Discussion on: Quick question: "How did you learn to code?"

I started out loving computers and wanting to code as a kid. I wrote my first program on a graphing calculator in high school. I went to college, got into computer science, and promptly quit.

It took me a year to learn how to code hangman in Java at a university. I was convinced I would never learn to code at a professional level at that speed. So I switched to Japanese language and got a degree in that.

Then, not living in Japan, I decided to get a job as a firefighter. I became a paramedic, then a nurse. I worked for years in the medical field. And in spare moments I wondered... "What if I had stuck with coding?"

I came across some YouTube videos about coding bootcamps, found one in my area, and bet thousands of dollars that I could become a developer in six months.

I didn't think I could, but I wanted it so badly that I tried anyway. I worked as a nurse during the day and then at night I went to learn about JavaScript at the bootcamp. I spent all my spare time coding.

Towards the end of the course, I started apply to jobs. I got rejected a lot. I asked for feedback on my resume and portfolio. I kept applying. A week after the bootcamp ended I got my first job offer. I haven't looked back since!