My advice to my 22 year old self, in order of priority, would be:
1. Get financially literate. Before any "hobby projects" make sure your money is working for you.
2. Take care of yourself physically. Join a martial arts gym. It will give you a community "outside of programming", keep you fit and you will have the pressure to show up no matter what.
3. Don't forget the basics - data structures, algorithms & distributed systems. Most companies asks for this. It may be a FAANG impostor syndrome but it's there.
4. Keep work as work. Do not develop a "passion for your job". Herculean efforts developing a CRUD app will not translate easily to more money at another company (see #3).
1. Get financially literate. Before any "hobby projects" make sure your money is working for you.
2. Take care of yourself physically. Join a martial arts gym. It will give you a community "outside of programming", keep you fit and you will have the pressure to show up no matter what.
3. Don't forget the basics - data structures, algorithms & distributed systems. Most companies asks for this. It may be a FAANG impostor syndrome but it's there.
4. Keep work as work. Do not develop a "passion for your job". Herculean efforts developing a CRUD app will not translate easily to more money at another company (see #3).
5. Impostor syndrome is real. Do not fall for it.