The 100 Reps Rule: Why Repetition Builds Better Engineers Than Courses

What nobody tells you about mastering real-world engineering skills- and how to build your own experience before you get the job.

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Welcome to another week, another opportunity to become a great DevOps and Software Engineer

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A few years ago, I gave one of my mentees the assignment that changed her entire career.

She had just finished learning HTML, CSS, and Tailwind. She was feeling good, ready to dive into JavaScript.

I told her:
“Don’t touch JavaScript yet. Build 70 landing pages first.”

She screamed.

But 3 months later, she came back with a portfolio full of clean, responsive landing pages. She could recreate any design, from scratch, in a few hours.
Fast-forward to today: She’s the go-to engineer at her company for UI builds, and she never second-guesses the fundamentals.

Not because she’s smarter than others. But because she repeated the basics enough times for them to become instinct.

You Don’t Need More Information

Let’s be honest — you already know how to learn.

You’ve taken courses. Watched videos. Bought the Udemy bundle. Maybe even gone through an entire bootcamp.

But most engineers are information-rich and experience-poor.

They’ve consumed a lot — but practiced very little.

And no, practicing once or twice doesn’t count.
Real experience happens when you’ve done it so many times, you stop having to think about it.

Why Repetition Works (And Courses Don’t)

Courses walk you through a pre-built problem with a pre-planned solution.

That’s helpful — once.

But you don’t become a strong engineer by following someone else’s path.
You become strong by building, breaking, and rebuilding things with your own hands — over and over again.

Repetition builds:

  • Speed

  • Pattern recognition

  • Problem-solving muscle

  • Confidence

This is why senior engineers can debug an issue faster than you even notice it’s broken. They’ve seen it — probably 30 times before.

They’re not better than you. They’ve just done more reps.

The 100 Reps Rule

If you want to build real skill, here’s the rule I teach:

“Do it 100 times.”

That’s it.

If you want to learn Git, don’t watch another 2-hour video.
Run git init, add, commit, push — a hundred times across real mini-projects.

If you’re learning Docker, don’t just read the docs.
Create, debug, and deploy Docker containers — until setting up a Dockerfile feels like muscle memory.

If you want to get better at debugging, take an old project and break it on purpose. Then fix it. Again. And again.

This doesn’t have to be miserable or time-consuming. You can:

  • Build the same landing page 10 different ways

  • Automate the same task using different scripts

  • Set up a pipeline from scratch until it feels effortless

The point isn’t to “finish.”
The point is to burn the skill into your brain.

Experience is Repetition, Not Time

Here’s the lie we’ve been told:
“Just get more experience.”

But what is experience?

It’s not about time.
It’s about reps.

An engineer who built and deployed 30 personal projects in 6 months will likely outperform someone who spent a year jumping between tutorials without ever shipping anything.

So stop waiting for a job to give you experience.
You can create your own. Starting now.

This Week’s Challenge

Think of one skill you’re trying to get better at.
Something that still feels awkward, slow, or confusing.

Now — commit to doing 100 reps.

It might take you a few weeks. Maybe a couple of months.
But I promise — you’ll come out the other side with actual skill, not just knowledge.

Don’t just learn it. Live it.

Coming up next week:

How to Stand Out in a Sea of “Average” Developers — We’ll dig into real strategies that make you visible to hiring managers, team leads, and decision-makers (without needing to be loud on LinkedIn or know the right people).

If you’re looking for a supportive community to help you grow faster, check out MentorAura.
We’re building the next generation of real-world engineers. And we’d love to have you with us.

P.S. If you found this helpful, share it with a friend or colleague who’s on their DevOps or Software engineering journey. Let’s grow together!

Got questions or thoughts? Reply to this newsletter-we’d love to hear from you!

See you on Next Week.

Remember to check out MentorAura → A powerful, all-in-one platform crafted to guide aspiring and seasoned tech professionals through their career journeys. MentorAura offers structured mentorship programs, career development tracks, industry-grade challenges, personalized learning paths, and community support. It’s your gateway to mastering tech skills, building a standout portfolio, receiving expert guidance, and connecting with a vibrant community of future innovators.

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