At what point is it safe for a beginner programmer to call himself a programmer and also apply for jobs?

Answer 1

I was listening to a codenewbie podcast the other day and the guest said that if you are making things and programming, then you are a programmer.

They also said that when looking at jobs, many of us tend to be self eliminating especially when looking at job requirements and that the job requirements are more of a "it would be nice if you had" type of thing.

They said you should go for it and let the company you are interviewing tell you that you are not ready for what they are looking for. Dont decide it for yourself before even applying. Then listen to their feedback and what you can do to improve to get to the level they are looking for.

Answer 2

It may depend on the job too.

Answer 3

when you can google search interview questions/coding challenges and determine if you could do anything they throw at you