how long did it take you to learn your dps job to a comfortable level?

[Post]

any tips on figuring out when is the right time to buff the party? Should it be my first action in my raid?

Generally, if your buff or debuff lasts 20 seconds, use it immediately after your first GCD during the fight (not whatever you pull the boss with). If it's 15 seconds, weave in after 2 more GCDs (the third). DNC is a special case because Technical Finish'll take time to deploy, so start it immediately after the fight starts and it'll buff everyone at the right time (after those 4 dance steps, and you weave Devilment in right after the buff so both it and Tech are on your partner for 20 sec simultaneously); remember to pull the boss with a readied Standard Finish so you and your partner are stronger immediately and because it's a big hit you want on cooldown asap. They kinda design most jobs around fitting everything in every 2 min within that period of 15 to 20 seconds.

If you're playing something more out of the loop like AST, try and keep an eye on any job in your party that has a more defined rotation, like DNC, as Technical Finish'll buff everyone in your party every 2 min. Knowledge of other job buffs can help.

As you get deeper, sometimes it helps to hold buffs, like during an add phase where the boss isn't attackable (if the boss will return before your buffs come back again) because extra damage on the add phase doesn't usually help your group beat the boss faster unless it's struggling with the adds themselves. Another case is when you have multiple of the same job. Since jobs get cooldowns usually every 60,90 or 120 seconds, if you're the second DNC in a party try to use your 2 min every odd minute while the other DNC hits every even minute of a fight. This goes for debuffs on a target too, like SCH's Chain Strategem or NIN's Mug, as these effects cannot stack but everyone in the alliance raid benefits while they're active.

Also, this isn't as much of a thing anymore, but be mindful to watch to see if your buff actually hits everyone. For example, sometimes boss hitboxes are huge and the tank insists on standing waaaay at the far end of it for no reason so you might not reach them, or your buff might return right after the group spread out for an attack.