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everybody is learning howto code but when will people learn how to solve hard problems. I would rather see people learning complex math and physics before learning how to code. creating various crud applications is not really that hard.
I only saw two sites he made in his resume(two including the blog itself) and I'm surprised that's all it takes for $70k job. A lot of it is probably due to strong self-promotion and initiative rather than raw programming prowess.
@sherr Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I guess I should have clarified that by NO MEANS do I consider myself a Software Engineer, I am still VERY much a junior developer who has the awesome opportunity to get to work on an awesome development team at ZipList! I love getting to learn and be mentored by the senior developers at ZipList. I only wrote this article and blog to show others not to give into the…
It's still fascinating (and maybe a little sad, re: the state of programming) that you could end up earning 70k after a year of part-time(?) (hard!) self-study. Maybe even more sad that you (as I understand it) made less as a (presumably) proficient blacksmith.
All that said, we've got few blacksmiths in Norway, so if you want to switch back, consider migrating here ;-)
That said, it is a little disheartening to learn than I chose to learn technical skills (I love just learning about the differences between all the syntactically-similar C-based languages) only to be in the same stupid predicament of needing to rely on marketing and gimmicks to get a job.
Maybe if I did not live in the Hollywood of the programming world, that might not be the case but I do. It was a nice story nonetheless. I see he benefited from having friends who code to tell him exactly how to get the most out of his code 9 months. I spent three months doing a @"Code Year" += 2 at Codecademy --before --I formally even learned how to type (big mistake) and 6 months before I started commits to Github (bigger mistake?)... and I still have not been to a JS event. Not even Hacker Dojo.
Anyway, good for you for getting there. I will put down the text books and text editor and start networking...right after I finish this Objective C app.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think there's a much of a story to write about it, but I decided I don't want to waste a life employed in IT after all (as someone who's been coding all his life), and wanted to learn something new. Eventually I chose metal work; now I'm learning welding and machining. I'm also hoping to learn something about casting and forging and stuff. Coding will remain a hobby so that I may focus on what I love about it…
I'm currently learning how to weld as well (full time program). There's definitely something very satisfying in learning how to build things with your hands.
Now the maker inside me must've realized that making physical objects we use and rely on all the time isn't impossible, and can indeed be quite accessible once you learn a few things and make some investments (or find a good hackerspace?).
I would recommend any coders out there who code out of the love of creation and the freedom that comes with it, to at least consider expanding their horizon and learning to manipulate more than just bits. It doesn't have to be metal, in fact with 3D printing and diy electronics you could end up with something really awesome. (But don't forget 3d-fad isn't the only way to deal with plastics; it can be machined too, for instance). Combined with your software knowledge, who knows what great new ideas a new skill might bring with it? It'll deepen the experience of making for sure.
I read "month" as "day" and thought holy crap this guy is destroying it! I only saw two sites he made in his resume(two including the blog itself) and I'm surprised that's all it takes for $70k job. A lot of it is probably due to strong self-promotion and initiative rather than raw programming prowess.
everybody is learning howto code but when will people learn how to solve hard problems. I would rather see people learning complex math and physics before learning how to code. creating various crud applications is not really that hard.
You're right, but making CRUD apps pays a lot better (and more quickly) than complex math/physics.
Frankly, I'd be more interested in "How a developer learned to forge metal."
everybody is learning howto code but when will people learn how to solve hard problems. I would rather see people learning complex math and physics before learning how to code. creating various crud applications is not really that hard.
Once these problems are considered as solved and as frameworks/tools evolve further to get the CRUD out of the way really quickly, we'll see more people learning to solve complex problems.
In the UK, there's a fairly complex framework as to where you can shoot, how much you can shoot, and when you can do it. To this end, he's developed, single-handedly, iOS and Android apps for hunters to manage such and record their kills, principally for compliance purposes but also for their own edification.
Either way, it's been fascinating watching him learn - his approach has been to learn on the go, and iterate. He's gone from hacked-together PHP obscenity to android/iOS APIs and frameworks in about two years.