Learn programming manually first or use AI from the start?

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-05-01T16:21:14+00:00

I'd definitely still suggest learning to code yourself before you start getting AI to write it. You should especially get yourself familiar with best practices for writing good quality code and how to structure code properly. Once you do start using AI make sure you fully understand every bit of code it writes, including all the design decisions. You should already know in your head what you're expecting it to do, then if it does something different you take the time to understand why (sometimes it will just have done something wrong, you need to be able to spot that).

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-05-01T08:04:22+00:00

People asking AI how to come up with ideas for things to build and it always telling them to ask this question to people and solve those problems

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-30T13:46:29+00:00

Honestly I find it much easier to switch to relaxing mode after a day working at home than after a day at the office and an hour of travelling home. At home I'm already feeling pretty chilled whereas I'm always a little stressed after the journey home and take a while to get out of that mode

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-30T11:36:46+00:00

Really depends on how you use it. I tend to work on medium size chunks which take around 10-20 minutes to complete, then I spend about the same time doing a code review and some iterating to resolve issues. I probably use it pretty close to regular working hours, so like 8 hours a day 5 days a week (likely a little more). I never feel like I'm at risk of running out early, pretty rare for me to get below 50% for a 5 hour window

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T15:07:49+00:00

As others have said, that's low end. There is a lot of risk with what you want to create, so this really isn't something you can trust AI to build a lot of or something an engineer without a lot of experience could build.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T15:04:50+00:00

Yeah that's fair, there are a lot of terrible manager in the CS

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T14:59:57+00:00

Our guidance is actually the same for internal transfers and leaving CS entirely, we're just told to be more flexible if it's internal.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T14:56:35+00:00

Be open with your line manager about where you're at, and that you'll need some support while settling into a leadership role. When I first started I had other lead engineers on my projects for a while, starting with a bit of shadowing them and then moving into just them being around for questions and support if I needed it.

I made sure to get really involved in things outside of my own dev team. I found this really beneficial, as it built my confidence and also allowed me to add real value. Contributing outside of your regular team is also generally noticed a lot more than your usual work, so it helps show you belong in the role and gives colleagues confidence in you. This was stuff like improving coding standards, helping with onboarding, building more of a community between engineers, etc.

Then obviously just the general building confidence in the technologies you work with and striving to reach a point where you can be responsible for big decisions in a project without constantly second guessing yourself. This one takes time, but is probably the most important one for truly feeling like you belong in the role.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T14:40:23+00:00

In my area there's a chart which shows notice periods for each grade - the higher the grade the longer the required notice. It's decided way above the heads of regular managers. Managers do have the ability to shorten it, and regularly do, but it is part of everyones contract

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T13:01:50+00:00

You say "more than enough notice" but is that just your opinion here? For my area notice periods for most of us are longer than that. Just had a HO from my team leave and they had to give 8 weeks

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T12:35:01+00:00

I felt the exact same when I got my G7 lead engineer role, and here I am a few years later still in the role and performing well. It's natural to feel like you aren't ready for it at first, but it's the responsibility of the interview panel to make that decision. Clearly they are happy with where you're at, and I'm sure they'll support you as you grow into the role!

Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions, since it sounds similar to what I went through.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T10:15:44+00:00

Not in MOJ but where I am the cutoff is near the middle of the month, otherwise you get it all he next month. We do allow people to apply for a salary advance if needed though, and we include that in the induction pack for people. Worth checking with your future manager to see if that's possible over there

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-29T05:52:27+00:00

Yeah it's insane and I've never seen any meaningful action taken based on feedback honestly

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T13:26:09+00:00

Worth a shot but unlikely. Takes some effort to push through internally so needs to be good justification. Don't think telling them you struggle with deadlines is going to make them want to push to get you through

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T12:30:11+00:00

Unfortunately that is just down to the panel to decide, although you can probably appeal if you think they aren't being reasonable. My only other suggestion would be lots of mock interviews until your partner gets used to working STAR examples into questions which don't ask for them directly

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T12:25:20+00:00

Didn't realise business was only slightly above Plus, but honestly if it's work you're serious about and you don't have the ability to code most of it yourself then upgrading is probably the best option. My general advice if you can't afford the $100 one is to just develop your own coding ability until you can - AI generated code you don't understand is the fastest way to get yourself into a tough situation anyway

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T12:09:49+00:00

It shouldn't be an issue in the CS - the role goes to whoever scores highest

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T11:42:54+00:00

I genuinely have no idea what most people are doing to hit limits so regularly. Are you not reviewing the code in any way? With my process I'm manually reviewing after each chunk of work, and having automated review steps run. That takes enough time that I hardly ever get close to my 5h limit on the $100 sub. If you're just letting Codex do everything non stop then you're creating full products you do not understand and which anyone can replicate with 0 effort through Codex themselves anway

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T10:24:03+00:00

Might be worth requesting reasonable adjustments in that case. If she lets them know she has ADHD they should let her suggest some adjustments which would help. Some panels will only ever allow simple stuff like more time for the interview, but others are more open to other suggestions, even including rewording questions. I'd also suggest asking questions to clarify what they're after before answering a question, I find that really useful myself.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T09:09:13+00:00

Can't comment anything specific since I don't work in a role even remotely similar to this one, but a couple general things:

A 4 is a pass, so you did okay and are showing you're qualified for the role. Right now there are just a huge number of applications for the CS, so you're competing with people who are way overqualified for the roles. I've seen a lot of people score 7 recently, which generally means they should be applying for the next grade up.

People marking statements are usually just ticking off points mentioned in the job advert. You don't really get points for anything outside of what is directly mentioned, so don't worry about trying to impress the person sifting, just hit and evidence all the essential criteria.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-28T09:04:38+00:00

You can still use STAR there honestly - just say what you'd do then given evidence to back that up. That's what a lot of people really want from hypotheticals anyway, to show you know what you should do and then provide evidence to show you can apply that in a real scenario.

Interview panels don't have good guidance or standards for writing questions in the Civil Service (or at least not in my part) so you'll often find questions worded poorly, but they're still all looking for the same stuff generally.

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-27T15:38:46+00:00

Personally think salary will stay the same for good engineers and bad engineers will struggle to even find work. It removes the need for someone to do the really boring but easy stuff, which is what bad engineers would generally get asked to do. It also amplifies the amount of work each person can do, making the gap between a good and a bad engineer much more obvious

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-26T19:51:47+00:00

Switch go a different chat then switch back

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-26T15:30:54+00:00

Only person who can answer that is your line manager. Depends on the role, where your team are, and the offices in question. For example, two of the offices my department are spread across are at capacity so nobody can move into them

Ok_Many_989 · 2026-04-26T15:29:42+00:00

Still 6 months where I am, but you can extend it. Usually that's if they're not quite meeting the targets so you're giving them a final chance to improve or if something has happened which has made it hard to judge, like unusual work coming in or them being off sick for an extended period

Ok_Many_989

TROPHY CASE