As a self-taught Django dev, how would I know when I'm ready to work for a software company?

I spent the last year learning how to code full time (python/Django and a bit of Javascript). I had no prior coding experience. I just started my first job as a UI Engineer this month. I applied for about a dozen jobs over a period of a month or so and was honestly shocked that a few of them were interested in me - I didn't feel qualified for any of them. For 2 of them I had no experience at all with the languages they used. They didn't particularly care because I showed that I had the ability to learn. All they cared about was how I solved problems and whether I was passionate, open minded and willing to learn things their way.

My job is mainly JS right now and I was terrified to start because I still feel very weak in JS. But it's been going great and I'm learning so much day to day, more than I'd ever learn on my own in this amount of time. Working with an existing codebase has been easier than I imagined, and the stuff I'm writing on my own isn't too shabby either. My coworkers know I'm a beginner and have been giving me great feedback and helping me along the way.

I'm so glad I decided it was time to start job hunting before I felt ready. I'm not sure I'd have ever felt ready, tbh, because the more you learn the more you realize there's so much you don't know! At this point I doubt that feeling will ever change.

My point is just go for it. You will probably be rejected a lot but that's fine, just think of it as interview practice until you find an employer who is willing to invest a little in their employees.

/r/djangolearning Thread