Programming, Expectation vs Reality

Learning to code can be very rewarding, as well as highly marketable. But how does the reality of coding stack up to the image you have in your head? Does it really require non-stop focus and no social life? Are you really going to be chained to your computer working on a project all weekend? Can you really build an app without knowing any programming languages? The answer to each of these questions is no, not necessarily.

Attitude

When learning a new skill or trying out a new hobby, it’s easy to feel intimidated. Whether you’re just learning how to code in JavaScript or going through MIT OpenCourseware for an upcoming architecture class, it can be hard not to compare yourself with others—especially those who seem particularly skilled at what they do. But here’s something worth remembering: It takes time and practice to master any skill. Keep that in mind next time you find yourself feeling discouraged by your progress or comparing yourself with others; while they may be further along than you are now, they weren’t always there either. Instead of focusing on what you don’t know—or other people might know—focus on what you can learn today.

Expectations

You’re going to create a game-changing mobile app that will change your life, find solutions to all of our data problems, and make you a million dollars. The reality: There are no shortcuts in programming. It takes an incredible amount of effort to write even small pieces of software. As with anything else worth doing in life (like losing weight), it’s easy to start something but hard to finish it. The most successful programmers aren’t necessarily smarter than everyone else – they just work harder than everyone else . There are two ways to approach coding; either be 100% devoted or realize that every minute you spend on programming is time you don’t spend living your life.

Time management

What people don’t understand about software engineers is that we are always multi-tasking. We have many different things going on at once and it seems as if we are keeping track of everything on our own. But for people who don’t code in their job, that might be hard to understand. So here’s a short breakdown of what an average day looks like for a programmer.

Your environment

What is your workspace like? Is it clean and organized or cluttered and chaotic? Are you working with a team or are you alone in a room? What time of day are you programming? What time of year is it? What is going on around you physically and socially when you program. Use all these to paint a picture for your reader. For example: Imagine yourself on a warm summer day with birds chirping outside. You're wearing shorts with no socks as you walk barefoot across a wood floor into an office space filled with natural light from big windows that surround your desk. You have to move things aside to fit your laptop onto your small wooden fold-out table, but once set up, it's cozy and comfortable.

People around you

Are they using programming as a hobby or are they actually putting it to use? Programming has become a great hobby over recent years. If you want to go into programming as more than just a hobby and make a career out of it you should probably understand how much hard work and dedication goes into it. I have been doing development for about 2 years now (in university setting) and in that time I have come to realize how far my skills fall short from being anywhere near useful outside of academia. You may be one of those people who is not happy with their current skill level in programming and are looking to improve it. Be aware that if you are not willing to put in lots of hours every week on your development skills you will never get anywhere near becoming good at programming.

Know what you want to learn

Before you start researching, be sure to know what you want to learn. Do you want to become a web developer? Learn Android development? Perhaps front-end web development is more your style. These questions help narrow down your search criteria and make finding answers much easier. Start by learning what programming languages are out there and picking one that catches your eye. And then go from there.

Work on your weaknesses

Though it’s common knowledge that it’s important to work on your strengths in order to succeed in life and business, we tend to gloss over our weaknesses. It can be tempting to ignore them completely when they’re holding us back—but don’t do it! Your weak points are often right next to your strong points. Look at what you know best and identify where you could use some extra help. If you need more persuasion, here are a few excellent articles that prove why working on your weaknesses makes sense: The Best Things in Life Are Free and What Really Motivates Us.