For the record, my nickname is an accurate description of my personality when it comes to coding.
I have been on a quest to become somewhat of a programmer, but I lack the ability to focus on just one language. I have spent some time on these languages:
Python (most of that time)
Rust
Go
F#
C#
And after all that time, I still cannot build a complete application in any of them.
What I think I need now is some guidance. I found the certification thing on this site for C# so that might help me get through the indecisiveness.
My dream is to become a Developer one day, but time is not on my side. In The Netherlands where I live people older than 50 are deemed ‘undesireble’ in the workforce. And I’m 41 now, don’t know if I will ever get there.
Its ok to taste few languages in the start, to get a more broader look, but you really should settle on one for a while in order to grasp basic and then, more complex coding techniques. Once you grasp these, you can move from one language to the other without big effort, because in their core, they all share very similar patterns, its the syntax that sets them apart and that usually is subject of googling and looking up their docs.
Its also important what type of developer you want to become, what fields attract you the most, because this is the major motivation when selecting a language, as most languages have very particular focus field.
So yeah, the first thing id ask myself is what coding field I want to pursue and from there on, you can find out answers to the questions which language to pick, how to learn it and become able to build larger projects in the end. And keep in mind at one point, projects can become very big and be built by several languages, is where your interest in many languages can come in handy.
I’m the same, having hoped from one language to another.
I’d suggest moving through the freeCodeCamp curriculum in order.
If you take breaks to build random things, or stop part way through to dive to another language, remember where you got to in the course and return to it.
Having something you consistently return to, really helps you see the progress you’ve made.
Try not to think to much about how old you are, or how long it seems to be taking to learn.
Be kind to yourself.
It's okay if you feel metaphorically lost at sea when it comes to programming. I only know because I too suffer from this, I wrote my first line of code June 6th 2013. I haven't landed a job in tech yet, went to college for computer science in 2004, still haven't finished...I said that to say this, I stopped measuring myself according to everyone else's standards of what success is and how fast it should be achieved. We are all at different chapters in our lives, some are on their chapter one while others are on their twenty. Our stories are all unique, if you have the grit and the drive to want to make it into tech then you will get it. At the end of the day it is a job, and a job is obtainable as long as you have the skills and certifications to be there! I still haven't given up my dreams of breaking into tech and landing my first job after almost 10 years, you shouldn't give up after a few. It's not an easy path, I also struggle with finding the correct "path" and how to find order in the chaos. I found I achieve more when I worry less about landing a job and more about what I'm creating and what value it brings. But that's how I cope, remember why you're doing it, have fun, and practice daily
Always have a project, then learn what you need to make it
Maybe the reason you haven’t made your own app yet is because you have just viewed courses without making projects?
My current approach is i take a 1h course (that’s usually how long it takes me to finish one of the lessons from FreeCodeCamp curriculum, then i start my own project and don’t go to the next lesson until i finish it (usually takes me a few hours to finish it).
In any case, message me if you’re looking for a coding buddy. We can do this!
Thanks for all the nice and informative reply’s so far.
I’m now doing the c# course on Freecodecamp! Since I am working in a Microsoft shop and I got some very good Intel on what the general direction will be in the foreseeable future, my bet is on the .Net platform for now.
Also working in F# because I personally really feel attracted to functional programming.
As the time to really learn a new language has not presented itself, I have picked up Python again and sought to build the typical beginner projects.
That’s how I came to finally get something working again. I have made a commandline contacts/addresses application consisting of these elements:
Made in Python:
Typer
TinyDB
Got the whole create/find/delete thing working already, only need to implement the update method. The database part is a class even. Then on to the unittesting part and I’m looking at Nuitka for compiling it to something fast.
