>We tend to downplay things we do or build ourselves, as if the very fact that another person (a boss) tells us to do something makes it immediately more valuable than if we choose to do that something ourselves.
I disagree, if you built something that involved collaborating with others thats inherently more valuable than what you build on your own. The reason is simple -- external assessment is ALWAYS preferred to self assessment of skill.
It's the difference between you saying you're a good programmer and someone else saying you're a good programmer. That small bit of indirection is very important.
If the apps still exist or had users he can just point to that. You don't really need to have collaborated with others. Plenty of valuable software is done by solo developers.
Yes but those "solo devs" are assessed externally usually from open source development etc. They haven't gotten where they are by saying they're really good. It has always been other people valuing and praising their contributions that gives them perceived value.
I disagree, if you built something that involved collaborating with others thats inherently more valuable than what you build on your own. The reason is simple -- external assessment is ALWAYS preferred to self assessment of skill.
It's the difference between you saying you're a good programmer and someone else saying you're a good programmer. That small bit of indirection is very important.