactor. This helps me keeping track of my own progress and in addition I always feel pretty smart 🙂 Hence, boosting my confidence.

What was your first “Wow, I did it the right way!” moment? And do you have a special way of keeping track of your own progress?

Thanks man.
Yes, your story pretty much resonates with my story. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I believe that teaching others will not only help others but it helps you too. I learned too much by teaching others because I tried to understand the topic from each perspective. I tried to answer all of my questions — that arose in my mind while learning.

Because of that I can answer the questions asked by my students. Hence I strictly follow this rule : learn something like you have to teach it to others.

So, would you like to share the top-most problem or challenge or question that your coworker student had?

TL;DR: Teach others.