So, You Want to Be a Programmer?
Based on ForrestKnight's video (opens in a new tab) titled "So, you want to be a programmer?", there are two types of programmers:
- The Researchers: These programmers conduct extensive research and understand everything about the market and industry needs before writing a single line of code.
- The Doers: These programmers start coding to solve a specific problem they have, and they realize, "Hey, I kinda like this. How can I do this for a living?"
Both types can be successful, but the second type already enjoys coding. If you are the first type, you need to figure out how you can enjoy the process of coding and everything that involves it.
Ask yourself these questions:
What Type of Programmer Do You Want to Be?
- Fields: Games, web, mobile, LLM, Blockchain?
- You can change your mind later. You don't have to stick with the first thing you choose, and you can try many things before you find what you like.
What Skills Do You Need to Learn?
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Toolbox: Programming languages, frameworks, libraries, tools, etc.
- Learn the Basics: Know how to swing a hammer before building a house.
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Build Things by Yourself: Avoid the tutorial hell! You can learn a lot by doing things yourself, much more than by watching others do it.
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Be a Problem Solver: If you don't know how to do something, Google it, read the documentation, ask for help, etc.
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Be a Lifelong Learner: The tech world is always changing, so you need to be continuously learning new things.
How to Learn Programming
- Self-taught Learning: You don't need to go to college to be a programmer (though you can). You can learn by yourself, but you need to be disciplined and have a plan. Learning the basics about self-taught learning will be valuable when reading documentation.
- Play Around with Code: You can learn a lot by experimenting with code.
Start Small, Build Big
- Small Projects: Start with small projects and features. A program is basically a cluster of features.