I'm 24 Y/O and have no experience with developing software whatsoever.
I graduated High School 7 years ago and didn't have a plan in mind for the future. Recently I've realized how much time has passed and how little I've done to improve my situation.
5 years ago I worked as an intern doing QA Testing at some startup and it was a fantastic experience which opened my eyes to a world that I knew nothing about. But since then I haven't made any moves towards becoming a part of that world.
I honestly feel quite disgusted with myself for not challenging myself mentally, for not having a career at this point in my life and not having money. I guess being unemployed for the last 6 months has really given me time to reflect on myself.
I have a plan in mind, which basically consists of throwing myself into programming for however long it takes until I become proficient in whatever language(s) I choose and then crafting a portfolio. But my dream is to build something of significance that will not only change my life, but the lives of others around me as well.
However I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not good enough and that it's too late, especially when I read stories of people younger than me kicking butt and taking names.
Math was never my strongest subject and if I had to go to college, there's a good chance that I'd be placed in remedial classes, just to give you a picture of where I currently stand. But I realize that the internet provides me with nearly unlimited resources to improve myself and achieve my dream.
My father and I fell out recently so I'm finally on my own, which is a good thing because now I really have an incentive to go all out, so to speak.
I'm lost and would like some guidance. I lurked for 2 years or so and decided to create an account today to post. I'd like to hear your story of how you got into Software Development and your struggles along the way. I'd also like some feedback on the best way to go about making my dream a reality.
Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
1–10 of 25 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#2First thing you need to learn: http://www.google.com/
Next, since you want to learn to code:
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#3To be frank with you, start working, hard. This is going to be your largest huddle. When you read this message, what were you doing? On Facebook (or some other social media)? On some game? Watching your giant Netflix queue? I don't know what it was but it probably wasn't coding. And if it was, then good! You're already on your way.
I honestly don't mean any of that to be mocking. I am just saying, a lot of people fail because of distractions from their primary goal. So now you have to ask yourself, what are you willing to give up? Are you willing to block out all of those distractions so you can start to learn a new skill? Only you can decide that and only you can make yourself fail if you don't.
Next, start building something. Honestly, you don't need to understand math at some high level to build great software applications. Go pick something and build it. Look at Jennifer Dewalt (http://blog.jenniferdewalt.com/). She set out to make one website per day for 180 days and blog about it. Imagine the amount of dedication to complete such a task. And look at how much she learned in that time! Just pick things are build them. Learn. Grow. Start right now.
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#4To become a software developer, all you have to do is develop some software and keep doing it. I started when I was 13 and now 12 years later I think I'm doing OK. I started doing Freelancing jobs since I was 19 or 20.
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#5[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#6Let's start with stating a positive. You're enthusiastic about developing software. You have no idea how many software engineers dread writing code (and thus delivering bad software).
Luckily, there are tons of great resources out there to learn to make whatever you want. Don't be overwhelmed by what's out there. Although HN is a fantastic place to keep up with what's going on, it's very easy to get caught up in the noise.
Learning to write software is like learning to do anything else. All it requires is practice. I was fortunate that I went through a university and it opened my eyes to a lot of theoretical things, but I am where I am today because I spent a lot of time outside of university learning things that were more practical.
I can point you to a few resources to get started (there are plenty more that people here can recommend!)
Generic Programming: https://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/
Web: Ruby on Rails - https://www.railstutorial.org/book Railscasts - http://railscasts.com
At the end of the day it depends on what you're interested in and what you want to make. I find that when I want to learn something new I try to remake what someone else has already made. That way I'm thinking less about the idea and more about how that software should be constructed.
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#7To be frank with you, start working, hard. This is going to be your largest huddle. When you read this message, what were you doing? On Facebook (or some other social media)? On some game? Watching your giant Netflix queue? I don't know what it was but it probably wasn't coding. And if it was, then good! You're already on your way. I honestly don't mean any of that to be mocking. I am just saying, a lot of people fai…
>I don't know what it was but it probably wasn't coding.
You're right, I wasn't coding.
I waste a lot of time on the internet not being productive, so I'll change this. I signed up for a codecademy account recently, so I'll challenge myself by doing some exercises there daily.
>So now you have to ask yourself, what are you willing to give up?
I think I'm finally ready to give up all of my distractions. I'm getting sick of not making any progress.
>Look at Jennifer Dewalt (http://blog.jenniferdewalt.com/).
This is great. I bookmarked her website and I'll check out her work. Maybe I'll do something similar once I feel capable enough to build something.
>To be frank with you, start working, hard.
>Learn. Grow. Start right now.
Thank you :)
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#8It is great that you have a goal and a direction, but you are pinning your hopes on something that you do not know very much about and you may not even like. It is easy to read about coding on the internet and think it is the answer: that you are going to lock yourself in a room for 6 months and when you come out your career and life will be sorted. This is a delusion, a common delusion many of us have to one degree or another. I switched careers to become a software developer and I'm already trying to figure out how to get to the next step. There was another post earlier today about a career switch and the poster seemed to be blaming it on the company. Becoming a software developer per se is not the answer. You need to focus on becoming a well-rounded person, part of which may involve becoming a software developer.
Being a dev involves a lot more than just coding; communication, organization, teamwork, etc. all go into development. These are skills that are harder to pick up from the internet than coding. It is for these reasons that I would recommend that you consider going to school as a good way to start your career. School is a clear cut path in a situation like yours where you are going from basically no experience to starting a career.
School is not the only way, but I personally would bet on it as the better outcome. Do not let math be a deterrent. You can learn it. Check out Barbara Oakley's book A Mind for Numbers and read Lockhart's Lament. It does not have to be an impediment. Finally, as you mentioned there are a lot of resources online. MIT Open courseware has a lot of awesome resources, especially the intro to programming with Python. Coursera is also obviously awesome. But if this career were as easy as spend 6 months or a year studying and come out making $100K then everyone would be doing it. You need a more realistic plan.
So you have a general direction: software development. Now make some short-term and long-term plans about how to lead a good life and do what you're interested in along the way.
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#9Well, I was 25 when I started learning how to code. The big motivator for me was the birth of my first child, and I was sick of minimum wage labor jobs.
Transitioning into software was a long process for me. I spent about two years working at it in the evening hours before I was able to land my first real job. There's a steep learning curve upfront and it takes a lot of effort. I would recommend signing up for classes at your local community college if you can. See if you like it first, then re-evaluate your decision after a semester or two. If you're like me, being enrolled in some kind of program is going to help keep you focused and on track.
Best of luck. You can do it!
Re: Ask HN: How do I become a Software Developer?
#10It is great that you have a goal and a direction, but you are pinning your hopes on something that you do not know very much about and you may not even like. It is easy to read about coding on the internet and think it is the answer: that you are going to lock yourself in a room for 6 months and when you come out your career and life will be sorted. This is a delusion, a common delusion many of us have to one degree…
Thanks for the insightful comment. I feel that a dose of realism is always helpful, especially when it comes to something as important as a career.
You're right that I don't know much about development and that I might not like it.
I grew up on the internet, from the days of AOL chatrooms during the 90s to various other websites and message boards. I learned how to repair computers as a teenager because of the internet and my interest computers. Now I can function as an (entry level) I.T. Technician. I focused a lot on maintaining hardware, software and Operating Systems, but never looked into creating software until pretty recently.
But what really got me interested was what Edward Snowden did. Because of his sacrifice I started to get interested in cryptography and open source software. I moved away from Windows to Debian just to experiment, and it turns out that Debian is actually pretty cool.
I believe in the utility of the internet and computers. To me, it just feels like the right step to take and even though I may regret my decision in the future, I'll still give it a shot and try to accomplish something. Besides, it'll be nice to challenge myself with a new hobby :)
I'll check out the book and course recommendations. I'm probably using math as an excuse to continue procrastinating because I'm afraid of failure, so I won't let that deter me. And I'll definitely consider going back to school once I start working again.