
Ask HN: Why haven't you learned to code yet? - kiraken
In this age and time, coding is as close as we&#x27;d ever get to being gods. I mean we literally create something from nothing. Not to mention that the world becomes your oyster. I&#x27;m 20 years old and been making 60k a year for the past couple of years freelancing on the side of college. While my friends fear for their future it&#x27;s as bright as it could be for me, and i&#x27;m already receiving offers all around the world to work. But if you&#x27;re neither interested in power nor money then you&#x27;ll be able to find and share knowledge once you start coding. You literally can never stop learning.<p>The usual excuses are &quot;i&#x27;m too old&quot;, &quot;i don&#x27;t have enough time&quot;, &quot;i&#x27;m not talented&quot;... Well you&#x27;re never too old to learn something new, and as for time at first you only need an hour a day to get into coding, i don&#x27;t recommend throwing yourself into it, at first just start slow. And trust me its true that some people are talented in coding, but the people that make it are the ones that love it and work at it everyday until they master it.<p>Now comes the part &quot;What should i learn?&quot; Well it really depends on you, coding has multiple domains, but i always divide it into 3 big categories Software development, Web development and mobile development. All of them are good domains, and you can start in anyone of them and then specialize. For example if you choose web development you can either continue as a frontend, backend or a fullstack developer...<p>Learn to code. It will change your life for the better.
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gaius
Learn to cook instead. You will be happier, healthier, richer, and more
attractive, whichever gender you are, or prefer.

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dasmith91
See: [http://blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-
code/](http://blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code/)

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absolutenumber
You are quite naive to think every human being in the world must learn how to
code in order to earn income.

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kup0
I don't see where he says or even implies that? He's talking to typical HN
users, it seems to me?

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seren
The original post is puzzling because, the typical HN user is already able to
code, or at least have some awareness or familiarity with it.

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kup0
I am bad at managing my time after work. My current job leaves me drained at
the end of the day so then I chase after escapes (like gaming or Netflix).

I have a good grasp on HTML/CSS and a bit of PHP and JS, but everything else
(despite taking a few C++ classes years ago) feels almost like a brick wall.

I've tried reading up on Swift and some other languages and it just hasn't
clicked for me again yet.

I plan on trying and trying, because I would really like to go into either
programming or web dev instead of doing support like I am now. It would pay
more, be less frustrating, quieter, and more satisfying.

Maybe I'll get there eventually. Trying a few new things online (ebooks/etc
regarding Python and other languages). I think it's just not a focused-enough
effort from me yet.

TL;DR - I want to learn but I am standing in my own way and still working on
that

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robert_m_h
It might be that you are spreading your efforts out across too many languages.
My suggestion would be to try focusing in on one until you feel like you've
gained some traction. Good luck.

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Mz
_The usual excuses are "i'm too old", "i don't have enough time", "i'm not
talented"... _

I find this post incredibly insulting. Some people have real problems
interfering with their goals. This wasn't a sincere question. It's just
godawful, in so many ways.

Seeing this just makes me really angry.

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edimaudo
What is your definition of learning to code?

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AdmiralAsshat
I have learned to code. Just not very well.

That's sorta what happens when you don't follow things to completion. I have a
"working knowledge" of
C/C++/Java/Python/HTML/CSS/Javascript/jQuery/Bash/Powershell. The problem is I
use very few of them daily within my job, and hence the only thing I'd
consider myself truly "fluent" in is Bash, with C being a distant second on
the level of "I can read it pretty well but I don't actually have to write
it".

Hence, whatever else I scrape together in my free time is usually just
examples taken from books or e-learning courses, but very few practical
examples or projects to reinforce what I've learned.

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vezzy-fnord
_I mean we literally create something from nothing._

Uh... no, you do not. You might want to consider taking your own advice.

 _i always divide it into 3 big categories Software development, Web
development and mobile development_

I'm going to stress my latter statement even more.

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twelvedesign
My answer will be, I am not interested. Actually, I am decent in front-end
coding, but I don't code for living anymore. Instead, I design UX and UI. Why?
Because it is more interesting and rewarding for me. If I have a choice to
code or design, I choose design.

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J_Darnley
Hey. A not-so-humble-brag right here on HN!

Learning to code won't get you 60k a year.

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dominici
I have not learned because I do not know how or what to learn.

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i336_
There are quite a few other responses in this thread now that show that the OP
came across, to say the least, quite intimidatingly, and the wording of the
post dramatically oversimplified the complexity of other peoples' lives, and
the myriad of factors that would govern such a decision. So, don't feel bad.

That said, you've responded, and your response is valid even if the OP could
have been worded a little better. Thus, I reply. :P

What kinds of things in computing interest you? What do you spend most of your
time doing? What specific aspects of technology that you['ve] interact[ed]
with irritate you the most?

~~~
dominici
To give some background: I started college as 'undecided' and rode the
undecided train to 2 years of literature and philosophy classes which I
enjoyed greatly, then I took a programming class (it counted as a math
requirement) and it just made sense. I took a few more classes and wanted to
get a CS degree but tuition being what it is and me having almost all my
Liberal-Arts credits to grad this year that would be a terrible decision for
my current economic status.

Now, to answer your questions. If I recall correctly I had a nice introduction
to the Java Programming language, saw a few beginner data structures, and did
some regular student assignments.

I would not be able to answer what kind of computing interests me clearly. I
would have to dwell deeply into some aspect before I decide I have a lasting
interest in it.

Most of my time nowadays is spent playing around with different distros and
trying to make sense of the linux landscape. Java was OK. These days I played
around with HTML,CSS, Javascript but they didn't really fulfill me as much as
working only with code so I've been slowly trying to read more C code and I'm
making my way through the C Programming Language, a few pages every night at
full-concentration mode. The Linux From Scratch project captured my attention
a few days ago but I'm still on the fence about how productive that would be,
although the idea of seeing how the sausage is made is really exciting to me.

Things I find irritating: \-- cluttered UI \-- cumbersome/complicated code (I
love www.suckless.org and most of the things they do. Because my thoughts when
it comes to code and programming are pretty much the same as theirs. I use way
too many of their tools (surf, st, etc).

I'm not sure if I'm learning what I should be learning. Ultimately this is a
just a hobby to give me peace of mind when dealing with computers. I tend to
get side-tracked very easily and doubt my abilities too much. I realized that
when I've been trying to teach myself things I tend to read and re-read the
basics endlessly because I'm not sure when is the time to move on to more
complicated things. I've read the first 10 pages of kernighan and ritchie at
least 200 times, I shit you not.

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andrewmcwatters
Could you not?

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atmosx
I love your attitude, I'm sure you'll do great but please, don't be so
judgmental. Programming is not for everyone, people get older and as they grow
older their capacity to absorb knowledge diminishes.

