
Being honest with myself: my journey to learning how to code - kine
http://zackshapiro.com/post/31002274175/being-honest-with-myself-my-journey-to-learning-how-to
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maudineormsby
This is more or less my story as well.

I graduated from college with a philosophy degree and took a job in marketing.
That job wasn't really marketing, despite the title, and I ended up
spearheading a digital marketing effort that was 95% technical project
management. That was the point when I realized I wanted to be the person
_making_ the products, not managing the people making them.

So I did everything I could to get closer to the technology. I quit my job in
the non-profit sector and moved to Chicago, took a job as a project manager at
a technology/marketing company, learned QA processes, taught myself python
over 12 months, built some scripts to automate tedious parts of my job, and
eventually got a job in Automated QA.

Now I'm an engineer in SF Bay Area at a startup. And yes, every day I go home
and realize that my brain is wrung out, my mind is exhausted, and I am totally
happy with it.

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valisystem
> And yes, every day I go home and realize that my brain is wrung out, my mind
> is exhausted, and I am totally happy with it.

I had this issue the first two years I worked full time as a developer. It
disappeared eventually.

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maudineormsby
Hmm, I really hope it doesn't go away. It's the best part of the job. I have
seen a number of my peers still doing this after many years, and still
experiencing the same thing.

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keiferski
I'm currently learning how to code. The biggest problem that I consistently
have is _getting the damn thing to work._ I'm about halfway through the Hartl
Rails Tutorial, and moving at a snails pace because I have to google error
messages every five minutes.

I end up spending hours changing permissions, re-installing packages, and
poring over StackOverflow posts. I get that real-life software development is
very similar, but I'd really just like to build something.

Coding isn't all that hard (in my experience). It's the tangential stuff that
makes it hard, and as a result, turns people off from learning.

~~~
clavalle
A huge part of coding is tenacity.

Run into a problem you can't figure out? Time to get resourceful...go for the
common solutions first: Think through the problem and try to figure out where
you went wrong. If that doesn't work, look at similar examples and
documentation. If that doesn't work go to the common win areas: StackOverflow,
Google. If that doesn't work, go on to IRC or forums. If that doesn't work
walk over to a knowledgeable collegue etc. etc. until, all at once, the
solution comes to you like a bolt out of the blue and it is like you've known
it your whole life. Rinse and Repeat until you've built something useful.

The hard part is not cutting corners and sacrificing your original intent for
the sake of getting over a hump. This is not so hard when expectations are
clear like a tutorial but it is all-too-easy when creating a new product or
feature.

Good luck and welcome to the Tribe!

~~~
benji-york
I have come to believe that tenacity is the most useful skill (or trait) that
programming can teach (or ingrain).

Done well, the tenacity that a programmer possesses looks almost super-human
to outside observers as well as being extremely valuable in other areas of
endeavour.

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ExcitedByNoise
Good story. I did my undergrad in history and came out wanting to do something
else.

I spent a year on help desk, two years as a system and network administrator
(skills I acquired by studying while I was on help desk) then I transitioned
to development (which I studied for while doing admin) and now I lead my own
projects. Like other have mentioned, it's all about dedication, tenacity, and
passion.

However, I don't want to overlook the importance of the people along the way
who took a chance on me. Those people were just as important to me being able
to continue down this career path as the my own efforts.

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dradtke
A lot of my friends have the opposite problem. They're in college in order to
learn programming so they can make games, but they seem too content with
enjoying other people's games to realize how satisfying it can be to actually
create your own.

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bobbywilson0
I am interested in what you found to be the most effective learning tool or
tools along your path. How did going through the rails book compare to the
learning experiences on the job? Did you consider one of the many bootcamps,
online programs, or other more structured learning?

~~~
kine
Most effective for me have been Railscasts, building real projects and not
just following the book. Learning on the job far surpasses the book as I'm
actively engaged and not just following along on Rails (sorry, had to)

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emilepetrone
Great post - I did the same thing, and 2 years on, best decision I've ever
made. It takes time but the main thing is to take the plunge and stick with
it. Great job!

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n_coats
Bravo!

