Hi, I just started competing on codeforces recently so I can know what a competitive programming environment looks like. I took part in the codeforces round 336 (div. 2 of course), and I only solved the first problem. However, my rating went straight to specialist, and I'm a little confused why that is. Is it because it's my first rated contest?
In first contest it will be normal. after that if you contests is not better than another you will fall
Default rating of a unrated participant is 1500. If you perform better than your peers i.e. people who rated near to you then rating will increase otherwise it will decrease. In your case it is -30. But 1.5k rank is pretty good for first contest. My rank in first rated contest was 2.6k. :-P