Have you been considering a career as a software developer / programmer, but you're not sure if it's right for you? You want to know if you're cut out for coding? Here are some things that I think you should ask yourself...
1. Do You Like Solving Problems?
As a software developer or programmer, essentially what you are doing is solving problems with your code. How do I make x do y? If you enjoy logic puzzles and spending time figuring things out, then you might be a good fit. If you don't have much patience for this sort of thing or get easily frustrated, then you might find this career difficult.
2. Do You Enjoy Learning?
In your life as a developer, every day is a school day. You will always be learning things and you will never know everything. There are so many different languages and frameworks to learn...and these are always changing and being updated. You'll constantly need to learn new technologies and methods, sometimes in work and sometimes in your own time. This means you need to be adaptable to change. Are you prepared to be learning new things all the time? Are you open to continuously educating yourself?
3. Are You Self-Motivated?
Self-motivation is the force that keeps pushing us to go on – it's our internal drive to achieve, produce, develop, and keep moving forward. When you think you're ready to quit something, or you just don't know how to start, your self-motivation is what pushes you to go on. ~mindtools.com
This is an extremely useful skill to have in software development. When you're working on a project and things aren't going your way, you can't just give up. You might need to spend hours sometimes Googling a solution, fixing a bug, testing, testing....and more testing. Self-motivation gives you that resilience to carry on and find a way. Are you somebody who doesn't give up?
4. Do You Like To Build Things?
The job of a developer is essentially to build things with code. If you enjoy the process of building something and seeing it all coming together, then you may just enjoy this job. You should find it very satisfying to see the final product after all your hard work.
5. Are You Excited About Technology?
No you don't need to be totally obsessed, but you should have some interest in technology...after all, code is a language that communicates with computers. Having an interest in the latest technologies and being curious about how things work will enable you to learn things that will inspire you and help you in your career. If you're not interested in technology, then will you really be interested in writing code for it?
So there are just 5 things that I would advise someone to think about if they were considering this career path. Are there any other pieces of advice that you would give?
Top comments (5)
6.Do you like communicating with other people?Seriously, that's more than half the job.
That's definitely true! It takes a lot more social interaction than some people might think
Great article Tia I agree with all your points. When I 1st started learning I actually did not have much patience but with time I have developed more patience. I think that is something one can work on. I also agree with you and Jason I think communication skills are very important 🙂
4 is wary. Unless it's your product, don't expect to be building something you like. You might have an influence but remember it's the business's decision of what you're going to build.
Great article Tia. Straight out the bat as i read your post i am shaking my head yep, thats me at each point. Makes me feel like i am heading on the right path 😊.