Complete newb programmer. Looking for tips/advise

I am a complete beginner with 0 knowledge on coding/programming.

I have been reading some post here and there and the #1 advise I see is to simply pick ONE language and focus on it. I read up on the difference between front end and back end and some of the languages and after some consideration I have decided to pick Python.

I got a book called “Python Crash Course” 2nd edition and I just started the first chapter today. My main question is this, my goal is to finish the whole book then read “Automate the boring stuff” and attempt to build my own trading algorithm which will simply inform me when markets are consolidating or form ranges which I can exploit. Is this realistic or am I dreaming too much? I do currently make a living from trading (Don’t sell courses or anything of the sorts).

Also, is it possible to find a REMOTE Jr.developer job after 6 months of learning and doing. I would love to learn all I can while I keep trading but this time I will use that money to compound my gains/invest.

Thank you.

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Yep, this is completely realistic. You know what you’re looking for and what you want to automate, you have domain knowledge, you’re dealing purely with data, that data is accessible over the web.

This is highly unlikely. Remote junior jobs are very uncommon. Also bear in mind that you’re competing against graduates who effectively have 2/3/4 years of learning and can prove they can work long term to finish projects to deadlines, and even they have difficulties getting non-remote jobs.

There are a lot of threads on the forums with a lot of useful advice re getting a first job, I’d have a dig through, the search functionality is pretty good and there’s some excellent stuff been posted about this.

Python was the first language I taught myself (after a brief flirt with C). It’s as intuitive as languages get. ATBSWP is tremendously accessible and IMHO gives you just the right challenge. I.e., it shows you how to do something, then asks you to do something a tiny bit different to make sure you understand. I’ve never done the “Crash Course” (I did Learn Python the Hard Way).

Python for algo trading/monitoring is good because Alpaca is a commission-free platform designed for algo trading and its API uses Python. Python is also great for machine learning / stats / AI application, but you need a tremendous amount of processing power to do that well. (And preferably a solid ability in multidimensional vector calculus and stat methods.)

I do not work in the industry, but have occasionally browsed listings. Generally the listings I see for python are (1) data science (2) machine learning (3) webdev. The third being notably behind the first two. The first two generally require a STRONG mathematical foundation–a programmer needs to understand what they’re automating, after all. Like I said, multidimensional calc and/or stats. (Ideally, also R and Python libraries like Keras, TensorFlow, Numpy, Pandas, etc.) The third requires at least a working knowledge of other web technologies (HTML, CSS , Javascript, etc.) or at least how Python can interact with them, plus ideally Python webdev frameworks (Django, Flask).

Six months depends on how you spend it. 40-60 hours/week? Maybe. 5 hours a week? Probably not. All depends on how much you learn.

All that said, learn Python. It’s totally worth it, even if you just automate a few simple tasks at home. And even if you can’t get a gig in 6 months, maybe a year or two later? And as someone else said, you can definitely get to the point where you can build an algo-trader/informer in 6 months, even at just a few hours a week. I was only doing a few hours a week and built some small functioning things within six months to a year. ATBSWP is great for giving you ideas on what you can automate.

Also feel free to DM me, I was thinking about building some algo trading stuff last year and got sidetracked on webdev and ML projects. Again, not to say I am an amazing programmer, but I think we have some similar interests.

Try to learn from documentation, if you can’t do a tutorial/course to learn the basics and then continue to build your own projects. Build projects out of your comfort zone, the bigger the projects the better!

Python is a good general starter language, throw in what you short term goals are (automation/data analysis) and you actually choose one of the best languages for the job.

The hard part of what your describing is the domain knowledge of what your doing (stock market/trading knowledge). The programming part is its own work, but it requires knowledge of the domain of work to actually be worth doing. If you plan on automating what you do manually either programmatically or even just automating common tasks, Python and that book are built to help you do it. This is especially true if you already make a living doing it, automating your processes using Python should only increase how much you can do once its setup properly.

This really depends on what you plan on learning, the jobs you have available to apply for, and how much time you have to learn. Even if you study 100% of your time away for a specific set of jobs for 6 months, you’d still have a tough time applying for jobs in that span and getting noticed, you will just lack the raw experience compared to someone who has been doing the same for a year or two.

This isn’t to say its impossible to find a job in that span, but it will be hard.

I personally believe you should play the “long game”, and study development while improving your current job of trading, together you get experience and still get paid. In the mean time lookup jobs you could apply to so you get more stability, and learn about the technology/knowledge that is required for those jobs.

Software development is very much a marathon, rather than a sprint. There isn’t really a state where “you just know what you need to know”. The field is always changing, new stuff comes out all the time, so getting to a specific point where you can just get a job doesn’t really exist. Rather you just can keep improving you own knowledge and keep applying to the jobs you find. Its a game of luck and odds that are tilted in favor of those with more knowledge and experience. Keep gaining that knowledge and experience yourself and it will increase your odds over time.

Good luck!