I’ve been working in a toxic environment for the past 1.5 years and realized that I’m actually going to have a tough time finding a job outside because my coding skills has gone to rust (been delegated to mostly support role in a startup, almost IT support or project mgmt).

I recently did an interview for a C++ gig and was rejected due to not being sufficient enough.

I’m actually really feeling defeated. It almost feels like I’ve falling into a trap I can’t get out of. I could use some advice

Maybe do some personal project to refresh your knowledge and skills

Keep giving interviews, learn from your mistakes and repeat.

It's only a matter of time when you crack the next one.

It'll come back to you quicker than you might think. Spend the evening doing a variety of coding bits and pieces, and make sure you go over every interview task again to make sure you can do it ok. You'll get there - just takes persistence 👍

People who go to rust do struggle, the syntax isn’t that easy

@IdontHaveAName Then they just need to Go.

Grab some of your old code and try to improve it. That will jog your memory.

Don't focus on the obscure features of C++, they are bad anyway. They overcomplicate. KISS is extremely important for getting something out to market and for the full life cycle of the software. Complexity means failure.

When you look through and even run your old code through a debugger to watch it work, it will come back to you gradually. Dedicate several evenings.

Most toxic environments exist because people are making decisions or reactions based upon fear. Try to see what others fear to understand the reaction. Once you understand the motivation, you understand the person.