Now we just need to turn 27 year old hackers into learning a bit of the business side (like myself).
Turning into a hacker aged 27
41–50 of 79 posts
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for the tips. Question: why are you hopping around different languages?
Initially I started with Python because everyone told me it was the best intro to coding, which it was and I'm glad I did. But I want to be focused on the web, so I think it's important to know PHP (despite some people knocking it, it's still used on 75% of the world's web servers). The two languages I'm really focusing on now is Ruby and PHP. I want to get good with both. And if you want to do anything on the web, y…
You know that you can do web development with Python, right? Django is a great solution for web development.
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#43I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
I believe that it is a byproduct of increasing popularity of hacking bringing in a more diverse group of people and the lack of formal support structures / "good" trade schools for programming. Before the internet was pervasive, a self-study of Programming was for the curious tinkerer. Now that it is incredibly mainstream, we are seeing more people who are approaching programming as a means to an end, for whom the so…
If programming is now attracting more mainstream interest as you said, I wonder if the pedagogy of disseminating programming knowledge will change. Will the educators (I can't think of a less formal word for this, but basically refers to anyone that wants to share knowledge, whether pros or amateurs) now approach teaching in a way that does not assume someone has been tinkering with Unix since they were 5, but instead cater to an audience of post-secondary and/or adult learners, including those of us that are career switchers? A section of O'Reilly's materials certainly serves this segment, but will the greater tech community cater to this new group of learners?
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#44I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
I don't know why there's a general "mentorship" trend recently and I have a visceral dislike of that particular term but I do know that my efforts to learn programming became dramatically more effective when I had someone helping me. There are so many unknown unknowns for a new programmer, having someone to just help nudge you in the right direction occasionally is tremendously useful. If that person is also a good coder, then you're more likely to start out with good habits. Bad habits in general are difficult to unlearn and if you're learning by yourself, you're unaware that you're even forming habits.
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#45I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
Some people need to be paid to learn something(a job), or pay someone to force them to learn something(trade $ for a grade/degree).
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#46I started learning how to code at 27 and am 29 now, still going strong. Frankly I wanted to do a web-startup, but realized that unless you can code, you're nerfed. Learning how to code completely free's you from being permanently stuck in "idea mode". The exception to that is if you have a lot of cash, and are willing to hire someone to build something for you. That's very expensive of course, since you're competing…
Even if you are hiring a programmer, it's still helpful to know how to code. You will be able explain your ideas and discuss the project intelligently.
You don't have to know how to code to hire a programmer, but being able to explain your idea clearly is very important.
Where it does help to know code is when you need to understand the programmer. If he or she can communicate clearly, then hang onto that person by any means necessary.
Within the law. No need to get all Buffalo Bill on him or her.
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#47I saw a another post just like this on Quora. I wonder if its part of a larger trend?
Sign of a top in the bubble? I am considering the jump as well (from i-banking), and have been putting in a considerable amount of work, but part of me is worried the growth we have seen will come crashing down soon and opportunities will disappear. It is hard to give up a nice salary and job security, especially when a similar position is very difficult to return to if things don't work.
Would you be interested in being tutored on writing a web app? I'm assuming you live in NYC? I can tutor you how to build a full web stack incising delaying it to the end user.
I'm interested in building a set of lessons for this purpose which I would then like to sell.if you don't know programmimng then it would be a bg commitment but You could definitely afford such a course.
If interested you can email me: railsnoob @ yahoo dot com
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#48If you don't want to code, oDesk can help you prototype quickly...just stick to a budget!
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#49I'm 25 years old and I'm pretty much doing the same thing. Taking time off to work on my programming chops instead of jumping into another idea again as the "business guy". It sure beats spending six-figures getting an MBA or going to grad school these days... and I'm learning a ton. I'm absolutely loving it. I learned Python first, then learned how to use linux and emacs, played with firefox add-ons to learn Javascr…
25 here as well. Started with python, moved to Javascript (building chrome extensions), and currently have been getting into obj-c/iOS building iphone apps. I'm working full time right now, and find it a little difficult to progress because I'm so tired after after work. I'm really trying to push myself though. I want to move to webapps (django) at some point, but have to scratch a few itches on the iphone platform first.
Re: Turning into a hacker aged 27
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe that it is a byproduct of increasing popularity of hacking bringing in a more diverse group of people and the lack of formal support structures / "good" trade schools for programming. Before the internet was pervasive, a self-study of Programming was for the curious tinkerer. Now that it is incredibly mainstream, we are seeing more people who are approaching programming as a means to an end, for whom the so…
If programming is now attracting more mainstream interest as you said, I wonder if the pedagogy of disseminating programming knowledge will change. Will the educators (I can't think of a less formal word for this, but basically refers to anyone that wants to share knowledge, whether pros or amateurs) now approach teaching in a way that does not assume someone has been tinkering with Unix since they were 5, but instea…
It already has, especially with the advent of things like railscasts (screen casts that teach new skills by example,) things like the javascript mentors mailing list and so forth.. i think you are on to something wrt writing for an audience and having that audience change as time goes on. I think the "popularizer" blogs that are basically n00b guides to web tech are increasing in popularity and directly increase the exposure of their curators...
for a direct example, compare the README.md in many GitHub projects to the pages on SourceForge.
We used to take for granted that you'd know how to get cvs, configure make and install for your system (and would understand architecture flags and so forth...) nowadays library authors (who in many ways are the "first educators" for their tech) are putting in more effort to make things as easy as "copy and paste this into your terminal to install."
That all said, it is kind of terrifying how many people are developing networked applications with only the most rudimentary understanding of networking...