I've been at it for 3 weeks now. much harder than I thought it was going to be. Feeling like it was a mistake.
I've been at it for 3 weeks now. much harder than I thought it was going to be. Feeling like it was a mistake.
What was your previous occupation?
People often see coding as a skill you can just easily learn on your own time then get a job with but it takes a lot longer than 3 weeks to be worth hiring.
Out of curiousity, what did you spend those weeks learning?
hombre3000 wrote:
I've been at it for 3 weeks now. much harder than I thought it was going to be. Feeling like it was a mistake.
This is pretty common. I would guess that it doesn't turn out to be worthwhile for most people who attempt it.
flfkf wrote:
People often see coding as a skill you can just easily learn on your own time then get a job with but it takes a lot longer than 3 weeks to be worth hiring.
Out of curiousity, what did you spend those weeks learning?
I've given myself 3 months to study and evaluate my progress at that time. So it's too early to draw any conclusions, at least at this time.
I've been focusing on a mix of:
1) CS classes available through MIT open courseware (including Math for CS, algorithms, etc)
2) Practical coding problems on Codewars
3) Writing mathematical proofs
I've been focusing on python
Film Rep wrote:
What was your previous occupation?
Tech sales
hombre3000 wrote:
Film Rep wrote:
What was your previous occupation?
Tech sales
lol why did you quit? you would've had a way easier time transferring internally with any new skills you learned than competing on the job market with people with eng backgrounds.
tech firms love internal mobility
Harvard offers an online version of their intro CS courses as well as follow-up courses depending on the path you are interested in. This is what I used to begin learning CS and programming in general and I think it is about as good of an online CS learning experience as you can find online. I recommend you try it out and see if you are still really struggling. If you are, you have to decide whether you want to push through and get it done or if it is too much for you (for now at least), but I honestly think that anybody can learn to do it, especially with the help of Malan and crew in Cambridge.
Watch the lectures, watch the extra videos, do all of the work, and you will improve. Here is this year's course -- it is updated yearly as it corresponds with the in-person CS50 course at Harvard (the lectures are filmed live and used for CS50x).
There is so much to learn in the software world. I'm 5 years into my career, on top of what I learned in college. I'm still learning new things every week. In the beginning it's every day you're learning new things, I imagine the super experienced guys it might be once a month they learn something that they haven't seen before.
Anyway, there is just so much stuff that you might run into. You don't just have to be good at software development, you have to be good at learning these new things on the fly. You'll often run into something that you don't know, and have to figure it out on your own quickly.
Pandora's Box wrote:
There is so much to learn in the software world. I'm 5 years into my career, on top of what I learned in college. I'm still learning new things every week. In the beginning it's every day you're learning new things, I imagine the super experienced guys it might be once a month they learn something that they haven't seen before.
Anyway, there is just so much stuff that you might run into. You don't just have to be good at software development, you have to be good at learning these new things on the fly. You'll often run into something that you don't know, and have to figure it out on your own quickly.
Thanks for the input.
I have a 1-2 year runway in terms of savings. I'd prefer not to burn through all of it. I'm worried the pressure to make money will force me back into a career I'd rather avoid (Sales)
hombre3000 wrote:
Pandora's Box wrote:
There is so much to learn in the software world. I'm 5 years into my career, on top of what I learned in college. I'm still learning new things every week. In the beginning it's every day you're learning new things, I imagine the super experienced guys it might be once a month they learn something that they haven't seen before.
Anyway, there is just so much stuff that you might run into. You don't just have to be good at software development, you have to be good at learning these new things on the fly. You'll often run into something that you don't know, and have to figure it out on your own quickly.
Thanks for the input.
I have a 1-2 year runway in terms of savings. I'd prefer not to burn through all of it. I'm worried the pressure to make money will force me back into a career I'd rather avoid (Sales)
I don't remember all the particulars but there was a Canadian writer who completed an on-line 4-year Computer Science program (maybe MIT or Harvard) in like one year and then chronicled it. His discipline was off-the-charts. He was completing 10 courses every 3 months and we are talking about physics, etc.
This is why there are Project Managers. Make sure you buy a book on that.
Coding schools/bootcamps, etc., are a scam. You've dipped your toes into it, and yes, it's hard! Problem is, it's not terribly hard for an awful lot of people, and those are the sort of people who do this 24-7 because.
You might pick up enough to land a job, but I doubt you'll make more than a mid-range tech salesperson. And, as mentioned above, moving internally in those companies is much better, considering.
hombre3000 wrote:
flfkf wrote:
People often see coding as a skill you can just easily learn on your own time then get a job with but it takes a lot longer than 3 weeks to be worth hiring.
Out of curiousity, what did you spend those weeks learning?
I've given myself 3 months to study and evaluate my progress at that time. So it's too early to draw any conclusions, at least at this time.
I've been focusing on a mix of:
1) CS classes available through MIT open courseware (including Math for CS, algorithms, etc)
2) Practical coding problems on Codewars
3) Writing mathematical proofs
I've been focusing on python
Math and algorithms are great base knowledge to have but honestly they won't help you get hired imo. I would suggest looking through job postings in your area, make note of what skills are in demand, then pick one area to get really good at. Ex. If you learn wordpress, html, css, javascript, and php, you can find a job as a junior webdev then expand on that from there.
Also, come time to apply, you will need a portfolio of some sort to show what you can do since you will have no related experience to refer to. Keep this in mind as you learn because you can practice by working on these portfolio items.
hombre3000 wrote:
flfkf wrote:
People often see coding as a skill you can just easily learn on your own time then get a job with but it takes a lot longer than 3 weeks to be worth hiring.
Out of curiousity, what did you spend those weeks learning?
I've given myself 3 months to study and evaluate my progress at that time. So it's too early to draw any conclusions, at least at this time.
I've been focusing on a mix of:
1) CS classes available through MIT open courseware (including Math for CS, algorithms, etc)
2) Practical coding problems on Codewars
3) Writing mathematical proofs
I've been focusing on python
Do you have any programming background? What kind of job are you looking for?
I'm not sure what sort of proofs are going to help you here...
I'm been trying to come up with some words of advice but I don't really have any. Learning to code is like learning a new language, it's easy for some people and hard for others. At some point if you've studied for long enough, things will start to click. 3 months should be enough to see some real progress. Good luck.
flfkf wrote:
hombre3000 wrote:
I've given myself 3 months to study and evaluate my progress at that time. So it's too early to draw any conclusions, at least at this time.
I've been focusing on a mix of:
1) CS classes available through MIT open courseware (including Math for CS, algorithms, etc)
2) Practical coding problems on Codewars
3) Writing mathematical proofs
I've been focusing on python
Math and algorithms are great base knowledge to have but honestly they won't help you get hired imo. I would suggest looking through job postings in your area, make note of what skills are in demand, then pick one area to get really good at. Ex. If you learn wordpress, html, css, javascript, and php, you can find a job as a junior webdev then expand on that from there.
Also, come time to apply, you will need a portfolio of some sort to show what you can do since you will have no related experience to refer to. Keep this in mind as you learn because you can practice by working on these portfolio items.
This is mostly wrong. Math and algorithms would be extremely useful for someone wanting to aim toward programming areas like machine learning and such.
With a resume consisting of wordpress, html, css, javascript, and php, you would not likely be hired by me, not least because I would suspect that your knowledge of javascript does not extend beyond copy and paste.
"make note of what skills are in demand, then pick one area to get really good at" -- this, however, is good advice. Not because it will make you immediately employable, but because it will provide a base from which to build. Learning to program in python is as good a place to begin as any.
Update: I just solved 2 somewhat difficult coding challenges. Confidence is increasing. lol
Do any of these boot camps have courses that are not some months long, full time commitment? A lot of us have bills and expenses and we can't risk everything for a coding boot camp that probably over promises and under delivers.
I did cs50x first and enjoyed it, so I decided to quit my job like you. It was hard to keep going independently so I enrolled in an online postbacc CS program at Oregon State last fall. The classes have been good and It's been great to have a community of students in similar situations, many of whom are still working fulltime while in the program. I'll end up with a BS in CS as a second degree, and I've been hearing the success stories of many alumni and current students in the highly active Slack community (there's also a subreddit).
Stick with it. My son went to college not knowing anything about computers (other than playing games on them). He ended up majoring in computer science. Now he has a high paying job as a programmer in NYC, and he gets contacted by headhunters all the time for other high paying jobs. He struggled a bit in college , but the market for these jobs is great.
software engineer wrote:
flfkf wrote:
Math and algorithms are great base knowledge to have but honestly they won't help you get hired imo. I would suggest looking through job postings in your area, make note of what skills are in demand, then pick one area to get really good at. Ex. If you learn wordpress, html, css, javascript, and php, you can find a job as a junior webdev then expand on that from there.
Also, come time to apply, you will need a portfolio of some sort to show what you can do since you will have no related experience to refer to. Keep this in mind as you learn because you can practice by working on these portfolio items.
This is mostly wrong. Math and algorithms would be extremely useful for someone wanting to aim toward programming areas like machine learning and such.
I disagree. How many self taught devs with no experience or related credentials do you hire into machine learning roles? I bet 0. He's gotta think realistic. Get into the field then build from there.
Like I said, math and algorithms are great, but for the type of job he will likely start with, I doubt those skills would count for much.
For what it's worth OP, I have lived your same scenario. I graduated with a general science degree (idiodic choice on my part lol) and couldn't find a job after. I lived in my parents basement practicing coding for 2 years after that. The skills I practiced were the same ones I suggested in my last post, but there are definitely a lot of options for you there. At first just doing little websites and apps on my own, then I found a company willing to pay me for a few hours worth of work here and there, and then I finally got hired full time at a software company. Stay persistent, keep learning, and keep applying (once you're ready). It will pay off in the end.