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Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#41

Post by bad-joke »

1. The frustration you're experiencing is normal. Even if you switched to another field where you had an easier time at first, you'd eventually encounter the same frustration at a certain point.

2. You will get better with practice.

3. Nobody is born knowing how to code. It's fairly absurd to imagine Nature carefully selecting the ability to configure Dockerfiles. There may be genetic markers for neurobiological traits that accelerate learning in certain fields, but this acceleration is only an advantage if you're trying to master as many things as possible within a lifespan, or you're working under some other deadline. If you really want to code (whether out of personal interest, financial interest, or some other motivation), you can do it as long as you practice correctly and put in the time.

4. Practicing correctly is important. I'd recommend the "Learning How to Learn" course. I personally keep this quote taped to my computer:

"The most effective learning requires a well-defined task with an appropriate difficulty level for the particular individual, informative feedback, and opportunities for repetition and corrections of errors."

From here:

https://www.norvig.com/21-days.html

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#42

Post by HeyImJonathan »

mlevental wrote: post #39

that problem is a red hard problem so don't feel too bad but I don't understand your brute force solution? the brute force solution is the last step of merge sort and then jumping to n//2

I think the OP was trying to accomplish the task without merging, so having a separate pointer for each array - with edge cases of differing array lengths?

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#43

Post by mlevental »

HeyImJonathan wrote: post #42
mlevental wrote: post #39

that problem is a red hard problem so don't feel too bad but I don't understand your brute force solution? the brute force solution is the last step of merge sort and then jumping to n//2

I think the OP was trying to accomplish the task without merging, so having a separate pointer for each array - with edge cases of differing array lengths?

yes that's much harder but not that's not what i would call the "brute force" solution so i'm not sure what they mean.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#44

Post by kamaal »

>>I enjoy trying to solve problems and coming up with a high level solution, but I get stuck for hours on details or miss vital parts of the algorithm so often it becomes a drag.

Even those people who invented these algorithms took years to do it. How do you expect yourself to do this in minutes?

Ability to not solve leetcode problems is a very bad proxy to measure anything with regards to your skills in delivering software.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#45

Post by anothergoogler »

srtjstjsj wrote: post #34
anothergoogler wrote: post #4

You said you brute-forced it, but you mentioned index variables. I thought the brute force solution would look something like: merged = sorted(a + b) median = merged[len(merged) / 2] Like twunde said, you just sound rusty. How often do you write code? Do you use Python or something else? It sounds like you're putting too much pressure on yourself.

That's not brute force; that's calling in the cavalry to do brute force for you.

Meh, it's a concise description of a median and it only uses builtin functions. People take "brute" too literally and think it means you should be writing a lot of code: It's about the performance.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#46

Post by p0d »

You’re wasting your time, don’t become a programmer!

My gut feeling is you won’t like that statement because you do want to be a programmer. Stick at it, you will be fine.

You are lacking in confidence. I created a saas product 10 years ago as a sysadmin with a quality of coding that would bring a tear to many programmer’s eyes.

My kids appreciate the code though as it has paid for about half a dozen trips to Disney.

If you want to work in programming you will. Part of the problem with your age group is expectation. Society has told you that you are all awesome which obviously can’t be true. You may be awesome, you may be good, you may be ok. Be confident and do the best you can when you get a job.

Ps. Some of my coding errors have involved editing the wrong file and spending several hours troubleshooting. A colleage also nicknamed me arraybreaker as I often abused 0 index arrays. Your problems are much more advanced :-)

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#47

Post by Tmp1234 »

blacksoil wrote: post #16

I've a few years of experience tutoring programming. From what often see and from reading your description, it sounds like your problem is "need better planning before jumping to writing a code". Programming is akin to building a house. Once the blueprint is figured out, the actual act of building (putting bricks together, etc) is actually pretty straightforward. The key though, is good the planning. By good planning…

I actually do go through the 5 steps you mentioned, but the problem is I don't see parts of the algorithm I'm missing until test cases fail or until I'm actually translating to code.

The need to make what I'm thinking precise and understandable to the computer or the oversight of edge cases or, sometimes, an entire set of cases I didn't have in mind originally when coming up with the high level solution, evades me until I hit a wall. I don't know how to know what I don't know- I don't know how to see what I'm overlooking when it sounds like a solid and complete algorithm on a high level.

Then there are times when I simply don't know where to start and nothing comes to me. I think your outline is good, but I'm not sure what to do with it if the ideas and logic simply don't come to my head.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#48

Post by Tmp1234 »

usgroup wrote: post #28

Don't give up ... Westerners are bit obsessed with the idea of "revealed" talents and leading indicators of capabilities. Pursue the things that draw you regardless of how good you are at them initially... don't waste your time lamenting test results. I would love to rant about the non-causality of IQ, grades, etc but it seems tangential. Coding is not an activity reserved for the "gifted". Your daily thought process…

The problem is that the interviews for the jobs are basically IQ tests wrapped in a layer of prerequisite computer science knowledge. The job itself, I'm willing to bet, also requires raw intelligence even if its one of those cases where getting in is harder than staying in. If I don't have the raw intelligence, the necessary conclusion is that my time would be better spent else where. Wouldn't you agree?

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#49

Post by Tmp1234 »

glenr wrote: post #18

I was a bit like you... struggled at university, failed plenty of topics (some twice) because it never "clicked". I fluked a job at a small company and turns out I'm pretty decent with people & understanding what people want/need. I got by with my code, but it was elementary if I'm honest with myself. For the past 14 years I've run my own web dev company but I understood my limitations and hired people who are actual…

I have a passion for coding, but I don't think I'm very good at it. It's not fun to do anything if every single step results in getting massively stuck especially when those steps are considered prerequisites to being competent. At that point, it just seems like a person is barking up the wrong tree.

I got into programming for the money and because I like problem solving and concrete results. I honestly think it would be perfect match if I had +10 IQ points. As for your suggestion, I wouldn't know where to begin looking for things "on the side" as you put it.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit trying to be a programmer?

#50

Post by Tmp1234 »

ldd wrote: post #6

I've been in your shoes before, and I think the others have said it better, but basically: - You need better practice, not more practice - There's a difference between and . - Go through the MOOC "learning how to learn", sleep 8 hours, eat some ice cream, get hired by a small company, become a programmer. Thank me in a couple of weeks for that.

What is MOOC?
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