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The funny thing is that someone very close to me knew how to program, and never once did they think it would be cool to show me how. I didn't write my first line of code until I was 26 or so. Maybe even later.

To be honest, I think that's how you become good - by working on your own stuff. I feel like my skills are rotting at work. I work with "cool tech," but I basically "learn it" for long enough to implement it and never look at it again.




You become good by spending long amounts of time on your computer, sometimes for 12 hours a day. It is a lonely and solitary activity.


"Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody want to lift no heavy-ass weights." - Ronnie Coleman


Some of the best coders I know are 9-5ers, with busy lives outside of anything to do with computers.

I understand where you're coming from but this is also a harmful mindset for anyone coming into the profession - I have been careful to emphasise to the people I'm tutoring to not make my mistakes and sacrifice life outside of work in the pursuit of "better" coding skills.


Best coders I know became good at coding long before they started working.


To be fair, long amounts of time practicing is how you get to be a really good musician, or basketball player, or skateboarder, or anything.

But that doesn't preclude practicing in the same general area as other people with similar interests. And even if you end up practicing for 4 hours a day entirely by yourself, there are still 12 other waking hours you can spend doing things with other people.


Solitary, sure, but definitely not lonely! I got my 120wpm+ typing speed by chatting for hours and hours with friends online :)


Having a good tutor helps alot. It's like having a multiple added to the grinding effect.




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