I have over 4 years of experience and recently attended a 30-minute technical interview. The interviewer, with 13+ years of experience, he asked about design patterns. I explained the patterns I’ve practically used in my projects, but he didn’t seem satisfied and ended up asking, “What’s the difference between you and a fresher you don't even know basics” I may not be perfect, but I’ve worked on multiple live projects from scratch building things end-to-end, learning through real challenges and deadlines. It was quite a discouraging experience, but I’ll take it as a reminder to keep improving and stay confident in what I’ve genuinely built and learned.