How to Learn Coding P4

This is one part of a multi-part post. To see other posts in the same series, please click below: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Recently one of my friends asked me if I intended to continue the series “How to Learn Coding,” of which the last part I wrote was one year and a half ago (tbh, I had already forgotten about that series). Well, reading again what I wrote back then, I think I ended the series for good: those lessons that the past me brought up there were all valid, and I don’t believe the today me can bring up any additional critical point. However, after some consideration, I still decided to write part 4 of the series, for the reason that I will explain shortly. Please allow me to be a little bit lengthy, though, as I think this context elaboration will give you, the readers, a better understanding of what I want to say.

In the last few months, I grew interested in quite a few topics, to the point that I decided to spend time learning them. The result: I failed miserably in all of those “missions” that I gave to myself. Everything starts typically at a time when I’m free from work (a holiday, or a long weekend due to bank holidays, etc.), I find something which seems interesting, decide that I should spend half an hour every day to acquire it, and then find myself skipping the routine altogether after a few days. It’s so difficult to add something to my (kinda strict) routine these days: I’d have to plan everything to the half-hour if I want to be able to finish all the things I have to do AND have time to learn something else, but just a minor change in the execution (like spending 15 more minutes to finish some task at work) will just ruin everything. And when I finally finish my stuff on time, I usually get too lazy and tired to study anyway (btw, do you guys notice that time flies so fast these days? I sometimes get a feeling that this year is still 2020). It makes me think how hard and frustrated it must be for you guys who also have full-time jobs and are learning programming (or just started, which is even more challenging). To be honest, I’m not sure that I would have come this far if I had to work full-time back when I had just started. For that reason, I think that some of the experiences that I wrote in the previous parts need to be clarified and/or even modified since they clearly won’t work if time is a serious matter.

8. Do your own research(es)

I was a student when I was studying, and I skipped school a lot. I didn’t even do the kind of part-time jobs or summer internships that most of my friends did at the time. I exercised much less than I do today, so most of my time was spent coding. And even then, it still felt like I needed more time: I didn’t know what kind of tech or what minor fields I would be interested in, so I tried everything I could: iOS, Android, Frontend, Backend, Data Analysis, Machine Learning, you name it. Unfortunately, if you have a job and/or a family, you won’t have that significant amount of time to spare, so you will need to be more strategic. The good news is, it’s not that difficult to use your precious time (much) more efficient than I did.

First of all, don’t be a fool like me and try to aim at everything at once. Yes, you may not know what you like yet, but that’s normal. Everybody’s preference changes from time to time, and it’s not uncommon to switch your primary language/technology in the middle of your career: your past working experience will still be valid. Your first job won’t likely be the one that requires you to have a basic understanding of everything. Still, you should at least get to a satisfactory level in some niche, which will allow you to work. If you don’t currently have any idea what kind of language/technology you like, I think it’s best to research the market and find the one that is in need of many interns/trainees or junior positions in your area (A quick LinkedIn search will tell you a lot).

Second, research on what you need to know will be beneficial. From my perspective, most of what I learned back before I got my job wasn’t necessary, even in the respected minor field. That means even if you want to learn a little bit of everything like I did, you still can improve the efficiency. There’s a rule called Pareto rule, which says that only 20% of what you do will be responsible for 80% of the outcome, so if you can align yourself a little bit towards that 20%, you will be able to do less and get a better result. However, to know what the 20% consists of will require some research, which may be very difficult if you’re new to the topic and may feel counter-productive when you have to spend extra time on something that doesn’t seem to be related. To proceed faster, find someone you know who is working with this technology, ask them what skills they think are really essential for everyone working in the matter, and if they know any good source to acquire that knowledge (If you don’t have anyone, then, as usual, ask the Internet.) The list you get will likely be opinionated, but at least you have something to start from. Don’t hesitate to learn from other sources, although it may cost you more time. As I have mentioned earlier, retaining the same thing from multiple sources helps you understand better. The key here is to save time by only studying the important stuff carefully, but not by checking them only once.

9. Don’t (or do) get unnecessary troubles

Self-studying to change a career is, by itself, a very frustrating and stressful journey. I remembered back before I got my job, I questioned myself so much. When I was supposed to finish my thesis and prepare for graduation, most of my friends in my years started getting job offers, internships, or at least good grades at school while it felt like I was going nowhere. I quit my thesis and didn’t get enough school credits that year for a permit renewal, so I was lucky not to be deported. On that course that I actually attended, I got “just passing” grades in some and failed in others. It was a “go big or go home” bet for me, and I was (almost literally) going home. Eventually, I realized that if I didn’t graduate, my chance of landing a job would be minimized, so I came back, committed to another thesis, and attended the remaining courses of my studies. It’s worth mentioning that I got perfect timing: I was about to submit my thesis when I got a job interview, and my boss asked me for my diploma).

You may not have the exact problem I had back then. Still, the point I want to make here is to avoid putting yourself into such situations that you risk losing many things if you fail. For e.g., it may be tempting to quit your current job and focus on studying (while you don’t have any other income or anyone to support your study) or to quit sleeping and exercising for more learning time, but then you’re in big trouble if you don’t succeed fast enough. As I’ve already mentioned in a previous part: good things take time, so be prepared to sustain yourself while things go on their course. Of course, if you’re the kind of person who tends to get more energy and success in high pressures, then just do whatever you want, but just so you know, I’ve given you my friendly warning.

10. Last but not least, be happy learning

While I have been talking about how you should “be strategic” with your study in this whole post, I want to finish by asking you not to overdo it. While getting a job as fast as possible might be necessary, it wouldn’t be worth anything if you had to sacrifice your fun to get there. Don’t aim to learn everything at once, but at the same time, do allow your curiosity to guide you. To understand what you find interesting, don’t worry too much if the thing is going to be “useful” in the following interview (unless you’ve already quit your job). After all, not all of us can work in the IT field, but it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the fun. And, with how much programming has affected our lives, some programming skills and/or technology knowledge will always make a difference.

This is one part of a multi-part post. To see other posts in the same series, please click below: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4