Anyone with a computer, or heck, a tablet, can learn to code.
Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
201–210 of 269 posts
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#202Nobody who is not mentally disabled and owns a PC with an internet connection "wants to learn to code but can't". What about showing initiative and teach yourself with one of the infinite resources available on the internet?
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#203I would love for more people to code and I would love for veterans for find work but .... My impression is those who excel at coding (like everything else) love doing it. So, I would expect the majority to fail. It's doesn't seem like a skill like riding a bike where you learn it once and then it's just this thing you can pull out whenever (or maybe it just takes longer to get to that point). My point is, whenever I…
It's not just the passion but the ability to excel at it. I believe it's correlated with IQ. Most people want to believe it's teachable, because stating otherwise sounds cruel and elitist, but I see no reason to believe that it's not innate. If you have it, then learning and practicing can help bring it your potential. If you don't have it, you'll just be frustrated all the time trying to wrestle with the computer.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
It always baffles me when people say that algorithms aren't relevant to software development. It's like saying thermodynamics isn't relevant to engine design.
More like saying that knowing the atomic crystalline structures of metals isn't relevant to engine design.
Metal crystalline structures are taught in many metalworking trade schools, even if briefly. It has direct implications for things like heat treatment.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#205I would love for more people to code and I would love for veterans for find work but .... My impression is those who excel at coding (like everything else) love doing it. So, I would expect the majority to fail. It's doesn't seem like a skill like riding a bike where you learn it once and then it's just this thing you can pull out whenever (or maybe it just takes longer to get to that point). My point is, whenever I…
I've often felt this way in the past, but with experience I have to disagree.
There is a large range of skill needed for various jobs. I've met plenty of people writing software for a living that don't care about software. It's just a job to them. You don't need a PhD to hide in a corner writing test automation for mega corp.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#206I would love for more people to code and I would love for veterans for find work but .... My impression is those who excel at coding (like everything else) love doing it. So, I would expect the majority to fail. It's doesn't seem like a skill like riding a bike where you learn it once and then it's just this thing you can pull out whenever (or maybe it just takes longer to get to that point). My point is, whenever I…
It's not just the passion but the ability to excel at it. I believe it's correlated with IQ. Most people want to believe it's teachable, because stating otherwise sounds cruel and elitist, but I see no reason to believe that it's not innate. If you have it, then learning and practicing can help bring it your potential. If you don't have it, you'll just be frustrated all the time trying to wrestle with the computer.
As a teacher, I think of innate ability and teachability as separate issues. Innate ability almost certainly (imo) sets an ultimate limit, but there's plenty of room for accomplishment before it's reached. I actually do believe that every programmer is ultimately constrained by individual neurological factors. But I've also taught 'normal' people to code. They may not have what it takes to independently arrive at using BSP tree traversal to solve visibility in a twitch FPS at age 23, but I doubt most working programmers do, either.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
Weirdly they seem to ask the CS fundamentals that aren't as relevant (algorithms) and skip those that are (e.g. the relational model, data structures (uses of), type theory, formal grammar). I wouldn't say that you don't need it, but I would say that most companies ask about the wrong bits.
It always baffles me when people say that algorithms aren't relevant to software development. It's like saying thermodynamics isn't relevant to engine design.
How often do you actually implement algos? Unless you're coding libraries for a brand new language, you're just going to pick out someone else's implementation of it. Why redo that work?
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I worry that if the GI Bill was extended to code schools, we'd see the exact same thing happen again. This is dead on. I am a veteran currently going back to school for an engineering degree on the GI bill. When I got out of the service I didn't even consider going back to school, and just taught myself how to code and started working as a web developer. Once I made it to the point of working with other software en…
Many people think that most developers don't actually need CS (and much less math) fundamentals in their every-day work life. That's why coding interviews like big tech companies tend to do are controversial ("Why would an iOS developer need to able to balance a binary tree?"). Can you give some examples where you hid road blocks because of your lack of education?
You do need to know there is such a thing as a b-tree, and when you might want one, and that balancing is a thing that you might want to do, and when to do it - even if you never actually implement one from scratch yourself, you absolutely do need the vocabulary to refer to it and a general understanding of the concept. That's what a lot of self-taught coders are missing - the knowledge of the theory that makes it easy to communicate with others.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#209I would love for more people to code and I would love for veterans for find work but .... My impression is those who excel at coding (like everything else) love doing it. So, I would expect the majority to fail. It's doesn't seem like a skill like riding a bike where you learn it once and then it's just this thing you can pull out whenever (or maybe it just takes longer to get to that point). My point is, whenever I…
I've often felt this way in the past, but with experience I have to disagree. There is a large range of skill needed for various jobs. I've met plenty of people writing software for a living that don't care about software. It's just a job to them. You don't need a PhD to hide in a corner writing test automation for mega corp.
I have to agree here.
We must be able to find room for all the people coding to have a job.
I love writing code, live and breathe software, but I can't demand that everyone must have this passion.
However, a team consisting only of job coders tend to stagnate.
We must find the room for both.
Re: Thousands of Veterans Want to Learn to Code But Can’t
#210I would love for more people to code and I would love for veterans for find work but .... My impression is those who excel at coding (like everything else) love doing it. So, I would expect the majority to fail. It's doesn't seem like a skill like riding a bike where you learn it once and then it's just this thing you can pull out whenever (or maybe it just takes longer to get to that point). My point is, whenever I…
I've often felt this way in the past, but with experience I have to disagree. There is a large range of skill needed for various jobs. I've met plenty of people writing software for a living that don't care about software. It's just a job to them. You don't need a PhD to hide in a corner writing test automation for mega corp.
On the flip side, even if fixing motorcycles is what you love to do as a hobby, doing it for forty years professionally might be soul-killing and might not pay well.