Top Secrets Behind Becoming a Successful Programmer
General Overview of Programming
So you want to be a programmer. Whether you want to just program for fun, or if you want to make it into a career, there are certain things that you can do to improve your skills quicker than just getting a college degree. While getting a degree or certain certifications can be helpful when looking for a programming job, they can only get your foot in the door. When it really comes down to it, you have to prove your superiors that you actually know what you’re doing and that you can contribute. On top of that, if you aren’t a good programmer, then the amount of applications/projects that you can reasonably accomplish goes down. So, you are missing out on working on some pretty cool stuff by not developing your programming skills.
Learn Coding through Self-study
So first things first: learn on your own. I would say those who program on their own and get a head start before college are already a few levels ahead. No matter what language you program in, as a programmer you have to learn a new way of thinking. Learning how to code is like learning how to speak a different language. It’s not easy, so taking the initiative and looking up YouTube tutorials, or buying Udemy courses, or talking with a more experienced friend are all steps in the right direction.
Right practice makes perfect
You should practice. If you find programming to be stressful or boring at times, you are definitely not alone. However, if you don’t even feel motivated to code or create your own projects, then you might want to start looking into a different field of programming. In order to understand a language and all of its quirks, it’s a necessity that you actually USE it, not just learn it. Learning how to program is like learning how to bike in many ways, once you learn how to do it and it clicks, you can never unlearn it. However, in order to keep your skills refined and to continuously learn more complex ideas, you need keep your coding skills sharp.
Set your own learning goals
The possibly most important thing to do is to stop comparing yourself to others. It can be humbling going to codefests and seeing that 16 year old kid who can already create a working iPhone application with a full-fledged backend and frontend, along with a beautiful graphical user interface. But, if a 16 year old can do it, that means that it probably can’t take that long to learn how to. Like every other career field, the field of computer science can be very competitive which leads everyone involved to compare themselves to others. Instead of becoming down and depressed because you see others around you succeeding while you don’t, become inspired to be like them one day.
Programming is no joke and it is not for everybody. However, if you feel stuck or feel like you are no longer improving (or you are improving slowly), look into doing the suggested things above. This field can be very fun and rewarding, but without putting in the proper effort, it can be easy to fall behind and feel like you are inferior to other developers around you.
Practical suggestions
While you can use online free resources and self-study to learn coding for your hobby projects, it’s highly recommended to learn it from professional instructors if you wish to pursue it as a software engineer, mobile App developer or professional web designer. There are lots of tricks and recipes that only can be learned from seasoned programmers. For instance, DC Web Makers Company only offers project-based training where students learn concepts through real world projects. Likewise, all advance programmers start with learning the logic of coding, then they move on to algorithm design. Indeed, the most accomplished programmers are the ones that can create most efficient algorithms for new coding problems. One of the most challenging courses in computer engineering or computer science schools is algorithm design. In short, for any programming language you wish to learn, you have to master it through hands-on project-based training. There are lots of resources for learning programming professionally. For instance, Coding Bootcamps institute offers many basic to advance programming classes with focuses on projects and algorithm design for adults while High School Technology Services offers similar classes for teenagers.
Lastly, nowadays there is variety of coding languages available to students. It’s advisable to discuss with an IT career counselor to understand what career direction best fits your skills. For instance, if you want to be a software engineer, learning HTML and CSS might not fit the bill.
