can't code on my own but i was offered a jr software development job
I'm someone who can't write code from scratch. I've built a few small apps by understanding the logic, then finding examples online or using AI for small, specific tasks rather than huge prompts. My actual job isn't in software; i'm an electrician who's looking to change career as i've graduated Computer Science few years back.
I've mainly made apps and demos for a friend for fun. While applying for a junior QA position, I was contacted by someone senior at a software development company after my friend showed them my projects. During the interview, I explained that my long term goal is QA and eventually cybersecurity, preferably in a low code environment. They said they mainly do software development but also have QA opportunities and asked if I was interested. Since my main goal is simply to get into the industry, I said yes.
A few days ago they sent me a one week project. Instead of a QA task, they asked me to build a ticket management app with ticket creation, viewing, categorization, and filtering. I can use any tools, sources, or AI I want, as long as I can explain the code and the logic. The only requirements are Angular for the frontend and C#/.NET for the backend.
I'm feeling conflicted because I still can't code independently. I worry I'll embarrass myself if I'm asked to write code from scratch, and I almost feel guilty for accepting the project.
I'm not sure what professional developers actually do. Do they mostly write everything from scratch? Do they regularly rely on documentation, examples, Stack Overflow, and AI? Is it normal to focus on making things work while understanding the code, even if you couldn't have written it all from memory?
My current plan is to build a basic version mostly through research, then improve it with AI assistance while making sure I fully understand and can explain every part. I'm just unsure if that's an acceptable way to work or if I'm approaching this completely wrong.