*header pic by Shen Comix
Imagine that you traveled back in time and met your younger self, taking the first steps towards a dev career. What advice would you give to your younger self?
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Top comments (31)
Well, I am 13 yrs old, so technically I'm still young.
One of the things I tell myself is that anyone can code anything. It's not impossible to code. Even if you fail multiple times, and get many bugs in your code, eventually, you will find a solution, no matter what.
Another tip is to be open in trying out new languages. 4 years ago, I was afraid of coding anything other than scratch. (Scratch is not a language, lol) I just didn't want to do anything other than scratch. I was afraid to try other programming languages. I eventually discovered web dev, and now it's one of my favorite things to do.
And my last tip is to join developer forums if you haven't already. Forums like this help me grow.
Your age is quite impressive! (Happy for you that you will not be blocked you entire life on Scratch...)
Totally agree with the advice to try new languages. At the start, I was afraid of some words like Javascript, algorithms, and PHP, I imagined a lot of complexity and things to learn before being able to understand a bit. And finally, when you start and discover some basics and some first functions and possibilities, all the complexity you could imagine is gone away.
My advice would be to have side projects because you will learn a lot by trying to build new things and the motivation can be higher because you have full control over how you drive your projects, ideas, and choices.
Second advice is to be curious and always search further than other teach you or further their explanations. You learnt by heart some CLI commands ? Why not go deeper to understand what they really do instead of just applying your knowledge ?
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Yep - I have side projects too! Check out --> smartlist.ga
Codemasters was two teenage brothers writing games for the ZX Spectrum in their bedroom in the 1980s. Last year they sold the company to EA Games for 1 Billion dollars
Respect 😀
I would tell myself to finish my projects and out them out there. There is no point in hoarding projects.😅 Also, experiment with different things. Even if it's just the basics, it will give you exposure to new experiences and interesting opportunities. Lasty, don't be afraid to share what you know. Comment in forums, join communities and posts about what you know and like.
There is a fundamental difference between knowing how to code and knowing a specific language or framework. Being able to construct the logic flow is the real skill; you can always Google syntax
If I could go back to a time when I first started with programming and also going to developer meetups, then it would be don't trust people who seemly have good intentions. And when they are about to pull off their con game, call them out. And make sure you're in a position where they can't bring you down with them.
Also, I would tell me myself to trust the people who's self-interest are completely transparent even if it is selfish. And it's for two reasons: 1.) I can see their ill-intent a mile away and can plan for it and 2.) They're goals can be easily steered into serving the greater good (the group as a whole or the community at large)
This could of saved me from a lot of broken hearts and would've put a lot of good people I've known in better situations.
I wish I would have had the courage to put myself out there and start the developer career earlier. I was too worried about being in a certain state and felt that I had to master many things before applying to the field.
For a long time, I felt like I wasn't a "real developer" and now know how broad the term "software developer" even is!
I feel you. Imposter syndrome. But the good thing about it is that it mostly affects people who have real knowledge in their area. :)
Interesting question! To whomever this is helpful, you are most likely already young and eager, and wanting to be a super-coder. Well, I can't help you with that. :-)
Here are some other recommendations to think about!
Good luck and health to you all!
Best,
Sebastian.
I would tell myself.
Listen to me!
🤣🤣
When you get to the point where you’re deciding between getting some sleep or working some more, pick sleep.
Choosing to keep working at that point always seemed like a good idea at the time, but it never was.
Not getting enough sleep has probably cost me over a million dollars over the course of my career. (No joke)
Do you mean health issues has costed you so much?
Not really, but making poor decisions due to being sleep deprived certainly has. For example, quitting and leaving a bunch of options behind for reasons that seemed reasonable at the time, but in the clarity of hindsight, were probably the result of just being exhausted and needing a few weeks of R&R. That adds up over time in ways my younger self never appreciated.
I would tell myself to just stop for a second and think what really make you happy. Take a look from a side on anything you doing in life and iterate through each thing and ask myself "why am I doing this?". Maybe it sound crazy (if someone expect some advice like "learn another language" etc.) but my advice is to just take your time and think what really matter for you (make you happy).
Just listen to your mother.
I had my first contact with coding in my 20s and my teacher wasn't so good (basically just made us copy and past code). In that time I just could think "I suck as a developer", so I changed my career (biology).
Now, 12 years later, I'm backing to coding and IT. And I'm loving it (just like I used to love technology times ago).
My mother always said to continue the IT area. Learning from mistakes.
Sorry my English.