Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#1

Post by throwaway88p » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 5:56 PM UTC

So I've been working in the industry for a while, and as a hobbyist for a good bit of time before that. Currently my career have consisted of writing and maintaining simple CRUD apps, and to be honest I hate it. Its mind numbingly boring and I certainly dont want to spend my life doing that. I've tried to branch out into a number of different things, but nothing sticks. I fail to understand, fail to recognize patterns, am too slow to understand simple concepts and never retain anything. Occasionally understand the individual concepts of something but then her completely lost when they're all combined in some applied method. Thi bis true not just for CS and software development, but other technical and mathematical subjects I've attempted to learn.

The typical suggestions for people in my situation dont interest me. These seem to be roles adjacent to what I do now and often, but closer to business then tech. These might include becoming a business analyst, technical salesman, fast tracking to management, etc. These are sound even worse to me than what I do now, and given the choice I'd just stick with development.

Now I'd likely have to return to some sort of schooling and I'm young enough to do it (I guess), but given my intellectual limitation and my stubbornness on what I take interest in, I'm not sure what options I have.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#2

Post by canarypilot » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:50 PM UTC

You say you’re stubborn on what you take an interest in. Could you expand on that?

The other prompt that felt interesting to me was that you feel an intellectual limitation in terms of what you retain, what does that look like in practice?

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#3

Post by dlandis » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:52 PM UTC

Do you feel passionate about any particular subject, trade, or issue at all, regardless of whether or not it's connected to tech?

Reminds me of this famous scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2HhlTEHMc

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#4

Post by godelski » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:52 PM UTC

I may be off base here, but it sounds to me like you just aren't interested in the subjects. One of the biggest factors to learning is how much interest you have. There are tricks you can do to get yourself more interested, but it does take a fair amount of work and isn't always effective. But if you wonder why sometimes we can remember silly details or whole complicated plotlines from stories but can't remember a simple math formula, a lot of it is actually your interest levels. Your brain prioritizes the stories because it is interesting, you can relate, and thus form strong neural connections. It is much harder to do that with a math equation that is fairly abstract and not in constant use.

So I would start at finding which thing interests you the most. What meets the job criteria that you are looking for BUT also excites you? Then focus on moving in that direction.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#5

Post by k__ » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:55 PM UTC

I would not consider myself very smart.

Took me multiple years, probably a decade between my first hello world and my first job, to become a programmer.

I just didn't give up

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#6

Post by fegu » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:56 PM UTC

Even CRUD apps can have fun stuff: APIs, live GUI updates for everyone else logged in when a user makes a change, security (both designing and pentesting), building your own toolbox for accelerating development of the next one, usage monitoring etc. Some of these will impress clients and make your superior recognize you as a talent. This will make it more fun and open up new possibilities all by itself.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#7

Post by seneca » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:57 PM UTC

So, by your own admission, you aren't intelligent enough to excel in your current profession. You're not interested in pivoting to adjacent fields. Your constraints are basically that you're not capable of, or interested in, any technical, or tech adjacent, fields. HN might have a hard time helping you here, since the fields you're ruling out are exactly what the site focuses on.

It sounds like you're basically at square one. Do you have another skill set? Are you particularly interested in some other field? It's difficult for a stranger to give you life advice when all we know is what you are not interested in or capable of. Tell us more about what does feel engaging for you, and we may be able to help more.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#8

Post by jackyinger » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:59 PM UTC

This sounds kindof like a pathological mode of thinking I sometimes get into. So here’s what I do to escape that mode of thinking/feeling when I find myself in it. Hopefully it will help.

If you find yourself having trouble figuring something out, do not beat yourself up over how much trouble you’re having. That type of thought takes you down a really rough negative spiral.

Instead, focus on your desire and will to figure it out or get it done. Believe in your ability to figure it out and then go prove yourself right by using your will to do so to power the work that will get your where you want to go.

You have the power to pull yourself out of the rut, and you can get help from folks like counselors and peers too. But fundamentally, I have found that it takes a strong internal will to get out of a rut. I think that you can find that will and act upon it.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#9

Post by elijahparker » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 6:59 PM UTC

godelski wrote: post #4

I may be off base here, but it sounds to me like you just aren't interested in the subjects. One of the biggest factors to learning is how much interest you have. There are tricks you can do to get yourself more interested, but it does take a fair amount of work and isn't always effective. But if you wonder why sometimes we can remember silly details or whole complicated plotlines from stories but can't remember a si…

I would strongly agree with this — learning and retention for me come easily when I’m interested, but are near impossible when I feel it’s irrelevant or I’m just not interested. Whether or not I’m gifted in something I’m interested in doesn’t really matter (and my suggestion is to not worry about this) since my interest gives me the perseverance and patience to learn and do well regardless of innate skill.

Re: Ask HN: Not smart enough to a programmer, where to take my life from here?

#10

Post by adverbly » Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 7:00 PM UTC

When was the last time you were working on something and lost track of time? This an indicator that you were in a flow state. Dont go for something you love doing - not everyone has that. Find something you can focus on, and that you can zone out while doing. This is honestly all most people can hope for.