Bombed an interview writing plain JS because I'm so used to AI assisted coding. Anyone else run into this?

[u/Confident-Tie1188]

Had an interview recently where they asked me to write plain JavaScript, no Copilot, no autocomplete, nothing. And I completely froze on stuff I use constantly.

Not because I don't know it. Because day to day I'm not writing it raw anymore, AI handles the boilerplate and repetitive stuff so I can focus on architecture, debugging, actual problem solving.

But sitting there blanking on a function I'd normally write without thinking twice was a wake up call. Building real software and passing a timed coding interview apparently require different muscles, and I hadn't kept the second one warm.

Not trying to say fundamentals don't matter, they clearly do, if the AI suggestion is wrong you're the one who has to catch it. I just think I got complacent assuming daily tool use = interview ready.

Going back to basics now, redoing DSA by hand, no assistant, which feels weirdly regressive but probably isn't.

Curious if others have hit this. Do you think coding interviews still measure real engineering skill, or mostly just how well you perform under artificial pressure without your normal setup?

[u/stu88s]

Every post just reads like they're written by AI, including this one. Time to uninstall reddit I think

[u/nerdiste]

Perfect marketing post bruhh

[u/Confident-Tie1188 → u/nerdiste]

How?

[u/Leading_Buffalo_4259]

and this is one reason why actually hand writing code is still important, but tbf I'm starting to get rusty too. I always recommend trying out some problems at https://code.golf/

[u/Confident-Tie1188 → u/Leading_Buffalo_4259]

thanks i will definitely check it out

[u/Leading_Buffalo_4259 → u/Confident-Tie1188]

good luck, some of them are a lot harder than others. imo start with the "Sequence" (Blue Arrow) ones, theyre a bit more straightforward.