There are so many people in this world who pretend that something is preventing them from learning or doing something and you went out just did it.
You may (or may not) be the best engineer in the world, but I'd hire you in a hot second just because you have the tenacity to make it your mission to figure something out. Sometimes, 90% of writing code is just sticking with a problem until you get it.
I've given 100's of interviews to people who are either fresh out of school or have been programming for a while now. The vast majority of these people have no gumption to actually create a github account or do any sort of experiments outside of what tasks they are given at work. It is very sad to me that most of these people just want to collect a paycheck.
What I think is great is that he learned enough to get an 'in' in a relatively short time. Obviously getting from knowing some Python and being able to work with Django to being a master developer will take years, but it is so much easier to do that if you already have a fulltime programming job.
If you're trying to learn all the skills that a great developer needs in your free time, you'll realistically be able to spend no more than 4-5 hours a day at it over any sustained period. If your fulltime job is software development, even if it isn't hardcore by HN standards, then you will grow your skills so much faster.
There are so many people in this world who pretend that something is preventing them from learning or doing something and you went out just did it.
You may (or may not) be the best engineer in the world, but I'd hire you in a hot second just because you have the tenacity to make it your mission to figure something out. Sometimes, 90% of writing code is just sticking with a problem until you get it.
I've given 100's of interviews to people who are either fresh out of school or have been programming for a while now. The vast majority of these people have no gumption to actually create a github account or do any sort of experiments outside of what tasks they are given at work. It is very sad to me that most of these people just want to collect a paycheck.
The learning never stops, keep it up.