A brief guide to being a self-taught coder (from someone who did it)
Sigma School
17th August 2023
I'm not saying I'm the best coder. However, I can confidently say that I've successfully transitioned to become a full-fledged self-taught coder that is good enough to get a job.
I guess that's really the benchmark for anyone wanting to transition into the tech world, being good enough to get a job. A person can learn all they want, but if they are not hireable, their skills come to naught.
Here's what I learnt along my one and a half years journey from a zero to someone who managed to land a decent developer job, and now am running my own tech startup, figuring out architectural problems and data modelling problems.
Coding is not an easy job. If it was so easy, everyone would already be landing one left and right. Many self-taught coders often give up due to the numerous challenges they face, especially in the beginning. The puzzles, challenges and countless hours of debugging often leave coders feeling dejected, down and demotivated to continue on this relentless pursuit towards a better life and future for themselves. They often will question themselves during the many hours of struggle "why am i really doing this". As they sit at their laptops, having spent the last half and hour going in circles on a problem they cant seem to solve, most will just give up. And that would be the end of it. **Be persistent. In the face of struggles and challenges, face it head on.**
To be a techie is to constantly be curious. To explore the tech world and the wonderful world that it provides.
Often, most take the easy way out and learn only what is necessary to pass exams at uni.
Exploration in the tech world is like a child wondering in a forest, looking at the trees, the mountains, the animals. Hearing the sounds. You have to get lost to truly find it's gems and hidden wonders. This forest that is the world of technology is a fascinating one.
Tech is an ever changing landscape that is like a river, constantly moving, changing course, rough and turbulent. This is the world of technology, with a never ending list of new libraries, technologies and software being released by some guy in a garage somewhere in the world.
We as technology enthusiasts have to constantly embrace the uncertainty and unknown in this world that is tech. We have to be the seekers of knew knowledge, willing to throw away those that was old and adopt the new and different.
This mindset is what makes an amazing up to date coder.
They often say, we cant see our own flaws and mistakes. Yet when we work with others, they are able to offer new perspectives and insights that are impossible for us to know.
Working with other coders is the means of collaborating, chatting, working on projects together and contributing to open source code. It's about learning from one another as well as giving back to the community that has once helped you.
The reason why we become coders is due to the countless opportunities out there to build, impact and learn from one another. Thus, we should always support the local community by attending their events. Come, speak at one share knowledge, exchange ideas and above all make new friends and have fun. Who says coding is all about sitting in front of a computer all alone. Get out there and make a difference.
If you like this blog, explore more on the topic of how to become a productive programmer and learn how to escape when you face coding anxiety trap.
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