Tips for a young aspiring developer

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I am a high school sophomore looking to increase my programming knowledge more specifically in the web development area. Now given that there are obviously a lot of questions i have when entering the field of web development.

1.What was it like when you first started programming?
2.What age did you start to program?
3.I am also participating in FreeCodeCamp to hone my web development skills are there any other resource i should be using.
4.Do you have any tips for when you get stuck on something difficult. Also what your policy on using other people’s code?
5.Any other thing you might wanna add will be extremely useful any help is better than no help.

Thank you all

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  1. I was excited, I’ve never felt that power haha.
  2. I was 12 years old.
  3. Check @P1xt lists.
  4. Do something else, your brain will keep trying to solve the problem in the background. I use open source projects, so the author already knows people are going to use it.
  5. Have fun, you’re young, feel free to experiment with new technologies and don’t marry yourself to one.
1 Like
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1. What was it like when you first started programming?

It was kind of hard. But, taking it day-by-day made it easier.

2. What age did you start to program

When I was about 12 yo, I learned a little basic Apple II programming, then stopped. When I was about 32 yo, I started learning programming again in college. When I was about 40 yo, I started in a Junior level ASP.Net MVC and SharePoint Developer position. When I was about 42 yo, my twilight years, I started my current position that is between a Junior and Mid level ASP.Net MVC and SharePoint Developer.

3. I am going through FreeCodeCamp learn React and Node development.

Besides FreeCodeCamp, I will be using Udemy, CodeCademy and Code School as additional training sources.

4a. Do you have any tips for when you get stuck on something difficult.

When you get stuck, move to something else. This will give your mind a break. I have actually solved a lot of problems doing other things like wood working, cleaning house, or anything else. This gives your subconscious time to ponder a problem.

4b. Also what your policy on using other people’s code?

There is nothing wrong with using someone else’s code. However, just don’t trying to pass it off as your own. In my code, I have added comments with links to a source

5. Any other thing you might wanna add will be extremely useful any help is better than no help.

Ensure your family comes first, and have fun. Then, play around with different technologies. Always try to learn something new everyday.

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  1. Awesome made programs to on TI-83 to automagically do my homework
  2. High School
  3. Watch youtube videos tutorials, code conference videos, read articles/docs, review/clone/write code on github.
  4. When I get stuck: try to debug, if debugging takes to long, read docs/review code about the foundation dissect every word and function. Remove and introduce code carefully by testing frequently to verify functionality and catch bugs immediately. Use hot module reload to update code as soon as you save while preserving state for quick feedback loop while coding. Finally, if this takes to long I will switch to another coding functionality that is equally important for a project and revisit later.
  5. When you encounter coding patterns, strive to be efficient–writing less code for fuller effect. Try to be declarative and modular but in a way that reduces complexity. Examine your work flow and tools do you use, compare with other coders who post videos and articles.
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  1. It was frustrating trying to do things I saw better programmers do when I started. Not too dissimilar to now :slight_smile:
  2. Started around 10 years old doing things like mad libs.
    In my teens I was doing things like this: http://www.dachimpy.com/applications/view/application_id/7
    In university I was doing things like this: Loading...
    Career Progression went along the lines of:
    Development support at 21,
    Junior Developer at 22,
    Developer at 23,
    Senior Developer (Unofficial team lead) at 25,
    (Now) Senior Developer & Software Architect at 27
  3. The scope of the challenges in FreeCodeCamp are going to be limited in the grand scheme of things. It’s great for the building blocks but there’s lots to be said for creating a much bigger project based on something that you love. There are so many problems to solve that only come with a bigger scale.
  4. Coffee. When that fails, buy a coffee machine. Using other people’s code is fine, using code that you don’t understand is dangerous.
  5. Software is a frustrating career, you have to enjoy it to put up with the frustration of it all. If you do enjoy it though, it’s awesome!