I was never good at math or problem solving, and I certainly do not think rationally or logically in the way "engineers" do.
The majority of writing code has nothing to do with math. It is a set of instructions, logical steps, that tell a computer to do something and it does it. If you go into a software field requiring heavy math (e.g. physics calculations for launching stuff into space), you'll have to brush up on your advanced Calculus. Most programming, however, is simple arithmetic, mostly incrementing and decrementing values. Fingers are handy for pretty much everything math-wise in programming. Your fingers can count from 1 to 10 in decimal and 0 to 1023 in binary. Just watch out for "4", "128", and "132" in binary - don't want to accidentally flip someone off. SpeedCrunch, Windows Calculator in Programmer mode, and sometimes firing up Excel are good enough for most everything else.
The number one thing that separates good developers from bad developers is that a good developer has "people skills." They can sit with stakeholders in a meeting and gather a set of loosely defined requirements from various parties, mull them over, design and plan out an application, and then come back to the table with very specific questions that need very specific answers in order to build the application. That requires the ability to communicate with other people and has nothing to do with the actual writing of software. Sure, at some point, there is actual code that has to be written but 90% of paid software development has little to do with writing software. That said, it certainly doesn't hurt to also be a powerhouse dev that can crank out a solution.
I often find myself looking to outside resources over and over again on Youtube, Google, Github, forums... and I feel like I still don't understand what is going of half of the time. I know that I have only been learning how to code a very short amount of time, but I just would like to know if things will ever stick in my brain, and when they do, will I understand what I'm even doing?
I use those resources myself as do all the good devs out there. And why not? They are there to be used! Although, YouTube not so much - there's way too much "let me spend 5 minutes padding out my video and eventually get around to the actual topic but somehow also avoid the topic in the process." YouTube is largely for entertainment.
Once you have learned how to write software in one programming language, you can write software in basically any programming language. The syntax might change a bit, but all the good languages have similar structures to them because they want to attract developers to use the language.
You should consider what type of software interests you. There are an unlimited number of ways to go in the industry. Web development is popular, but there's embedded development, driver development, game development, enterprise/business B2B development, OS development, and the list pretty much goes on indefinitely. Figure out what it is you want to work on and the rest will mostly naturally fall into place. A bootcamp can get you up to speed on writing code but only you know what will spark your imagination.
You're so right about the math part! That was the part that I was mostly stressed about is how much math would actually be involved and why I pushed off studying any sort of programming language, but I'm not trying to launch a rocket into space so I am good with counting by using just my fingers haha!
I mentioned in an earlier comment I've found a good group of developers that post very useful videos and tutorials on Youtube, and I will be forever grateful to them for taking the time to record and post hours long videos.
Web development is popular, but there's embedded development, driver development, game development, enterprise/business B2B development, OS development, and the list pretty much goes on indefinitely.
Thank you so much for giving me these suggestions because I have yet to figure out what I actually want to do. At the moment I am just trying to finish this bootcamp and worry about an actual career path once I receive the certificate. This is stressful enough, and adding job searching to the mix would just be overkill haha!
I am also searching in my brain different projects I can do for myself to help me figure the path I want to take after I graduate
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
The majority of writing code has nothing to do with math. It is a set of instructions, logical steps, that tell a computer to do something and it does it. If you go into a software field requiring heavy math (e.g. physics calculations for launching stuff into space), you'll have to brush up on your advanced Calculus. Most programming, however, is simple arithmetic, mostly incrementing and decrementing values. Fingers are handy for pretty much everything math-wise in programming. Your fingers can count from 1 to 10 in decimal and 0 to 1023 in binary. Just watch out for "4", "128", and "132" in binary - don't want to accidentally flip someone off. SpeedCrunch, Windows Calculator in Programmer mode, and sometimes firing up Excel are good enough for most everything else.
The number one thing that separates good developers from bad developers is that a good developer has "people skills." They can sit with stakeholders in a meeting and gather a set of loosely defined requirements from various parties, mull them over, design and plan out an application, and then come back to the table with very specific questions that need very specific answers in order to build the application. That requires the ability to communicate with other people and has nothing to do with the actual writing of software. Sure, at some point, there is actual code that has to be written but 90% of paid software development has little to do with writing software. That said, it certainly doesn't hurt to also be a powerhouse dev that can crank out a solution.
I use those resources myself as do all the good devs out there. And why not? They are there to be used! Although, YouTube not so much - there's way too much "let me spend 5 minutes padding out my video and eventually get around to the actual topic but somehow also avoid the topic in the process." YouTube is largely for entertainment.
Once you have learned how to write software in one programming language, you can write software in basically any programming language. The syntax might change a bit, but all the good languages have similar structures to them because they want to attract developers to use the language.
You should consider what type of software interests you. There are an unlimited number of ways to go in the industry. Web development is popular, but there's embedded development, driver development, game development, enterprise/business B2B development, OS development, and the list pretty much goes on indefinitely. Figure out what it is you want to work on and the rest will mostly naturally fall into place. A bootcamp can get you up to speed on writing code but only you know what will spark your imagination.
You're so right about the math part! That was the part that I was mostly stressed about is how much math would actually be involved and why I pushed off studying any sort of programming language, but I'm not trying to launch a rocket into space so I am good with counting by using just my fingers haha!
I mentioned in an earlier comment I've found a good group of developers that post very useful videos and tutorials on Youtube, and I will be forever grateful to them for taking the time to record and post hours long videos.
Thank you so much for giving me these suggestions because I have yet to figure out what I actually want to do. At the moment I am just trying to finish this bootcamp and worry about an actual career path once I receive the certificate. This is stressful enough, and adding job searching to the mix would just be overkill haha!
I am also searching in my brain different projects I can do for myself to help me figure the path I want to take after I graduate