1+ Year Experience but Still Dependent on AI for Coding
I’m working as a Salesforce Developer with a little over 1 year of experience. I’m pretty confident with the admin side, flows, configs, permissions, automation, debugging issues, etc. But when it comes to actual development, I feel completely dependent on AI.
Most of the Jira tickets involving Apex or JS, I solve with AI help. Even when I understand the requirement and logic in my head, I struggle to write the code myself. I can write basic triggers, but when things become more programming-heavy (proper Apex patterns, JavaScript, async handling, clean logic, optimization), I freeze.
The worst part is that sometimes I feel like I’m not becoming a “real developer” because of this dependency. I don’t want to quit development. I genuinely want to grow and become someone who can build things confidently without constantly relying on AI for every step.
For people who were in a similar situation:
- How did you improve your programming skills?
- How do I actually learn logic building?
- Should I stop using AI completely for some time?
- What projects or practice methods helped you most?
- How do I go from “I understand the solution” to “I can write the code myself”?
I’m ready to put in the effort. I just don’t want to stay stuck at this level forever.
Any honest advice or roadmap would help a lot.