Why You Consider Learning Programming?
There are various reasons why you consider learning to program. You might be having thoughts of finding a job or earning more money, gaining power and the ability to control your life; or simply experiencing great mental pleasure.
There is no question that it’s always nice to make more money and find good jobs, but keep in mind: only about 1% of programmers are both good and have jobs.
You need to keep in mind that programming is not for everyone, it takes a lot of effort and isn’t so much fun at the beginning. However, it can be very rewarding once you learn how to use all the power you gain.
If you’re willing to put some serious hours into learning programming, you definitely can do it. Programming is simply about writing instructions for computers on how they should operate. You don’t need to go to college for this stuff; normal people are doing great at it every day.
If you’re convinced at this point, welcome aboard! I’ll briefly tell you the 5 main ideas that will guide us throughout this journey.
Table of Contents
1) Programming is about solving problems
Programming is all about defining the problem in one way, then defining it again in another way, and finding a solution that works in both circumstances. This process involves thinking very hard, but there are also ways to automate this process.
Also Read: Top Technology Stacks For Web Development
2) Programming is about learning a lot of things quickly
There’s a lot to learn in programming, but you should always approach it from the mindset that you’ll get better at it.
You can’t expect to become great by just reading this article so I recommend installing whatever tools I tell you to use and actually follow along with me. The most important thing is to actually do something about it.
3) Programming is a huge mess
There are a lot of different languages and technologies in the programming world, and none of them have been created equally.
You can notice this with the sites that offer blackjack games. This means that they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, but also their own idioms.
One language might use ‘.’ for writing while another might use ‘->’ for the same purpose. It’s up to you to find out what style of writing seems most comfortable for you, but it will never be perfect.
4) Be yourself; not like everyone else
One of the first things you probably heard about programming is “you should always make sure to comment your code”, but if you don’t agree with this, it’s perfectly fine. You should write down comments that are useful for you, not for anyone else.
If other people tend to program in a way that seems weird at first, this is because they’ve probably programmed before.
There is no standard programming language; different people use different languages, and verbal communication is even more ambiguous.
5) Get away from your computer
Programming is all about finding solutions to problems that are not directly related to computers.
You should try out other things in life that are far away from computers, you’ll learn many valuable things. They are good for you.
Do not become a slave to your computer or to programming, try having other hobbies too.
Also Read: What to Expect When Pursuing a Degree in Computer Science?
Conclusion
These are the main lessons you need to keep in mind for this journey. Let’s go back to your original question; “what will I learn?”.
Everyone learns different things with programming, it’s not about what you’ll learn but rather what problem you’re trying to solve. At least that’s how I learned, and if you follow this guide you will learn the same.