I've been coding 12+ hours a day, everyday for the past 9 months. I've been to the final round of 5 interviews but I wasn't chosen, I was offered a job from Docker only to find out they don't hire out of my country. I have an interview tomorrow and hoping this one goes well. Landing that first job is truly a grind..
I've been writing code for almost 50 years. Writing software is a joyous thing if you love it and a day of programming slips by quickly. The more languages and design techniques you learn the more they intertwine with previous ones you already know. However if programming doesn't come naturally and learning new skills is a chore, writing software can be a torturous career path.
I'm a self taught programmer and have been in the industry for over 30 years... The grind is the best thing for those that are actually interested in this industry. The grind lasts different lengths for different people but those struggles and what you learn from them make you a stronger developer in the end.
I have been coding for 25+ years. I love it, but it’s natural for the easy parts to go by quickly. Most of coding is bumping into problems and chewing on them for a while.
It's an extremely rare bonus to be in a job you still love after say, 10 years - let alone 20-50 years. For the vast, vast majority of workers in the world, their job IS a chore and serves only one purpose - to make enough money to live on. It's no coincidence then that those who love their jobs tend also to be making a significantly higher salary than the average. In other news, water is wet.
I'm currently pursuing a degree in CS field and truthfully I don't enjoy coding as I thought I would in the beginning - it stresses me out a lot. I have 7 classes left until I graduate.. so I feel I'm too far in to quit since I've taken a lot of loans already as well.
Self taught developer here with 11+ years of experience and without any CS background. Decision to become a software developer was the best thing I've ever made in my life. I have a good and on demand job, good salary and, of course, stable job position considering the current situation with C-19. I can work remotely from everywhere around the globe. So, if you have any doubts about "to be or not to be" - definitely "to be"
@@thelegendofthem6120 it depends from your region and sometimes even from you city. in my country every major language in demand, in India it may be Java, in USA C# or Golang or Python. but globaly python, java, c#, php maybe and of course JS
Unfortunately, a lot of people will realize that once they’re on stable ground in the various technologies they need to do the job, one of the hardest parts of the career is that you’ll be asked to do things that don’t make a lot of sense based on vague requests from people who don’t know anything about programming. The soft skills are a huge part of it.
I find that the URS is commonly the main issue - the more poorly constructed it is then then greater the likelihood the user/purchaser ends up with a sub-optimal product with waay too many decisions made by the coder, despite the fact they should be confirming such decisions with the user. Coders should also be more pro-active with such discussions and not assume 'they know best'.
Most of the time, I wish i hadn't look into the vague tasks those companies give out to those aspiring employees.... The desire to create gaming videos grows little by little. Still conflicted.
I am a developer for 23 years and I disagree on a few things. Learning to program is not hard. But hta is not what the market expects. The issue is that the market treats developer as a single capacitation/job when it is a whole class. It is like being an engineer. There are engineers for buildign bridges, engines, tires, textile fibers, cables, everything and they are NOT proeficient in each other fields. The hard part is that they expect you to be 3 or 4 professionals at same time.
@@carldrogo9492 No it is not illegal. They just create a position for FULL STACK programmer and they pretend that means you must be able to do anything. That is how the world have been for ages.
@@tiagodagostini You should be able to create/integrate/automate things, after all you are an software engineer, you are not a tool that is only capable of writing code. This is the always the problem when hiring for this position, people think that knowing the tool (language, framework) is enough, however this is totally incorrect, the requirement is for you to be fluent with the tools. To put this into perspective let's say you are a car mechanic, let's suppose you know how to change every part of the car no matter how complex it is. The question is will you be a successful mechanic? the answer is depends. If we talk about a repair shop, then no, changing of parts is a small subset of skills that does not matter in this context, what matters the most is finding the problem, in software words debugging. If we talk about a very big corporation where there is separate positions for finding problems and change parts, then yes. This complaining makes no sense, since you choose what you want to be yourself, want to be a monkey that will only write code and do the same things? choose a big corporation. The problem is that you are not the only one that wants this, nobody wants to invest and become and engineer since this is hard and long work, so corporations like google made their entry point hard (solving/optimizing algorithms is one of the hardest things a engineer can do), since they already have a lot of people, why not choose the best? Smart companies that are small/medium will never hire you based on the tools you know, it will be an advantage if you know the tools they use, however this will never be your winning argument, this is why after working for a few years your interviews will be different, you will be asked on what kind of problem you were solving and what you created/improved. I cannot stress it how many more possibilities you will have if you truly understand what you are doing, what problem you are solving with the code you are writing.
@@D4no00 I will give you a counter example. I am specialized in image processing. develop code for automatic diagnosis of diseases, automatic defect detection in production lines. Extremely specialized skills. Then when you get to a job they expect you to also change stuff in JS in the front of the system in 3 different frameworks.. You will NOT find people that get deep knowledge and still work on JS! Peopel that learn to make compilers, drivers etc, are NOT web developers!
@@tiagodagostini true, you cannot be specialized in everything, but there is a difference between a creator of a image processing library and someone who uses angular to style a page and add elements, 2 totally different fields that cannot be mixed. If the employer expects you to do 10 different things at the same time, this is mostly because of their lacking of understanding on how such technologies work. My opinion is that companies that are governed by managers and sales people will never be a constructive environment for engineers. Instead of hiring their developers in-house and using them as universal tools, it would be better for them to hire a company that will be able to maintain/develop for them, of course since they are smart as hell, hiring their developers is much cheaper. For example I will always opt to work in a small company. The downsides are: lower salary, multiple responsibilities, harder work, but at the same time you are not a small screw in a big machine, people that you work with will appreciate you for the work you do and you will never be treated as a replaceable part. What I want to say it's everyone's choice, it's up to you to decide where you want to work.
I'm sure I'm not saying anything new, but thanks for this no-b.s perspective and insight! Too many TH-camrs are out yea giving bs 'advice' and unrealistic expectations! I'm so sick of it! Thank you and keep more vids like this coming!!
Thanks for being real and honest. I'm 51 and want to change careers from insurance to web development. I know a little html and css from a class I took 12 yrs ago. Its hard to learn now and with TH-cam in information overload. I was trying to learn in order to get a job, but after your video, I'm going to learn it as a hobby. I like the creativity that web development brings, but being 51, it would take too long.
I don't want to sugarcoat things for you but I wouldn't say that it's impossible, even at 51 there are still a ton of opportunities out there and to be honest jobs are overrated. I suggest that you don't give up on it and look at it as I look at my TH-cam channel. Pursue it as a hobby with the intent to grow it into something bigger that can bring you in some money and eventually become your main source of income. There are people who have gotten hired as developers that are your age, not saying it's easy but it's definitely doable. I honestly think freelancing is the way to go and if I were to start over today I would focus on a lot more freelancing work. It grants you a lot more freedom and there is a lot more potential with how much you can make. If you're feeling a lot of information overload try sticking with one thing at a time and don't feel rushed to try and learn everything at once. If you haven't already checked out freecodecamp.org I highly recommend that you do. It's 100% free, the roadmap is laid out for you and it's project based learning so you will build things as you follow the curriculum. Good luck and keep me updated on your progress!
@@DorianDevelops That's great advice. Could you elaborate on how you would be a freelance instead of just getting a job. I work as freelance now in a different industry and would like to got that route with coding if possible.
Hey Alton! I hope you see this, but if you do wind up learning web development I would absolutely encourage you to look into learning React. That alongside the two you already know would be really useful whether you want to do this as a hobby or as a career.
If you blame things on your age and tell yourself you can't do something, you've already given up. You've lost the battle from the start. The man who saids "I can" and the man who saids "I can't", are both usually correct.
I'm a working software engineer and this video is so true. Even when you learn a stack, when you switch jobs you'll take time ramping up. And a healthy life shouldn't be all about coding, so it's best to not strive to be a software engineer social media celeb if you also have a full-time job...and we gotta exercise moderately too, with all the sitting and shoulder strain we do.
You are inspirational. 30 years ago in college i learned pascal, c, fortran and whatever. No internet, Had no idea what coding a fibonacci sequence was, so i dropped it. I was immature. Fast forward I got into networks. It's getting old, but it still pays ok. Got back into programming, data structures, because if i'm going to sit in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day, I might as well enjoy it until i retire. Looking at Crud Apps, it seems really straight-forward, but as you say, booooring. Who knows, who cares, whatever, if what i end up doing makes money. if it doesn't, it's still fun. Thanks for your sharing
This has nothing to do with being self-taught. This is just a job that requires you to LOVE TO LEARN. If this is not you, then you will always be miserable as a programmer, because the constant learning to keep up will NEVER stop. As a matter of fact, if you plan to climb the ranks, it will increase! If you'd gone the schooling path, you would have graduated to find out that most of what you learned is already obsolete. The people who thrive as developers are those who look forward all day to that 3-4 hours that they get to learn whatever is needed, or if nothing is needed at that time (rare), then just whatever... If this isn't you, find a career based on whatever makes you happy, even if it means a pay cut. There is no amount of pay that is equivalent for enjoying work. Don't let yourself find this out as you near retirement. There are no do-overs. : )
you forgot to say that mostly people in this job don't really know everything, they go to work and them they learn what is necessary to solve the problem, every single day there is someone learning a new tech in the spot because their company use it and you got the lucky task to solve the problem there. I learned PHP, Jquery, Fetch API. I had to make adjustment in a lot of old library because it was all old code that don't work in the new versions of the language and all on the spot with a timer on my head. (english is not my first language so.. take easy please)
You are correct Nathan. I would like to add that it also helps to be curious and love to puzzle solve. The hard part for me is dealing with the social aspects. Also the monotony of applying the same solution to the same problem - easy money, but not challenging.
@@ruddthreetrees1104 Nah brah, you can do it, just stop coding and start solving problem with code. People try to write an essay in a seating, not gonna happens and even if it will, it will come out a pretty bad one. Coding is the same thing, people don't understand it's a TOOL, you need to understand the problem -> all it's variables -> break it down to easily manegable chunks -> solve those chunks with code -> put all together. Don't surrender, you can do it!
@@jamesgarcia5221 thanks mate, but i probably didn't articulate it that well. i've actually been coding for 25 years and have a good job etc in the industry. I've just lost the love. When a new tech comes i don't get excited to learn it i just inwardly sigh and have to force myself. Kinda just want to go back to simpler things raise some cows and work outside in the fresh air lol. Maybe cos i'm getting old!
I went the self taught route for several months to prep myself for a coding BootCamp. For people who lose motivation it will be REALLY hard to go the self taught route. A coding BootCamp gets a lot fo slack for many things but it gives you a structured learning process with accountability from your peers and teachers. You have a set schedule you MUST attend. You work in teams and follow agile methodologies. Just these things things I've stated you can't learn/do by yourself(obviously). Bootcamps work for me and it is an accelerator to obtain a job in tech. After completing my 9 month BootCamp, I got a job in a now post series B unicorn startup.
I don't think it's hard. After 3+ years of working as a fullstack dev I canot fully relate to your experience. I agree that first 1-2 years was like learning 24/h but after smashing some magical barrier I can see that everywhere we are using different programming languages to do exactly the same but with different syntax, we are using new shinny frameworks to do the same but different syntax, we are using another new tool that in reality is not new, it's just the same thing but named differently... Learn the FUNDAMENTALS, and after that, it's not that hard, please do not slide on the surface, go deep, there is the answer. People tend to overcomplicate things.
The biggest thing aspiring devs need to be aware of, and why some might say that it's "never easy", is that no matter how prepared you are, you will be faced with problems you are utterly clueless about. You aren't prepared for this, and you won't ever be prepared for this. And that's okay. Your employer isn't paying you to know this stuff and solve issues you already know about. He's paying you so that when such issues arrive, you have the ability to study it and fix it. Writing code is the easy part. But figuring out the intricacies of software developements is something you will have to learn on the go, and while it very much gets easier the more experience you have, it's something you'll have to deal with for as long as you work on that field. What makes it hard is the constant need to hammer your head at problems you are (initially) clueless about. Incidentally, it's what makes it interesting for many others : you're always growing and learning new things.
How deep into programming did you need to get to have a sense of if you were good at it or not? I've been doing some basic HTML and CSS and am enjoying it a lot and it's all making sense, but I'm wondering what else I need to explore to have a big enough sample size. Something backend? Or can I extrapolate my enjoyment of the logical/puzzle side of it from what I've done so far you reckon
The best thing to do as programmer is to find a hobby/interest you have and you see there is a lack of a website/software/tool whatever. And do it. You can do the full stack from designing the database to choosing the tech stack, from writing the backend, designing the UI to doing the front end, configure azure pipeline and CI to hosting. Make your own testing strategy. And do all this trying to write the cleanest code ever, doing the cleanest architecture ever and if you feel like it refactor the 10th thousand time. This is your project, and yours only. Use it to experiment with technologies and design ideas. I am doing this and this pet project shows me every time I work on it, that I love being a developer.
Love your videos man! I’m self learning myself as well, spending 3 hours a day after work learning how to code. Definitely had times where I needed to just step away for the day and recuperate.
Thanks so much for this video Dorian!!!! Literally needed to hear every single word of this. I’ve been self teaching myself front end end for almost 5 years and literally couldn’t eve build a static web page until I decided to map out my path, set up a dedicated schedule find a strong community of supporters that didn’t require a crazy expensive Boot Camp and most of all yes spend my time weirdly investing on learning this stuff…it’s a real investment and no video is going to get you where you want to go. So yes it’s hard like you said but possible. This literally has fueled me to not give up no matter how long it takes, it’s a journey more than anything.
coding is a production job. if you've ever worked an assembly line, you know what it feels like. sometimes there's a bit of creativity, but mainly that's when you are learning and stuff is new, or maybe if you're working in a new tech space. once you've been doing it a while, like you said, it can be a grind of same ol' same ol'. i did websites for a little more than 15 years and then hit burnout hard. there's a part of me that wants to get back into it because i do love the problem-solving aspects of it, but i don't know if i ever will.
I was a production manager at a furniture manufacturer, and that was pretty much stressful, now I'm learning to code, in Python, towards data science, and I had my first meltdown or burnout. Programing burnouts are hell on wheels, but I'm not ready to give up. You are right, age rushes things, I feel we act the same: regular job, family and coding
my advice, go back to school for statistics or abandon the idea of getting into data science. It's not a area of coding for self taught coders. I could be wrong, but the mass majority of companies that actually use data scientists are going to expect you to have a deep understanding of math, aka master's or PhD. I went down that path and had to abandon it to go into front end. There were no jobs in my area using python/tensorflow/pandas/matplotlib etc. they use Excel.. or tableau. My 2 cents.. good luck.
@@sbarter you're more than right, but I can still use my knowledge of Python, for web scraping, or automated testing, or whatever...I was searching for online BA certification ( or online certification)in computer science, data science, or data analysis. I read so many articles that were self-taught programmers have fewer chances of getting hired in big companies and getting a BA certainly helps a lot.
Thank you for this. I've been having trouble learning advanced JavaScript and almost stopped entirely, but this helped me realize that I'm supposed to run into roadblocks because this isn't supposed to be easy, its all part of the journey.
Every word is gold. This is so true, all of it! Especially the part where you talk about how much work you MUST put into it. There is no easy way, you have to dedicate yourself to it and you have to bear with your tears and sweat. Because if you want to be good, not just getting away with disastrous code, this shit is tough.
Thank you for the honesty!! I've been trying to learn to code for almost a year and in between, I've been quitting and starting again. Weirdly enough you being so honest about it motivates me.
I'm a programmer I'm graduated in computer science and after 8 years of job as programmer in a big company I am still experiencing these things that you speak of, great video. You are right. It's a hard long way beeing a programmer but... if you like it, don't give up! :)
Thank you for your honesty. Rare virtue to find nowadays in social media. I'm starting to learn to code as hobby. I want to be able to participate in Kaggle competitions. Wish you the best of success in 2022.
As someone who is also a self-taught programmer I want to say well done. That’s not an easy road. I will say this, I am now 15 years in to my journey. It’s always hard there’s always a challenge and you never get to the end of what you need to learn. For those of us that love the profession it’s that challenge that is what keeps us coming back. If there wasn’t a consistent challenge and if there wasn’t always a hill climb I don’t think I’d still be doing this.
As someone with a long career in IT, I can say this is spot on. Great video! To everyone seeing this hoping to be a $$$$programmer$$$$$ don't be disheartened. Lot's of it is cool. Yes it will be a job. Yes there will be a lot of boring job parts. But there will also be really cool things to learn and really amazing people to learn from. And the $$$$ can be a real thing IF you put in the grind to get there. There are no quick routes only solid grind and even once you have a job, you never stop polishing and perfecting your skills and staying up to date if you want to continue on that $$$$ trajectory.
Hi, Self taught programmer and programming team leader of 10 years now. That's what i love about this profession, it'll always be challenging to some extent, and that's great :) Keep at it!
I really appreciate you giving us the reality of the industry/learning path. I was going into this with a optimistic and semi-lackadaisical approach but this video provided me with some perspective and resolve, thank you
Great content, thank you for being honest. Many act like it is super easy for someone without a tech background to get a job and start with no experience at all and just a boot camp.
Learning to code was absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever purposely set out to do. I went the self-taught/boot camp route. I can confirm that a lot of the success stories that boot camps advertise i.e. got a job at FAANG after a 3 month boot camp had previous degrees in STEM fields. I was not one of those lucky folks but there are other opportunities from which to climb the ladder once you’ve entered the industry. It never gets easy but it’s rewarding if you like the work.
So do you think a boot-camp is worth it? I don't expect a success story, just actually landing any entry level role no matter where it might be (in the UK), my plan is to self learn and go to a well-rated bootcamp for webdev once I finish my degree, but I'm considering just doing a masters in CS anyway (non STEM bachelor).
@@hodgesmarna5031 No. Having gone the boot camp route, get a subscription to Datacamp, practice on places like hacker rank, decide some projects you want to do for a resume, spend time talking to other learners in programming-focused discords and forums. the boot camp is not looked at higher than other means of getting certifications a lot of places are going to look at your portfolio and generally have a live coding test or a whiteboard test for interviews. Lambda, now bloom, is the one i went through and they had to walk back their claims about job placements and a number of other things they basically lied about initially. They also have a problem where they keep trying to automate things, fire people, and then when you have an issue it takes 1+ months to solve, so they say 8 months but because of how slow they react to problems though, you will probably be stuck in for over a year.
@@thehermitthetower1126 is getting bachelor degree in Information Technology along with certification like CompTIA security+ and/or network+ and 1 or 2 internship will get me land a good paying job?
@@olympic-ass-eater This is a sort of hybrid field when it comes to experience vs education. Both are good, but both is great. Internship positions in the tech field tend to pay well. Generally better than most entry-level jobs, and everyone expects you to not know anything. Its the one position ive seen in the world where you get paid almost entirely for how well you progress, rather than specifically being good at anything. So i would aim for an internship, and pursue education on the side. Youll need to try to steer yourself into the position youre ultimately looking for. Your experience is your rudder, your education is your sail. You will be expected to get better as you go. This means working on the clock and learning at home. This isnt a 'job', so much as a habit you have to learn to develop. It doesnt ever end, and this is why most people end up doing something else.
@@olympic-ass-eater IT is not software development. They are two very distinct career paths. Don' t go the route you're describing if you want to develop software.
i appreciate your honesty and openness. you aren’t shitting on it or glorifying it, you’re just talking about your perspective and how you feel about coding. so refreshing to listen to someone else talk about their experience in a way that could be useful to others. thanks so much
Good video! I've started learning coding at age of 35, combining with regular job. It was very hard and demanding, but after ~1 year I was lucky to get my job as a developer, but still learning new things almost every day. If you are in the beginning or middle of this path, don't give up, you can do it!
Just out of curiosity, what path did you take on that one year that lead you to get a job, what languages did you learn? I'm just starting and I've hit so many walls already, that thinking about a getting a job in one year seems surreal to me.
@@Miguelskytwins just don't give up. I took a study program arranged by local university of applied science, some sort of evening school, and we were learning a lot of things, and about half of them were irrelevant to the web developer profession that I desided to pursue. I personally would recommend you to learn JS and React and rest api principals, that already will be enough to start. The amount of information is feeling overwhelming at the srart (and it is a lot), but its doable. I recomend to take a look at bred traversy's js and react courses. and then there is a lot of free stuff on youtube - in example developer ed and web dev simpyfied has gelped me a lot. when you will be able to write a todo app in react storing data in local storage you can start looking for a junior or internship position. git knowledge is important too. when you will take a grip on frontend (React) you can start looking into some backend language. which one depens on demand in your area. most probably it will be .net(c#), java or node. Node is easiet in a sense, that you already know the language. but as I said, knowing react should be enough for you to "get your foot" into some company. Good luck!
This is straight truth. Thank you so much for sharing this in a completely honest and realistic way without being discouraging. I don't think it's right when everyone is blindly encouraged to try to learn to code. It was one of the most difficult things I ever did in my life and I love how you point out. In the end it's a job, it's not really all that glamorous. It's a good job and in demand and well paid but it's still a job where you sit at a desk all day.
Stumbled on your videos while trying to research about programming/coding. And I just want to say thank you for keeping it real. It's really hard to learn to code (for me at least) considering I graduated with IT degree back in way years. And after working in different industries for a long time and trying to go back and re-learn coding/programming by myself just to have a better future, I can say it can be really lonely and frustrating(and I'm only trying a udemy course right now about web dev)And yes, right now my goal is to get a job and have a better life for me and my love ones so I guess I just need to push through and hopefully it works out. Again thank you for keeping it real and being honest about it, since most of the vids i find at social media shows you can learn coding/programming easily within 3 months and it makes me doubt myself and frustrated thinking I'm not cut out for this. TBH, most of the time now i just want to call it quits but seeing your vids like this and thinking i need to do this for a better life for my family...I just need to push through... THANK YOU
This video resonates so much. I had to distance myself from some of my peers in my fullstack program because they would cheat or take the lazy way out through our projects. If it’s one thing programming has taught me is grit. You need a lot to be successful.
everybody in my bootcamp that got a job immediately afterwards cheated their way through and most ended up getting found out later. that's another thing to keep in mind, the people who seem like they are WAY ahead of you might have taken a ton of shortcuts, because many of them have.
0:43 the kind of room and setup I want!!!......So happy to ser you grow..... started from the bottom now we here......I was among the first 5 subscribers...now we at a family of 25k..... Let's go!!!!!!.....it will soon be a million
So in July this year I applied to a company while still taking a course as a .Net Developer. Today, as of 21st of September I received confirmation that I will be starting on the 3rd of October as a Junior Game Developer. I started learning how to code mainly in Unity since the end of December. The way there was hard and grinding. Lots of learning and lots of dissapointments when I thought that I was on the way of getting an internship. In the end I have somehow gotten my first fulltime job(not internship) in programming as a junior game developer. All thanks partially to your videos which inspired me and gave me a way to approach this realistically. But also kept me determined on my goal. Thank you Dorian
Programmer with just under 15 years of experience checking in. Your advice seems pretty sound to me overall. I just want to underscore your point about CRUD applications being boring after a certain point in time. I hit that point because I realized I prefer more specialized domains but my earning potential was higher by staying in web dev - so here I am still building CRUD apps and saving up cash for . Figuring out where you want to go and how to get there while keeping in mind what the job market wants is no small task. But everyone should be keeping that in the back of their mind, at least after they land their first job (imo, it's a pretty big shift between those two mindsets)
I'm just a hobbyist as of now, and I can also already tell that the whole CRUD app business is going to get boring pretty fast. As soon as you have all the optimal ways of implementing it down, it's pretty much always the same. Only thing I truly love is to create UIs, as you can really spice things up there.
Thanks. I need this hard talk. You are absolutely right about how glamourous the TH-camrs make it out to be. Like every job out there, it has its downsides and the fact you basically spend all day every day in front of your screen has got to be soul crushing. No way I'm gonna take that route.
1:35 I am in this from last summer . When you say many times ' code ' my heart is smiling . I love to write code . I hope this will be a passion and never a burden
This is a very good video. Feels like you gave an honest picture of your path. I’m a 26yo who just finished my bachelor in art history, thinking about changing career path. Luckily, I live in sweden where this is possible. Just applied to an COmputer Science-programme at my local college. Thanks for giving your view in this topic!
I got my first job as a programmer when I was 31 years old, 10 years ago. Self taught, I still struggle in technical interviews although I've worked as a senior and lead dev for many years.
lol this sounds like the plot of a movie where some guy accidentally ends up a lead developer but has no idea what they’re doing and so is just faking it till they make it every day
@@ShadyRonin thankfully I know what I'm doing though, just can't sit down and whiteboard a tree sort or implement a visitor design pattern in front of a group of people without the use of the internets.
Always! Many people on YT only want to show the pretty side of things. Figured it's best to keep it real because it's not all rainbows and butterflies when you're trying to learn to code and become a developer. Thanks for watching and thanks for being a long time subscriber, much love!
I'm a self taught one either and for the first one and a half year I was closed anything but to practicing code. I practiced averagely ten hours a day and all week. Then I could barely hired by a digital agency as a front end developer. It's hard man I can just say that, if you want to be a self thought, be aware of that. I did it in 2013 so today it's harder than before to get hired.
I am trying to learn programming as a hobby but I am studying to be a neuroscientist. I am also a high school drop out, so it is nice to see how there are so many paths, even if you had a rough start in life.
Thank u for being so real and honest. I started my career in web design back in 2000 after finishing a degree in computer information systems. I have been wanting to start teaching but haven’t put together my first video yet. As I have gone a somewhat standard route I like to hear what others have done. The opportunities to learn coding has expanded exponentially. So many options and age, time and career interest all play a factor in what may be best. I just love how u give people the truth. I was wondering if i say what I really felt which can be negative it may turn someone away who may truly be interested in getting into coding. Gosh. So much to think about. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I'm not a coder. But beneath the programming bits and pieces, I see so many valuable messages about not looking for shortcuts and just putting in the work. I blame myself for not having seen this video earlier. SUBBED!
I've been learning by myself how to code for a year and a half. Now I've been employed as a dev in a software company for a year. It's hard. It's very damn hard, every day, ever second. But I hope it will get easier by time, eventually.
@@Miguelskytwins Hello. In my case it wasn't easier, thus I left the company, took six months off and found another non-developer job in IT industry. I just thought that my stress, knowledge and responsibility weren't supported by an adequate salary. So I took some time off to regenerate. As I was a junior developer I couldn't find another dev job because almost no one is looking for a junior developer, they rather have students. I started searching for different positions and I found a really good position in technical support. It's fun, a decent salary and way less stress. Although I've spent a year and a half of my life learning to code and then working a year as a developer under a great amount of stress I don't regret it. Why? Because having a dev position in my CV opened many other doors job-wise. Good luck!
@@MiroCro11 Thank you so much for your answer. I'm glad that even though you are not "developing" any more, it lead you to a job that you are enjoying more. All the best!
I started out at a consultant company that believed anyone could learn to write code. There was a 20 week fast-paced "cycle", and upon graduating, you would be a full-time developer for that consultant company... My "cycle" started with 16 people. Only 6 graduated. Of those 6, only 2 are still employed as a developer today, myself, and one other. The one other is now working as a front-end developer for Microsoft, while I'm working on starting my own software business. That was 2013. Development is hard work and definitely not for everybody. If it were easy, all 16 would have graduated and would still be developers today.
Speaking from 25 years of experience, this job is not for everyone. Its mostly a thank less job, you get asked to implement abstract complex solutions and when your done spending long days and weeks and months on a problem you get dropped into the next random thing. That being said it can be enjoyable if you have some level of input into the design phase. Even after 25 years I feel im still learning things, so you must be willing to learn all the time. If you are good at your job you will probably spend more time programming than socializing with co workers because the agile work flow never ends. If you get caught up in a legacy application insist you get time to work on a new product or look for a job were you can be part of a new project. There is nothing worse than fixing other peoples work, only to find your changes create new unforeseen issues (because the last guy did not document, comment, datatype, unit test, or name anything that makes sense). Try and find ways to speed up you build/debug cycle you will be doing this alot and when the deadline creep comes you will wish you had more time. But if you enjoy challenges and analytical problems with little social interaction then it is a great job. PS learning a program language is only a vary small part of software design other areas include database design SQL/NoSQL setup and deployment, optimization best practices, design patterns, UI/UX elements, responsive design, graphic design, UML, Networking OSI Layers, Data science, Maths, Microservices, Cloud Services the list goes on this is why you never stop learning. Getting started is easy download a game engine like GoDot or Unity and start writing C#, build a basic game from beginning to end and know how it works back to front this should give you OOP understanding UI design concepts for HUD and menus including composition and possibly database storage of saves if you take it a little further make it multiplayer so you learn state Managment and network layers. Hopefully there will be some vector maths and conditional logic. Dont write a hello world app and say you are a developer that is a meme at best. Even though most jobs are web focused building a game will help get you enthusiastic about programming and many concept can be carried over. C# core is becoming vary popular in the middle tier, though I lean slightly in favor of Java because of the many Apache projects such as Hadoop, Kafka, Spark, RabbitMQ, Solr and many more. If you dont like the verbosity of Java you could learn Kotlin or even get vary familiar with Intellij which will implement most of the code for you like getter/setter implementing interface adding equals and hash methods and lots of refactoring tools. Learn Javascript this is a must it is used by many tech stacks and derivatives of it like Typescript are just basically extension of the language. Javascript is so wide spread you can write a fullstack application including stored procedures in database like MongoDB middle tier using node/express and frontend web vue.js and even mobile and desktop apps with it using Electron. Even many game engines support it. One thing that is really important to learn with Javascript is the prototype design pattern normally a feature reserved for variant languages which Javascript is.
I'm with you man. It is hard always mentally and phisically. And this "become programmer in 4 weeks and after that all sunshine and rainbows". This overhype is total BS.
As a self-taught programmer working with Java/Spring Boot/Angular, I can say, Sir, you're right on a spot! I've started to learn programming with 39, with a full-time job and two kids on my back. I'm 42 yo now, and I work as a programmer for the last 10 months. It's a nice job, that makes you cry out of despair every now and then.
Hello Marko, glad to hear that your hardwork paid off ! May I ask how you like programming compared to your other jobs? You don’t have to get too personal I am just curious about the benefits, work hours, perks, drawbacks and such. How satisfied are you in your tech field? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
@@paljohn47 It's good, and a well-paid job. As someone who started late programming, I can say it's also demanding because you constantly need to learn to catch up with the rest of the team. Those guys are in programming for decades, and there is no easy way to reach their level of confidence and knowledge. And the home office is truly a blessing - no waking up early in the morning, just to mention the most obvious advantage to being at home during working hours. This is the best job I've ever had.
@@marko8640 Thank you I appreciate you taking the time and filling me in about programming! I will definitely consider getting involved and learning it more
Thanks for making it real, and reminding us that it isn't just us struggling when claims like in YT videos misguide you into believing it is quick and easy. And realizing this, inspires us to press on amid the difficulties.
Man I honestly feel all of these struggles right now. I'm still into this industry for a year now specially when I was still freelancing before but now I'm in an agency. Still same with struggles. Love your content man, very relatable. 👏🏼
Appreciate the transparency about the material things. Also the last bit of the rant about trying to get into anything with the "easy route" can truly be applied to anything. Sitting here at the start of my coding journey, but glad that I can truly feel deep down I'm not intrinsically motivated by status or wealth in this endeavor; can't say I had the same mindset pursuing past endeavors. Take care
I've even trying to be a web dev for 13 years. I have an AA in web development and programming. I work in a warehouse... So this video is super real and if I can add some advice from my failure - you have to be consistent and it's exhausting. I've let like 3 domain portfolios go as well as probably about a dozen of projects. Even if it's just about an hour a day towards learning/practicing/researching, make the most of that hour.
Thanks for this video. I am doing some research to see if this is a career change I want to make. I was looking for the "ugly" and not some rose colored lense. I also feel encouraged because I am not deterred by most of what you are saying. I expect it to be hard, and I expect to test my self discipline. I think I am at the right time in my life to give it a go, wish me luck.
I currently have a job that requires me to sit in front of my PC from 9 to 5, doesn't pay as good as I'd like it and it's not safe, and then I see my brother and some of my relatives who work in IT and do little work but are paid enourmously, of course I want to change careers solely for the money. Maybe, not for the money as much as for the money to stabilize the future for my family (two kids). So, though I don't find this job especially appealing, I will give it a try and learn a skill.
love your content , you are an inspiration . I follow you and im not gonna spend a dime to learn web development or any programming stuff , there are lot of free content avail in open-source like you always say. Keep rocking .
Thank you! I didn't spend a lot of money to learn to code. Just a few Udemy courses and a couple memberships. There really is so much free content out there that you don't need to spend much in order to do this stuff. Honestly I think that freecodecamp.org is all you need if you don't want to spend a dime!
@@DorianDevelops I disagree. I am self-teaching and I found that knowing a tutor who can help me here and there is valuable. And I find more motivation working through something well structured than working with completely free contents. I am going through Launchschool now and it's the best decision ever.
It's hard when your livelihood depends on it. Pretty much in whatever you do. But once you reach the point of mastery, opportunities will start chasing you like crazy.
Been coding for for 15 years now, started life late in life. I decided I waned to learn and had the opportunity to do it so i did a degree in software engineering. It's a decision I often regret. I got a job in a big multinational that is populated with young fanatics who are brainwashed to think the company is the most important thing in the world and think you're weird for treating your job like a job and not a lifestyle. It's like working in a cult. When I was young, coding was a black art done by the elite geeks who made serious money. Now they are developing AI assisted IDEs to make everything easier. They're even teaching kids in school to code so that when they hit the market the money will drop out of programming and these kids will become the equivalent of "building laborers" in terms of pay and conditions. Speaking of pay it's not all people say it is, the company I work for outsources a lot of its work to cheaper countries with the constant threat of layoffs here to keep the workers inline and grateful to have a job. Last week HR sent out a link to a website telling people how it's three times harder for people over 50 to get a job, that's me then. Interesting fact, in the 15 years I'm in the company I've seen only one person make retirement age. The rest got made redundant. I've never seen an industry so hell bent on making itself redundant, automation and AI is the new thing. So people can be "freed up" to do other things is the sales pitch but you can also free them up to leave. As for the five interview thing, if a company is so full of itself that it requires 5 interviews walk away! It will be hell to work in! Software engineers are at fault here, we do the 5 interviews! We waste 5 hours of our lives in the hopes we can work in some hell hole sold as a shining example of a "great place to work". We should just walk away then they'd have no choice but to limit them. but we don't. The propaganda these companies go on with is crazy. "Look we have videos games and a pool table" - touch them and your marked for getting fired. It's not all it's sold as.
@@CE-vd2px For the moment but they're pushing to get everyone back into the office so they remember what it's like and can network. I already network, it's called the internet. It's all open plan there so it's like working in an airport when it's full, at least at home it's quiet and i can get work done. Coders tend to be introverts and like to be left alone to work, managers tend to be loud mouths, i mean extroverts, so they want to be seen and work on their asskissing, I mean visibility 😁
Great video. I was trying to jump on this self-taught path but after I stop coding for 2.5 months, I kinda lost my motivation. I still sit in front of my laptop when I have time but will mostly wander somewhere else after awhile. It feels so much better before I took my break but now I kinda lose it. Can you give me some tips on how can I get my game back? Thanks
It's ok to take breaks just make sure to come back to it if it's something that you really want to accomplish. Don't beat yourself up too much and remember that everyone's journey is different!
@@DorianDevelops Thanks. I'll make sure I'm consistent with my coding and probably go back to some tutorials that I've been through to remind myself. Programming is my dream since I'm a kid so its likely I would pursue on this path.
@@Keane-fh2pc I am doing Launchschool. It is really really great. I am not the best at it. And you need prior JavaScript knowledge, or the knowledge of another language at a basic level. You should probably try it. Of all the people going through it now, I feel like I am the least knowledgeable because they are going so fast leaving me behind, but what I am able to learn is still tremendous .
I do not have a job. I got injured in kickboxing. I was playing only videos games. I am going to be 30 now and I wanted to change my life and Dorian is like my mirror. So I started the Udemy course and I know its hard. I currently study at least 6 hours a day. Hope I can manage. I need a job I need a life and I need to get my life in my hands or imma die in my parents house. Everyone around me got jobs families etc etc. Here I am started a new adventure hope I can manage. To be honest, this learning is hard cause the thinking part is hard. Thinking like a computer. Watching Dorian, I say to myself "Yeah, I wasted a lot of time playing Video Games though I do not regret it" I love gaming, but at this point of my life I am in need of job. I don't want my soul to fade away from this earth without an achievement.
For a lot of people, learning programming will be like quitting smoking, becoming celibate, and going full vegan all at the same time. It is that hard. Code boot camps want to sell you the supposed magic that makes it easy. It is not easy and they have every incentive to lie to you about it being easy. Programming well is the Dark Souls/Bloodborne of life. So if that appeals, go for it!
Souls game is not that hard, programming is bullshitly hard especially when it comes to data structuring and algorithms data sign Also, Souls series reference is god tier cringe Although i love souls game
I've been into web development and IT for 36 years, and today I'm here stuck, having to forget everything I know, to get to learn everything that has changed in the web development on the past 10 years, currently focused on master the React stack, because I got too confortable with wordpress.... Huge mistake! You are totally right, there is no free ticket to the golden pot in the end of the colored rainbow.... The more I study, the less I know!
You’re alongside my top 5 favorite coding related people on TH-cam. You’re such an inspiration, whenever I get overwhelmed I come to your videos and I truly appreciate you taking out the time to encourage us. You have a gift of motivating like Eric Thomas and Tony Robbins, your energy is captivating 🌸
Hi Dorian, thanks for this realistic view of programming! I am glad I stumbled upon it :) It makes sense to think about what kind of job I'm realistically suited for and how programming would look years down the road.
Awesome! Love this video. As the title says, Real Talk! I have had a lot of “peaks” and “valleys” learning and have thrown out the notion for a quick route haha. Thanks for the content!
Yeah. I have a tiny OS I wrote for microcontrollers. It doesn't even really have a filesystem, it's mostly just a dumb scheduler, context switching and memory management for communicating different "threads" or "processes"... So... IPC. I don't really know why operating systems are so interesting to me ..
I've been working in the software development for about 5 years and I agree with what you said in the video. You're really gonna need to spend most of your free time learning if you want to become a programmer. And even after getting a job you'll have to learn. I think the only way to handle this is to really like programming. And you were also right about commercial programming so to speak when you develop software for a company the way the want and need, sometimes using outdated technologies, legacy code or proprietary frameworks. It's usually not as attractive as in the programming courses promos 😄 But software development job is what keeps me curious all the time because the area changes so fast bringing new exciting things.
Hey man Im kinda just you when u just started learning , Im 33 have a family, child, learning python , ur words are motivating and you really are giving a genuine advice. Keep up this good work ...Thanks Man....
I try to learn. But I procrastinate.I enjoy when I figure out problems. Sitting and looking at screen is not problem, more like I don't do what I should. I know that I should block everything and focus. Atop.of that I have parents on my head, that constantly telling me that "you are addicted". It makes it harder. But I feel it is stuff I can do and enjoy. At least more than any low skill job I can take now. I know my problems and I know I need to fight them. And I know it takes time and work.
I don't think , they can understand that because It is hard to explain to parents, where they constantly telling you , " *JUST GO FIND THE JOB or I will kick you out in 6 months* "
@@royalkumar795 Good that mine are not like that. But surely don't believe that self-taught route is possible. My mother don't quite understand difference between IT studies and programming studies and want me to go to those first "to learn basics". Also don't understand pace of learning programming.
@@The0Stroy you can learn coding if you have free time , but college you won't have free time where you have to struggle to maintain your attendance so you can eligible for your semester exams
You're right bro. Though a developer is just the same like any other jobs, at the end of the day, I still enjoy it. I learned that to find what you want to do, consider 3 things - the amount of income that you want, the lifestyle, and your passion. If what you're doing fullfills these 3. That's good enough. A developer / programming career fulfills all these 3 for me :)
I think an hour or two a day is fine but the more you study the more you learn. I put in a lot of hours and I got lucky that I didn't burn out. Do what you can and if you're really feeling it do more, if not do less but don't stop!
I found that 2-3 hours a day is ideal. You're progressing well in ur study, while at the same time you also have time for your families and friends, also hobby. I find that we can of course spend more time and definitely will accelerate your progress more but at the expense of other things - like spending time with families/friends, exercise time. For a short period of time where it's required, it's fine but not for the rest of your life
@@jabss7847 yeah. Ive cut my hours to 1-2 because I usually get burtn out when I just bomb through like 5-6 hours and dont even touch my laptop for like a week lol. I try to fit my hobbies in like jiu jitsu, lifting, and learning portuguese. 6 hours of studying wasnt gonna allow me to do my hobbies or spend time with family. I just lost myself in those videos that said that everything would be "123 ABC''. Also, studying code for 6 hours and actually doing code for 6 hours is different from what I understand now.
@@barcalona55 Woo so you're learning Portuguese, llifting, etc2. Then 1 or 2 hours is ideal. Otherwise it will be overwhelming. When doing a lot of things at one time, having a longer timeline is expected though. Keep going 💪💪
I’m trying my hand on the self-taught path because I want a better life for my daughter. I thought I was on a hood track and learning a lot but once it came to working on my own without the tutorial I hit a massive wall!! I’m so discouraged, I have 15 pages of useless notes and I don’t know wut to do. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or encouragement for me. I don’t wanna give up but I just feel like such a fool. Anyone please help!!
Not sure what you've been using to learn. But try something that is project-based learning that will have you applying the things that you're learning as you learn them. I highly recommend freecodecamp.org it is a struggle but start little by little building small things and eventually you'll work your way up to bigger projects for your portfolio. Good luck!
@@DorianDevelops thanks so much for the advice. I’m currently using the android developer site to learn kotlin for app development. As I said it’s been a tough road so far. Also I wanna say good luck with the new direction of ur channel. You’ve been a huge inspiration for me throughout this whole thing! I’ll still be here watching no matter wut direction u take the channel. Much love and respect!
Your principle applies to most fields; when you do it as a job, it's less fun. Teaching piano sucks compared to just playing it on your own. Teaching graphic design is structured whereas doing it is fluid. I just started coding (just did a tictactoe tutorial and roguelike tutorial in python) and I definitely want to keep it as a hobby to help me build what I need/want, or else I'll start resenting it. I'm gonna try to stick with this for a good 6 or so years until I can understand enough to make my own stuff from scratch to complement my other jobs or hobbies. Thanks for the video and the helpful advice brother.
2years into the job and I’m still a junior which is fine but it does take it’s toll cause you sometimes believe you are better than you think and everything you said is exactly what happened to me, it’s brutal.. and once I started working in a job for the first time it was the most stressful experience of my life! But I still love it! Hang in there everybody!
Awsome.. refreshing to see someone in this sector keeping it real.. very relatable, i took it upon myself to become a one man game development factory learning programming/art/animation/sound design/ music production/ mixing and mastering/project management.. even though i'm pretty obsessive compulsive and i'm truly driven by love and fascination for the craft. +- 6years deep It still takes a whooole lot of mental gymnastics to maintain a productive mindset at times. sacrificing recreational time after a day of 8 hours doing a shitty minimum wage job.. getting depressed and wanting to give up, burnout pff it has bin quiete a ride and im still far from my destination haha i recommend selling drugs or getting lucky at a casino for ppl looking for quick easy money
Hey Dorian, I'm the first commenter (maybe). this is amazing content, thanks for sharing, really appreciate your effort. I need advice from you, and that is. how can I feel that I'm ready for job apply? I'm a self-taught react developer. could you please help me out?
Best advice I can give you is don't wait until you feel ready. Build some projects, set up your portfolio and resume, and start applying early on. You might be more ready than you think you are. Let the potential employers determine if you're ready. You might face a lot of rejection but don't worry that's normal. Just keep studying, building and applying!
im conflicted with my passions i do the same amount of guitar that i do in coding but only one will pay me yet i can't just not do the one as much as the other i've currently split it to do 12hrs of coding one day and the other 12h of guitar i can slip in some time after finishing the guitar sessions but it feel off and the guilt of doing guitar even tho im not going to get paid in the future for that is just mind numbing but i have this need #atleastitsnotdrugs how i cope anyways thanks for the vid dorian!
You should start a TH-cam channel while you're learning those things. Might be a good way to see if you can monetize those things you are learning early on. My biggest TH-cam regret is not starting a channel while I was learning to code. If you do decide to start let me know and I'll make sure to subscribe! Thanks for watching and good luck!
I just started learning to code,..This WEEK. *Send help* these are motivational words. Thanks Dorian. I'll be sharing my devlogs on my channel(for self-motivation)
What is your opinion on the Network Engineer path as opposed to becoming a Developer? I'm looking at this as an alternative because of how saturated and glamorized it is like you said.
That's the route that I first took. Got my A+ and then started working toward Net+ and Cisco certs. I hated studying for certs and was bored out of my mind. Buddy convinced me to try learning to code, I did and enjoyed that much more so stuck with that.
Being a System Administrator/Network Administrator is a great halfway point between Help desk and Developer. You make sure everything is up and running do some scripting/coding do some physical work maintaining physical servers or cloud administrating. Best of both worlds if you want to sit at a desk but not all day. Matter of fact if something isnt breaking us Administrators are partying and pounding brewskis listening to rock while laughing at the programmers having to sit at a desk and code all day. Pretty much the Alphas of the IT industry!
I've been coding 12+ hours a day, everyday for the past 9 months. I've been to the final round of 5 interviews but I wasn't chosen, I was offered a job from Docker only to find out they don't hire out of my country. I have an interview tomorrow and hoping this one goes well. Landing that first job is truly a grind..
best wishes for you man
Good luck, man. Keep on the path and it will happen.
Comment again to let us know how the interview went. I hope you got it!!!
@@K13ran1984 yupppp I agree
What's good shamar? Did you get a job yet? I'm pulling for you, son!!!
I've been writing code for almost 50 years. Writing software is a joyous thing if you love it and a day of programming slips by quickly. The more languages and design techniques you learn the more they intertwine with previous ones you already know. However if programming doesn't come naturally and learning new skills is a chore, writing software can be a torturous career path.
I'm a self taught programmer and have been in the industry for over 30 years... The grind is the best thing for those that are actually interested in this industry. The grind lasts different lengths for different people but those struggles and what you learn from them make you a stronger developer in the end.
I have been coding for 25+ years. I love it, but it’s natural for the easy parts to go by quickly. Most of coding is bumping into problems and chewing on them for a while.
It's an extremely rare bonus to be in a job you still love after say, 10 years - let alone 20-50 years. For the vast, vast majority of workers in the world, their job IS a chore and serves only one purpose - to make enough money to live on. It's no coincidence then that those who love their jobs tend also to be making a significantly higher salary than the average. In other news, water is wet.
I'm currently pursuing a degree in CS field and truthfully I don't enjoy coding as I thought I would in the beginning - it stresses me out a lot. I have 7 classes left until I graduate.. so I feel I'm too far in to quit since I've taken a lot of loans already as well.
@@ganyrehs is there anything specific u don't enjoy?
Self taught developer here with 11+ years of experience and without any CS background. Decision to become a software developer was the best thing I've ever made in my life. I have a good and on demand job, good salary and, of course, stable job position considering the current situation with C-19. I can work remotely from everywhere around the globe. So, if you have any doubts about "to be or not to be" - definitely "to be"
But this is the truth for you, not for everyone.
@@JyoSco007 actually not only for me, but for hundreds of another self taught developers as well.
What coding language is the most in demand?
@@jackdanyal4329 what coding language is the most in demand Jack?
@@thelegendofthem6120 it depends from your region and sometimes even from you city. in my country every major language in demand, in India it may be Java, in USA C# or Golang or Python. but globaly python, java, c#, php maybe and of course JS
Unfortunately, a lot of people will realize that once they’re on stable ground in the various technologies they need to do the job, one of the hardest parts of the career is that you’ll be asked to do things that don’t make a lot of sense based on vague requests from people who don’t know anything about programming. The soft skills are a huge part of it.
I find that the URS is commonly the main issue - the more poorly constructed it is then then greater the likelihood the user/purchaser ends up with a sub-optimal product with waay too many decisions made by the coder, despite the fact they should be confirming such decisions with the user. Coders should also be more pro-active with such discussions and not assume 'they know best'.
Most of the time, I wish i hadn't look into the vague tasks those companies give out to those aspiring employees.... The desire to create gaming videos grows little by little. Still conflicted.
I am a developer for 23 years and I disagree on a few things. Learning to program is not hard. But hta is not what the market expects. The issue is that the market treats developer as a single capacitation/job when it is a whole class. It is like being an engineer. There are engineers for buildign bridges, engines, tires, textile fibers, cables, everything and they are NOT proeficient in each other fields.
The hard part is that they expect you to be 3 or 4 professionals at same time.
...which is illegal, they have to hire different people for all those different specialised roles.
@@carldrogo9492 No it is not illegal. They just create a position for FULL STACK programmer and they pretend that means you must be able to do anything. That is how the world have been for ages.
@@tiagodagostini You should be able to create/integrate/automate things, after all you are an software engineer, you are not a tool that is only capable of writing code.
This is the always the problem when hiring for this position, people think that knowing the tool (language, framework) is enough, however this is totally incorrect, the requirement is for you to be fluent with the tools.
To put this into perspective let's say you are a car mechanic, let's suppose you know how to change every part of the car no matter how complex it is. The question is will you be a successful mechanic? the answer is depends. If we talk about a repair shop, then no, changing of parts is a small subset of skills that does not matter in this context, what matters the most is finding the problem, in software words debugging. If we talk about a very big corporation where there is separate positions for finding problems and change parts, then yes.
This complaining makes no sense, since you choose what you want to be yourself, want to be a monkey that will only write code and do the same things? choose a big corporation. The problem is that you are not the only one that wants this, nobody wants to invest and become and engineer since this is hard and long work, so corporations like google made their entry point hard (solving/optimizing algorithms is one of the hardest things a engineer can do), since they already have a lot of people, why not choose the best?
Smart companies that are small/medium will never hire you based on the tools you know, it will be an advantage if you know the tools they use, however this will never be your winning argument, this is why after working for a few years your interviews will be different, you will be asked on what kind of problem you were solving and what you created/improved. I cannot stress it how many more possibilities you will have if you truly understand what you are doing, what problem you are solving with the code you are writing.
@@D4no00 I will give you a counter example. I am specialized in image processing. develop code for automatic diagnosis of diseases, automatic defect detection in production lines. Extremely specialized skills. Then when you get to a job they expect you to also change stuff in JS in the front of the system in 3 different frameworks..
You will NOT find people that get deep knowledge and still work on JS! Peopel that learn to make compilers, drivers etc, are NOT web developers!
@@tiagodagostini true, you cannot be specialized in everything, but there is a difference between a creator of a image processing library and someone who uses angular to style a page and add elements, 2 totally different fields that cannot be mixed. If the employer expects you to do 10 different things at the same time, this is mostly because of their lacking of understanding on how such technologies work.
My opinion is that companies that are governed by managers and sales people will never be a constructive environment for engineers. Instead of hiring their developers in-house and using them as universal tools, it would be better for them to hire a company that will be able to maintain/develop for them, of course since they are smart as hell, hiring their developers is much cheaper.
For example I will always opt to work in a small company. The downsides are: lower salary, multiple responsibilities, harder work, but at the same time you are not a small screw in a big machine, people that you work with will appreciate you for the work you do and you will never be treated as a replaceable part.
What I want to say it's everyone's choice, it's up to you to decide where you want to work.
I'm sure I'm not saying anything new, but thanks for this no-b.s perspective and insight! Too many TH-camrs are out yea giving bs 'advice' and unrealistic expectations! I'm so sick of it! Thank you and keep more vids like this coming!!
Yeah they just do it for clicks and to sell you their course or get an affiliate comission from Udemy.
Thanks for being real and honest. I'm 51 and want to change careers from insurance to web development. I know a little html and css from a class I took 12 yrs ago. Its hard to learn now and with TH-cam in information overload. I was trying to learn in order to get a job, but after your video, I'm going to learn it as a hobby. I like the creativity that web development brings, but being 51, it would take too long.
I don't want to sugarcoat things for you but I wouldn't say that it's impossible, even at 51 there are still a ton of opportunities out there and to be honest jobs are overrated. I suggest that you don't give up on it and look at it as I look at my TH-cam channel. Pursue it as a hobby with the intent to grow it into something bigger that can bring you in some money and eventually become your main source of income. There are people who have gotten hired as developers that are your age, not saying it's easy but it's definitely doable. I honestly think freelancing is the way to go and if I were to start over today I would focus on a lot more freelancing work. It grants you a lot more freedom and there is a lot more potential with how much you can make. If you're feeling a lot of information overload try sticking with one thing at a time and don't feel rushed to try and learn everything at once. If you haven't already checked out freecodecamp.org I highly recommend that you do. It's 100% free, the roadmap is laid out for you and it's project based learning so you will build things as you follow the curriculum. Good luck and keep me updated on your progress!
@@DorianDevelops That's great advice. Could you elaborate on how you would be a freelance instead of just getting a job. I work as freelance now in a different industry and would like to got that route with coding if possible.
no... you can learn it within a year or so.. you really can, but you have to get down with the code.. and its a slog..
Hey Alton! I hope you see this, but if you do wind up learning web development I would absolutely encourage you to look into learning React. That alongside the two you already know would be really useful whether you want to do this as a hobby or as a career.
If you blame things on your age and tell yourself you can't do something, you've already given up. You've lost the battle from the start. The man who saids "I can" and the man who saids "I can't", are both usually correct.
I'm a working software engineer and this video is so true. Even when you learn a stack, when you switch jobs you'll take time ramping up. And a healthy life shouldn't be all about coding, so it's best to not strive to be a software engineer social media celeb if you also have a full-time job...and we gotta exercise moderately too, with all the sitting and shoulder strain we do.
You are inspirational. 30 years ago in college i learned pascal, c, fortran and whatever. No internet, Had no idea what coding a fibonacci sequence was, so i dropped it. I was immature. Fast forward I got into networks. It's getting old, but it still pays ok. Got back into programming, data structures, because if i'm going to sit in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day, I might as well enjoy it until i retire. Looking at Crud Apps, it seems really straight-forward, but as you say, booooring. Who knows, who cares, whatever, if what i end up doing makes money. if it doesn't, it's still fun. Thanks for your sharing
Damn, Johnny Sinns really has done everything!
Serious note: Nice video, really helpful.
Lol 😂😂
lmao
lmfao
LMAO BRO
This has nothing to do with being self-taught. This is just a job that requires you to LOVE TO LEARN. If this is not you, then you will always be miserable as a programmer, because the constant learning to keep up will NEVER stop. As a matter of fact, if you plan to climb the ranks, it will increase! If you'd gone the schooling path, you would have graduated to find out that most of what you learned is already obsolete. The people who thrive as developers are those who look forward all day to that 3-4 hours that they get to learn whatever is needed, or if nothing is needed at that time (rare), then just whatever...
If this isn't you, find a career based on whatever makes you happy, even if it means a pay cut. There is no amount of pay that is equivalent for enjoying work. Don't let yourself find this out as you near retirement. There are no do-overs. : )
you forgot to say that mostly people in this job don't really know everything, they go to work and them they learn what is necessary to solve the problem, every single day there is someone learning a new tech in the spot because their company use it and you got the lucky task to solve the problem there. I learned PHP, Jquery, Fetch API. I had to make adjustment in a lot of old library because it was all old code that don't work in the new versions of the language and all on the spot with a timer on my head. (english is not my first language so.. take easy please)
You are correct Nathan. I would like to add that it also helps to be curious and love to puzzle solve. The hard part for me is dealing with the social aspects. Also the monotony of applying the same solution to the same problem - easy money, but not challenging.
yeah i've just realised i've lost the love now and wish i became a farmer lol.
@@ruddthreetrees1104 Nah brah, you can do it, just stop coding and start solving problem with code. People try to write an essay in a seating, not gonna happens and even if it will, it will come out a pretty bad one. Coding is the same thing, people don't understand it's a TOOL, you need to understand the problem -> all it's variables -> break it down to easily manegable chunks -> solve those chunks with code -> put all together. Don't surrender, you can do it!
@@jamesgarcia5221 thanks mate, but i probably didn't articulate it that well. i've actually been coding for 25 years and have a good job etc in the industry. I've just lost the love. When a new tech comes i don't get excited to learn it i just inwardly sigh and have to force myself. Kinda just want to go back to simpler things raise some cows and work outside in the fresh air lol. Maybe cos i'm getting old!
Thanks for keeping it real. I came into this with preconceived ideas and your videos help to remind me to stay grounded.
Thanks for watching I'm really happy that my videos are helping you!
I went the self taught route for several months to prep myself for a coding BootCamp. For people who lose motivation it will be REALLY hard to go the self taught route. A coding BootCamp gets a lot fo slack for many things but it gives you a structured learning process with accountability from your peers and teachers. You have a set schedule you MUST attend. You work in teams and follow agile methodologies. Just these things things I've stated you can't learn/do by yourself(obviously). Bootcamps work for me and it is an accelerator to obtain a job in tech.
After completing my 9 month BootCamp, I got a job in a now post series B unicorn startup.
Do you mind if I ask which boot camp you did and your overall review of it?
I don't think it's hard. After 3+ years of working as a fullstack dev I canot fully relate to your experience. I agree that first 1-2 years was like learning 24/h but after smashing some magical barrier I can see that everywhere we are using different programming languages to do exactly the same but with different syntax, we are using new shinny frameworks to do the same but different syntax, we are using another new tool that in reality is not new, it's just the same thing but named differently... Learn the FUNDAMENTALS, and after that, it's not that hard, please do not slide on the surface, go deep, there is the answer. People tend to overcomplicate things.
It just depends on capabilities of the individual
The biggest thing aspiring devs need to be aware of, and why some might say that it's "never easy", is that no matter how prepared you are, you will be faced with problems you are utterly clueless about. You aren't prepared for this, and you won't ever be prepared for this. And that's okay. Your employer isn't paying you to know this stuff and solve issues you already know about. He's paying you so that when such issues arrive, you have the ability to study it and fix it.
Writing code is the easy part. But figuring out the intricacies of software developements is something you will have to learn on the go, and while it very much gets easier the more experience you have, it's something you'll have to deal with for as long as you work on that field. What makes it hard is the constant need to hammer your head at problems you are (initially) clueless about. Incidentally, it's what makes it interesting for many others : you're always growing and learning new things.
Love that comment !
This is what I didn't and could not know as a beginner.
How deep into programming did you need to get to have a sense of if you were good at it or not?
I've been doing some basic HTML and CSS and am enjoying it a lot and it's all making sense, but I'm wondering what else I need to explore to have a big enough sample size. Something backend? Or can I extrapolate my enjoyment of the logical/puzzle side of it from what I've done so far you reckon
Developer for more than 10 years here. I love how sincere and honest you are. best video I have watched in a while
The best thing to do as programmer is to find a hobby/interest you have and you see there is a lack of a website/software/tool whatever. And do it. You can do the full stack from designing the database to choosing the tech stack, from writing the backend, designing the UI to doing the front end, configure azure pipeline and CI to hosting. Make your own testing strategy. And do all this trying to write the cleanest code ever, doing the cleanest architecture ever and if you feel like it refactor the 10th thousand time. This is your project, and yours only. Use it to experiment with technologies and design ideas. I am doing this and this pet project shows me every time I work on it, that I love being a developer.
Love your videos man! I’m self learning myself as well, spending 3 hours a day after work learning how to code. Definitely had times where I needed to just step away for the day and recuperate.
this is an oversaturated field
Thanks so much for this video Dorian!!!! Literally needed to hear every single word of this. I’ve been self teaching myself front end end for almost 5 years and literally couldn’t eve build a static web page until I decided to map out my path, set up a dedicated schedule find a strong community of supporters that didn’t require a crazy expensive Boot Camp and most of all yes spend my time weirdly investing on learning this stuff…it’s a real investment and no video is going to get you where you want to go. So yes it’s hard like you said but possible. This literally has fueled me to not give up no matter how long it takes, it’s a journey more than anything.
shout out for sticking with it tho 🍻🤙🏼
coding is a production job. if you've ever worked an assembly line, you know what it feels like. sometimes there's a bit of creativity, but mainly that's when you are learning and stuff is new, or maybe if you're working in a new tech space. once you've been doing it a while, like you said, it can be a grind of same ol' same ol'.
i did websites for a little more than 15 years and then hit burnout hard. there's a part of me that wants to get back into it because i do love the problem-solving aspects of it, but i don't know if i ever will.
I was a production manager at a furniture manufacturer, and that was pretty much stressful, now I'm learning to code, in Python, towards data science, and I had my first meltdown or burnout. Programing burnouts are hell on wheels, but I'm not ready to give up. You are right, age rushes things, I feel we act the same: regular job, family and coding
my advice, go back to school for statistics or abandon the idea of getting into data science. It's not a area of coding for self taught coders. I could be wrong, but the mass majority of companies that actually use data scientists are going to expect you to have a deep understanding of math, aka master's or PhD. I went down that path and had to abandon it to go into front end. There were no jobs in my area using python/tensorflow/pandas/matplotlib etc. they use Excel.. or tableau. My 2 cents.. good luck.
@@sbarter you're more than right, but I can still use my knowledge of Python, for web scraping, or automated testing, or whatever...I was searching for online BA certification ( or online certification)in computer science, data science, or data analysis. I read so many articles that were self-taught programmers have fewer chances of getting hired in big companies and getting a BA certainly helps a lot.
Thank you for this. I've been having trouble learning advanced JavaScript and almost stopped entirely, but this helped me realize that I'm supposed to run into roadblocks because this isn't supposed to be easy, its all part of the journey.
Every word is gold. This is so true, all of it! Especially the part where you talk about how much work you MUST put into it. There is no easy way, you have to dedicate yourself to it and you have to bear with your tears and sweat. Because if you want to be good, not just getting away with disastrous code, this shit is tough.
Thank you for the honesty!! I've been trying to learn to code for almost a year and in between, I've been quitting and starting again. Weirdly enough you being so honest about it motivates me.
You are inspiration plz. Don't stop making these type of content
As long as these videos keep helping people I'll keep making them! Thanks for watching!
I'm a programmer I'm graduated in computer science and after 8 years of job as programmer in a big company I am still experiencing these things that you speak of, great video. You are right. It's a hard long way beeing a programmer but... if you like it, don't give up! :)
Thank you for your honesty. Rare virtue to find nowadays in social media. I'm starting to learn to code as hobby. I want to be able to participate in Kaggle competitions.
Wish you the best of success in 2022.
As someone who is also a self-taught programmer I want to say well done. That’s not an easy road. I will say this, I am now 15 years in to my journey. It’s always hard there’s always a challenge and you never get to the end of what you need to learn. For those of us that love the profession it’s that challenge that is what keeps us coming back. If there wasn’t a consistent challenge and if there wasn’t always a hill climb I don’t think I’d still be doing this.
Brutal truth and absolutely honest picture. Thank you..
As someone with a long career in IT, I can say this is spot on. Great video!
To everyone seeing this hoping to be a $$$$programmer$$$$$ don't be disheartened. Lot's of it is cool. Yes it will be a job. Yes there will be a lot of boring job parts. But there will also be really cool things to learn and really amazing people to learn from. And the $$$$ can be a real thing IF you put in the grind to get there. There are no quick routes only solid grind and even once you have a job, you never stop polishing and perfecting your skills and staying up to date if you want to continue on that $$$$ trajectory.
Hi, Self taught programmer and programming team leader of 10 years now.
That's what i love about this profession, it'll always be challenging to some extent, and that's great :)
Keep at it!
I really appreciate you giving us the reality of the industry/learning path. I was going into this with a optimistic and semi-lackadaisical approach but this video provided me with some perspective and resolve, thank you
Great content, thank you for being honest. Many act like it is super easy for someone without a tech background to get a job and start with no experience at all and just a boot camp.
Learning to code was absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever purposely set out to do. I went the self-taught/boot camp route. I can confirm that a lot of the success stories that boot camps advertise i.e. got a job at FAANG after a 3 month boot camp had previous degrees in STEM fields. I was not one of those lucky folks but there are other opportunities from which to climb the ladder once you’ve entered the industry. It never gets easy but it’s rewarding if you like the work.
So do you think a boot-camp is worth it? I don't expect a success story, just actually landing any entry level role no matter where it might be (in the UK), my plan is to self learn and go to a well-rated bootcamp for webdev once I finish my degree, but I'm considering just doing a masters in CS anyway (non STEM bachelor).
@@hodgesmarna5031 No. Having gone the boot camp route, get a subscription to Datacamp, practice on places like hacker rank, decide some projects you want to do for a resume, spend time talking to other learners in programming-focused discords and forums.
the boot camp is not looked at higher than other means of getting certifications a lot of places are going to look at your portfolio and generally have a live coding test or a whiteboard test for interviews.
Lambda, now bloom, is the one i went through and they had to walk back their claims about job placements and a number of other things they basically lied about initially. They also have a problem where they keep trying to automate things, fire people, and then when you have an issue it takes 1+ months to solve, so they say 8 months but because of how slow they react to problems though, you will probably be stuck in for over a year.
@@thehermitthetower1126 is getting bachelor degree in Information Technology along with certification like CompTIA security+ and/or network+ and 1 or 2 internship will get me land a good paying job?
@@olympic-ass-eater This is a sort of hybrid field when it comes to experience vs education. Both are good, but both is great.
Internship positions in the tech field tend to pay well. Generally better than most entry-level jobs, and everyone expects you to not know anything. Its the one position ive seen in the world where you get paid almost entirely for how well you progress, rather than specifically being good at anything. So i would aim for an internship, and pursue education on the side. Youll need to try to steer yourself into the position youre ultimately looking for. Your experience is your rudder, your education is your sail.
You will be expected to get better as you go. This means working on the clock and learning at home. This isnt a 'job', so much as a habit you have to learn to develop. It doesnt ever end, and this is why most people end up doing something else.
@@olympic-ass-eater IT is not software development. They are two very distinct career paths. Don' t go the route you're describing if you want to develop software.
i appreciate your honesty and openness. you aren’t shitting on it or glorifying it, you’re just talking about your perspective and how you feel about coding. so refreshing to listen to someone else talk about their experience in a way that could be useful to others. thanks so much
Good video!
I've started learning coding at age of 35, combining with regular job. It was very hard and demanding, but after ~1 year I was lucky to get my job as a developer, but still learning new things almost every day.
If you are in the beginning or middle of this path, don't give up, you can do it!
Just out of curiosity, what path did you take on that one year that lead you to get a job, what languages did you learn?
I'm just starting and I've hit so many walls already, that thinking about a getting a job in one year seems surreal to me.
@@Miguelskytwins just don't give up.
I took a study program arranged by local university of applied science, some sort of evening school,
and we were learning a lot of things, and about half of them were irrelevant to the web developer profession that I desided to pursue.
I personally would recommend you to learn JS and React and rest api principals, that already will be enough to start.
The amount of information is feeling overwhelming at the srart (and it is a lot), but its doable.
I recomend to take a look at bred traversy's js and react courses. and then there is a lot of free stuff on youtube - in example developer ed and web dev simpyfied has gelped me a lot.
when you will be able to write a todo app in react storing data in local storage you can start looking for a junior or internship position.
git knowledge is important too.
when you will take a grip on frontend (React) you can start looking into some backend language. which one depens on demand in your area. most probably it will be .net(c#), java or node.
Node is easiet in a sense, that you already know the language.
but as I said, knowing react should be enough for you to "get your foot" into some company.
Good luck!
@@jaedong1957 thank you so much for the elaborate response, it is very helpful and keeps me motivated!
@@Miguelskytwins no problem, any time!
This is straight truth. Thank you so much for sharing this in a completely honest and realistic way without being discouraging.
I don't think it's right when everyone is blindly encouraged to try to learn to code. It was one of the most difficult things I ever did in my life and I love how you point out. In the end it's a job, it's not really all that glamorous. It's a good job and in demand and well paid but it's still a job where you sit at a desk all day.
Stumbled on your videos while trying to research about programming/coding. And I just want to say thank you for keeping it real. It's really hard to learn to code (for me at least) considering I graduated with IT degree back in way years. And after working in different industries for a long time and trying to go back and re-learn coding/programming by myself just to have a better future, I can say it can be really lonely and frustrating(and I'm only trying a udemy course right now about web dev)And yes, right now my goal is to get a job and have a better life for me and my love ones so I guess I just need to push through and hopefully it works out. Again thank you for keeping it real and being honest about it, since most of the vids i find at social media shows you can learn coding/programming easily within 3 months and it makes me doubt myself and frustrated thinking I'm not cut out for this. TBH, most of the time now i just want to call it quits but seeing your vids like this and thinking i need to do this for a better life for my family...I just need to push through... THANK YOU
This video resonates so much. I had to distance myself from some of my peers in my fullstack program because they would cheat or take the lazy way out through our projects. If it’s one thing programming has taught me is grit. You need a lot to be successful.
everybody in my bootcamp that got a job immediately afterwards cheated their way through and most ended up getting found out later. that's another thing to keep in mind, the people who seem like they are WAY ahead of you might have taken a ton of shortcuts, because many of them have.
Man, such a true insight. You description was so true to the actual stuff.
0:43 the kind of room and setup I want!!!......So happy to ser you grow..... started from the bottom now we here......I was among the first 5 subscribers...now we at a family of 25k..... Let's go!!!!!!.....it will soon be a million
Thanks Ayush! I remember you from comments on my earlier videos! I appreciate the continued support and thanks for being here from the start!
@@DorianDevelops and you still reply.....you are awesome
So in July this year I applied to a company while still taking a course as a .Net Developer. Today, as of 21st of September I received confirmation that I will be starting on the 3rd of October as a Junior Game Developer. I started learning how to code mainly in Unity since the end of December. The way there was hard and grinding. Lots of learning and lots of dissapointments when I thought that I was on the way of getting an internship. In the end I have somehow gotten my first fulltime job(not internship) in programming as a junior game developer. All thanks partially to your videos which inspired me and gave me a way to approach this realistically. But also kept me determined on my goal. Thank you Dorian
Programmer with just under 15 years of experience checking in. Your advice seems pretty sound to me overall. I just want to underscore your point about CRUD applications being boring after a certain point in time. I hit that point because I realized I prefer more specialized domains but my earning potential was higher by staying in web dev - so here I am still building CRUD apps and saving up cash for . Figuring out where you want to go and how to get there while keeping in mind what the job market wants is no small task. But everyone should be keeping that in the back of their mind, at least after they land their first job (imo, it's a pretty big shift between those two mindsets)
I'm just a hobbyist as of now, and I can also already tell that the whole CRUD app business is going to get boring pretty fast. As soon as you have all the optimal ways of implementing it down, it's pretty much always the same. Only thing I truly love is to create UIs, as you can really spice things up there.
I really love your down to earth, straight talk style in your videos. Thank you, and please keep it up.
Thanks. I need this hard talk. You are absolutely right about how glamourous the TH-camrs make it out to be. Like every job out there, it has its downsides and the fact you basically spend all day every day in front of your screen has got to be soul crushing. No way I'm gonna take that route.
1:35 I am in this from last summer . When you say many times ' code ' my heart is smiling . I love to write code . I hope this will be a passion and never a burden
This is a very good video. Feels like you gave an honest picture of your path. I’m a 26yo who just finished my bachelor in art history, thinking about changing career path. Luckily, I live in sweden where this is possible. Just applied to an COmputer Science-programme at my local college. Thanks for giving your view in this topic!
Man the sheer amount of honesty in this video touched me to the core!. you are right I need to work on my skills more. Thanks.
I got my first job as a programmer when I was 31 years old, 10 years ago. Self taught, I still struggle in technical interviews although I've worked as a senior and lead dev for many years.
lol this sounds like the plot of a movie where some guy accidentally ends up a lead developer but has no idea what they’re doing and so is just faking it till they make it every day
@@ShadyRonin thankfully I know what I'm doing though, just can't sit down and whiteboard a tree sort or implement a visitor design pattern in front of a group of people without the use of the internets.
It's so nice to still see some honesty words on TH-cam. We highly appreciate that! Tks a lot.
Always! Many people on YT only want to show the pretty side of things. Figured it's best to keep it real because it's not all rainbows and butterflies when you're trying to learn to code and become a developer. Thanks for watching and thanks for being a long time subscriber, much love!
I'm a self taught one either and for the first one and a half year I was closed anything but to practicing code. I practiced averagely ten hours a day and all week. Then I could barely hired by a digital agency as a front end developer. It's hard man I can just say that, if you want to be a self thought, be aware of that. I did it in 2013 so today it's harder than before to get hired.
You scaring me now
Bootcamp student or not, you'll end up being self-taught in many ways. There's no avoiding it.
I am trying to learn programming as a hobby but I am studying to be a neuroscientist. I am also a high school drop out, so it is nice to see how there are so many paths, even if you had a rough start in life.
Thank u for being so real and honest. I started my career in web design back in 2000 after finishing a degree in computer information systems. I have been wanting to start teaching but haven’t put together my first video yet. As I have gone a somewhat standard route I like to hear what others have done. The opportunities to learn coding has expanded exponentially. So many options and age, time and career interest all play a factor in what may be best.
I just love how u give people the truth. I was wondering if i say what I really felt which can be negative it may turn someone away who may truly be interested in getting into coding. Gosh. So much to think about. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I'm not a coder. But beneath the programming bits and pieces, I see so many valuable messages about not looking for shortcuts and just putting in the work.
I blame myself for not having seen this video earlier.
SUBBED!
I've been learning by myself how to code for a year and a half. Now I've been employed as a dev in a software company for a year. It's hard. It's very damn hard, every day, ever second. But I hope it will get easier by time, eventually.
After one year of your comment, how are you feeling about the job now?
(I've just started so I'm curious)
@@Miguelskytwins Hello. In my case it wasn't easier, thus I left the company, took six months off and found another non-developer job in IT industry. I just thought that my stress, knowledge and responsibility weren't supported by an adequate salary. So I took some time off to regenerate. As I was a junior developer I couldn't find another dev job because almost no one is looking for a junior developer, they rather have students. I started searching for different positions and I found a really good position in technical support. It's fun, a decent salary and way less stress.
Although I've spent a year and a half of my life learning to code and then working a year as a developer under a great amount of stress I don't regret it. Why? Because having a dev position in my CV opened many other doors job-wise.
Good luck!
@@MiroCro11 Thank you so much for your answer. I'm glad that even though you are not "developing" any more, it lead you to a job that you are enjoying more.
All the best!
Amazing. Clean, fun to watch and SO educational. Great job! Thanks you so much!!!!
I started out at a consultant company that believed anyone could learn to write code. There was a 20 week fast-paced "cycle", and upon graduating, you would be a full-time developer for that consultant company...
My "cycle" started with 16 people. Only 6 graduated. Of those 6, only 2 are still employed
as a developer today, myself, and one other. The one other is now working as a front-end developer for Microsoft, while I'm working on starting my own software business.
That was 2013. Development is hard work and definitely not for everybody. If it were easy, all 16 would have graduated and would still be developers today.
Speaking from 25 years of experience, this job is not for everyone. Its mostly a thank less job, you get asked to implement abstract complex solutions and when your done spending long days and weeks and months on a problem you get dropped into the next random thing. That being said it can be enjoyable if you have some level of input into the design phase. Even after 25 years I feel im still learning things, so you must be willing to learn all the time. If you are good at your job you will probably spend more time programming than socializing with co workers because the agile work flow never ends. If you get caught up in a legacy application insist you get time to work on a new product or look for a job were you can be part of a new project. There is nothing worse than fixing other peoples work, only to find your changes create new unforeseen issues (because the last guy did not document, comment, datatype, unit test, or name anything that makes sense). Try and find ways to speed up you build/debug cycle you will be doing this alot and when the deadline creep comes you will wish you had more time. But if you enjoy challenges and analytical problems with little social interaction then it is a great job. PS learning a program language is only a vary small part of software design other areas include database design SQL/NoSQL setup and deployment, optimization best practices, design patterns, UI/UX elements, responsive design, graphic design, UML, Networking OSI Layers, Data science, Maths, Microservices, Cloud Services the list goes on this is why you never stop learning.
Getting started is easy download a game engine like GoDot or Unity and start writing C#, build a basic game from beginning to end and know how it works back to front this should give you OOP understanding UI design concepts for HUD and menus including composition and possibly database storage of saves if you take it a little further make it multiplayer so you learn state Managment and network layers. Hopefully there will be some vector maths and conditional logic. Dont write a hello world app and say you are a developer that is a meme at best. Even though most jobs are web focused building a game will help get you enthusiastic about programming and many concept can be carried over. C# core is becoming vary popular in the middle tier, though I lean slightly in favor of Java because of the many Apache projects such as Hadoop, Kafka, Spark, RabbitMQ, Solr and many more. If you dont like the verbosity of Java you could learn Kotlin or even get vary familiar with Intellij which will implement most of the code for you like getter/setter implementing interface adding equals and hash methods and lots of refactoring tools. Learn Javascript this is a must it is used by many tech stacks and derivatives of it like Typescript are just basically extension of the language. Javascript is so wide spread you can write a fullstack application including stored procedures in database like MongoDB middle tier using node/express and frontend web vue.js and even mobile and desktop apps with it using Electron. Even many game engines support it. One thing that is really important to learn with Javascript is the prototype design pattern normally a feature reserved for variant languages which Javascript is.
I'm with you man. It is hard always mentally and phisically.
And this "become programmer in 4 weeks and after that all sunshine and rainbows". This overhype is total BS.
THANK YOU....
I needed to see some honesty.
I just subbed your channel.
As a self-taught programmer working with Java/Spring Boot/Angular, I can say, Sir, you're right on a spot! I've started to learn programming with 39, with a full-time job and two kids on my back. I'm 42 yo now, and I work as a programmer for the last 10 months. It's a nice job, that makes you cry out of despair every now and then.
Hello Marko, glad to hear that your hardwork paid off ! May I ask how you like programming compared to your other jobs? You don’t have to get too personal I am just curious about the benefits, work hours, perks, drawbacks and such. How satisfied are you in your tech field? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
@@paljohn47 It's good, and a well-paid job. As someone who started late programming, I can say it's also demanding because you constantly need to learn to catch up with the rest of the team. Those guys are in programming for decades, and there is no easy way to reach their level of confidence and knowledge. And the home office is truly a blessing - no waking up early in the morning, just to mention the most obvious advantage to being at home during working hours. This is the best job I've ever had.
@@marko8640 Thank you I appreciate you taking the time and filling me in about programming! I will definitely consider getting involved and learning it more
Thanks for making it real, and reminding us that it isn't just us struggling when claims like in YT videos misguide you into believing it is quick and easy. And realizing this, inspires us to press on amid the difficulties.
Man I honestly feel all of these struggles right now. I'm still into this industry for a year now specially when I was still freelancing before but now I'm in an agency. Still same with struggles. Love your content man, very relatable. 👏🏼
Appreciate the transparency about the material things. Also the last bit of the rant about trying to get into anything with the "easy route" can truly be applied to anything. Sitting here at the start of my coding journey, but glad that I can truly feel deep down I'm not intrinsically motivated by status or wealth in this endeavor; can't say I had the same mindset pursuing past endeavors. Take care
I've even trying to be a web dev for 13 years. I have an AA in web development and programming.
I work in a warehouse...
So this video is super real and if I can add some advice from my failure - you have to be consistent and it's exhausting. I've let like 3 domain portfolios go as well as probably about a dozen of projects.
Even if it's just about an hour a day towards learning/practicing/researching, make the most of that hour.
What is AA?
@@carldrogo9492 associates degree.
Not a big degree, but I did learn all the skills to be full stack.
Damn man. At the right time. This is what I needed to hear. Thank you for that.
Thanks for this video. I am doing some research to see if this is a career change I want to make. I was looking for the "ugly" and not some rose colored lense. I also feel encouraged because I am not deterred by most of what you are saying. I expect it to be hard, and I expect to test my self discipline. I think I am at the right time in my life to give it a go, wish me luck.
I currently have a job that requires me to sit in front of my PC from 9 to 5, doesn't pay as good as I'd like it and it's not safe, and then I see my brother and some of my relatives who work in IT and do little work but are paid enourmously, of course I want to change careers solely for the money. Maybe, not for the money as much as for the money to stabilize the future for my family (two kids). So, though I don't find this job especially appealing, I will give it a try and learn a skill.
What do you do before and now? How much u get pay before and now?
love your content , you are an inspiration . I follow you and im not gonna spend a dime to learn web development or any programming stuff , there are lot of free content avail in open-source like you always say. Keep rocking .
Thank you! I didn't spend a lot of money to learn to code. Just a few Udemy courses and a couple memberships. There really is so much free content out there that you don't need to spend much in order to do this stuff. Honestly I think that freecodecamp.org is all you need if you don't want to spend a dime!
@@DorianDevelops I disagree. I am self-teaching and I found that knowing a tutor who can help me here and there is valuable. And I find more motivation working through something well structured than working with completely free contents. I am going through Launchschool now and it's the best decision ever.
It's hard when your livelihood depends on it. Pretty much in whatever you do. But once you reach the point of mastery, opportunities will start chasing you like crazy.
Been coding for for 15 years now, started life late in life.
I decided I waned to learn and had the opportunity to do it so i did a degree in software engineering. It's a decision I often regret.
I got a job in a big multinational that is populated with young fanatics who are brainwashed to think the company is the most important thing in the world and think you're weird for treating your job like a job and not a lifestyle. It's like working in a cult.
When I was young, coding was a black art done by the elite geeks who made serious money.
Now they are developing AI assisted IDEs to make everything easier.
They're even teaching kids in school to code so that when they hit the market the money will drop out of programming and these kids will become the equivalent of "building laborers" in terms of pay and conditions.
Speaking of pay it's not all people say it is, the company I work for outsources a lot of its work to cheaper countries with the constant threat of layoffs here to keep the workers inline and grateful to have a job.
Last week HR sent out a link to a website telling people how it's three times harder for people over 50 to get a job, that's me then.
Interesting fact, in the 15 years I'm in the company I've seen only one person make retirement age.
The rest got made redundant.
I've never seen an industry so hell bent on making itself redundant, automation and AI is the new thing.
So people can be "freed up" to do other things is the sales pitch but you can also free them up to leave.
As for the five interview thing, if a company is so full of itself that it requires 5 interviews walk away! It will be hell to work in!
Software engineers are at fault here, we do the 5 interviews!
We waste 5 hours of our lives in the hopes we can work in some hell hole sold as a shining example of a "great place to work".
We should just walk away then they'd have no choice but to limit them. but we don't.
The propaganda these companies go on with is crazy.
"Look we have videos games and a pool table" - touch them and your marked for getting fired.
It's not all it's sold as.
Lol id rather work than play pool so i can leave work earlier.
Do you work remote
@@CE-vd2px For the moment but they're pushing to get everyone back into the office so they remember what it's like and can network.
I already network, it's called the internet.
It's all open plan there so it's like working in an airport when it's full, at least at home it's quiet and i can get work done.
Coders tend to be introverts and like to be left alone to work, managers tend to be loud mouths, i mean extroverts, so they want to be seen and work on their asskissing, I mean visibility 😁
I like your table setup. It's Hard but it's very well paid and once you become good recruiters will STALK you.
Great video. I was trying to jump on this self-taught path but after I stop coding for 2.5 months, I kinda lost my motivation. I still sit in front of my laptop when I have time but will mostly wander somewhere else after awhile. It feels so much better before I took my break but now I kinda lose it. Can you give me some tips on how can I get my game back? Thanks
It's ok to take breaks just make sure to come back to it if it's something that you really want to accomplish. Don't beat yourself up too much and remember that everyone's journey is different!
@@DorianDevelops Thanks. I'll make sure I'm consistent with my coding and probably go back to some tutorials that I've been through to remind myself. Programming is my dream since I'm a kid so its likely I would pursue on this path.
Brad Traversy has a good video on this:
th-cam.com/video/1L6oncFUu10/w-d-xo.html
@@Keane-fh2pc I am doing Launchschool. It is really really great. I am not the best at it. And you need prior JavaScript knowledge, or the knowledge of another language at a basic level. You should probably try it.
Of all the people going through it now, I feel like I am the least knowledgeable because they are going so fast leaving me behind, but what I am able to learn is still tremendous .
@@SeniorJuniorDeveloper Thanks. Its exactly what I was planning to do. Going back to Udemy and repeat the course.
I do not have a job. I got injured in kickboxing. I was playing only videos games. I am going to be 30 now and I wanted to change my life and Dorian is like my mirror. So I started the Udemy course and I know its hard. I currently study at least 6 hours a day. Hope I can manage. I need a job I need a life and I need to get my life in my hands or imma die in my parents house. Everyone around me got jobs families etc etc. Here I am started a new adventure hope I can manage. To be honest, this learning is hard cause the thinking part is hard. Thinking like a computer. Watching Dorian, I say to myself "Yeah, I wasted a lot of time playing Video Games though I do not regret it" I love gaming, but at this point of my life I am in need of job. I don't want my soul to fade away from this earth without an achievement.
For a lot of people, learning programming will be like quitting smoking, becoming celibate, and going full vegan all at the same time. It is that hard. Code boot camps want to sell you the supposed magic that makes it easy. It is not easy and they have every incentive to lie to you about it being easy. Programming well is the Dark Souls/Bloodborne of life. So if that appeals, go for it!
Please god no, not another Souls reference please god
I mean, I ended up getting really good at the Soulsborne series. ;)
As a person who's quit smoking and learnt programming, this is nothing like that. I LOVE programming.
Souls game is not that hard, programming is bullshitly hard especially when it comes to data structuring and algorithms data sign
Also, Souls series reference is god tier cringe
Although i love souls game
I've been into web development and IT for 36 years, and today I'm here stuck, having to forget everything I know, to get to learn everything that has changed in the web development on the past 10 years, currently focused on master the React stack, because I got too confortable with wordpress.... Huge mistake! You are totally right, there is no free ticket to the golden pot in the end of the colored rainbow.... The more I study, the less I know!
You’re alongside my top 5 favorite coding related people on TH-cam. You’re such an inspiration, whenever I get overwhelmed I come to your videos and I truly appreciate you taking out the time to encourage us. You have a gift of motivating like Eric Thomas and Tony Robbins, your energy is captivating 🌸
who are the other good coding related people you follow on youtube?
Man! You are not afraid at all to said the real deal... Thanks for that, thats also very important! Subscribed!
Hi Dorian, thanks for this realistic view of programming! I am glad I stumbled upon it :) It makes sense to think about what kind of job I'm realistically suited for and how programming would look years down the road.
Awesome! Love this video. As the title says, Real Talk! I have had a lot of “peaks” and “valleys” learning and have thrown out the notion for a quick route haha. Thanks for the content!
Yeah, coding professionally can take some of the joy out of it. I try to keep coding exciting by always having a side project.
Yeah. I have a tiny OS I wrote for microcontrollers. It doesn't even really have a filesystem, it's mostly just a dumb scheduler, context switching and memory management for communicating different "threads" or "processes"... So... IPC. I don't really know why operating systems are so interesting to me ..
I've been working in the software development for about 5 years and I agree with what you said in the video.
You're really gonna need to spend most of your free time learning if you want to become a programmer. And even after getting a job you'll have to learn.
I think the only way to handle this is to really like programming.
And you were also right about commercial programming so to speak when you develop software for a company the way the want and need, sometimes using outdated technologies, legacy code or proprietary frameworks. It's usually not as attractive as in the programming courses promos 😄
But software development job is what keeps me curious all the time because the area changes so fast bringing new exciting things.
I really appreciate you being honesty. This video was for me. Thank you man!
Do you think one can get a part time remote job as a jr developer? Like 4 hrs a day?
Hey man Im kinda just you when u just started learning , Im 33 have a family, child, learning python , ur words are motivating and you really are giving a genuine advice.
Keep up this good work ...Thanks Man....
I try to learn. But I procrastinate.I enjoy when I figure out problems. Sitting and looking at screen is not problem, more like I don't do what I should. I know that I should block everything and focus. Atop.of that I have parents on my head, that constantly telling me that "you are addicted". It makes it harder. But I feel it is stuff I can do and enjoy. At least more than any low skill job I can take now. I know my problems and I know I need to fight them. And I know it takes time and work.
I don't think , they can understand that because It is hard to explain to parents, where they constantly telling you , " *JUST GO FIND THE JOB or I will kick you out in 6 months* "
@@royalkumar795 Good that mine are not like that. But surely don't believe that self-taught route is possible. My mother don't quite understand difference between IT studies and programming studies and want me to go to those first "to learn basics". Also don't understand pace of learning programming.
@@The0Stroy you can learn coding if you have free time , but college you won't have free time where you have to struggle to maintain your attendance so you can eligible for your semester exams
You're right bro. Though a developer is just the same like any other jobs, at the end of the day, I still enjoy it. I learned that to find what you want to do, consider 3 things - the amount of income that you want, the lifestyle, and your passion. If what you're doing fullfills these 3. That's good enough. A developer / programming career fulfills all these 3 for me :)
Once you get Sciatica you know you nailed it !
9:45 So many of those videos lol. They said to study for basically half the day but for me that is too much and I usually get burned out
I think an hour or two a day is fine but the more you study the more you learn. I put in a lot of hours and I got lucky that I didn't burn out. Do what you can and if you're really feeling it do more, if not do less but don't stop!
Listen to your body and mind! If you like whatever you doing you won't have that much of stress.
I found that 2-3 hours a day is ideal. You're progressing well in ur study, while at the same time you also have time for your families and friends, also hobby. I find that we can of course spend more time and definitely will accelerate your progress more but at the expense of other things - like spending time with families/friends, exercise time. For a short period of time where it's required, it's fine but not for the rest of your life
@@jabss7847 yeah. Ive cut my hours to 1-2 because I usually get burtn out when I just bomb through like 5-6 hours and dont even touch my laptop for like a week lol. I try to fit my hobbies in like jiu jitsu, lifting, and learning portuguese. 6 hours of studying wasnt gonna allow me to do my hobbies or spend time with family. I just lost myself in those videos that said that everything would be "123 ABC''. Also, studying code for 6 hours and actually doing code for 6 hours is different from what I understand now.
@@barcalona55 Woo so you're learning Portuguese, llifting, etc2. Then 1 or 2 hours is ideal. Otherwise it will be overwhelming. When doing a lot of things at one time, having a longer timeline is expected though. Keep going 💪💪
Its nice to hear that side of coding as well specially for the newbies like me. This has me prepared for what will be in the future
I’m trying my hand on the self-taught path because I want a better life for my daughter. I thought I was on a hood track and learning a lot but once it came to working on my own without the tutorial I hit a massive wall!! I’m so discouraged, I have 15 pages of useless notes and I don’t know wut to do. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or encouragement for me. I don’t wanna give up but I just feel like such a fool. Anyone please help!!
Not sure what you've been using to learn. But try something that is project-based learning that will have you applying the things that you're learning as you learn them. I highly recommend freecodecamp.org it is a struggle but start little by little building small things and eventually you'll work your way up to bigger projects for your portfolio. Good luck!
@@DorianDevelops thanks so much for the advice. I’m currently using the android developer site to learn kotlin for app development. As I said it’s been a tough road so far. Also I wanna say good luck with the new direction of ur channel. You’ve been a huge inspiration for me throughout this whole thing! I’ll still be here watching no matter wut direction u take the channel. Much love and respect!
Your principle applies to most fields; when you do it as a job, it's less fun. Teaching piano sucks compared to just playing it on your own. Teaching graphic design is structured whereas doing it is fluid. I just started coding (just did a tictactoe tutorial and roguelike tutorial in python) and I definitely want to keep it as a hobby to help me build what I need/want, or else I'll start resenting it. I'm gonna try to stick with this for a good 6 or so years until I can understand enough to make my own stuff from scratch to complement my other jobs or hobbies. Thanks for the video and the helpful advice brother.
2years into the job and I’m still a junior which is fine but it does take it’s toll cause you sometimes believe you are better than you think and everything you said is exactly what happened to me, it’s brutal.. and once I started working in a job for the first time it was the most stressful experience of my life!
But I still love it!
Hang in there everybody!
Awsome.. refreshing to see someone in this sector keeping it real.. very relatable, i took it upon myself to become a one man game development factory learning programming/art/animation/sound design/ music production/ mixing and mastering/project management.. even though i'm pretty obsessive compulsive and i'm truly driven by love and fascination for the craft. +- 6years deep It still takes a whooole lot of mental gymnastics to maintain a productive mindset at times. sacrificing recreational time after a day of 8 hours doing a shitty minimum wage job.. getting depressed and wanting to give up, burnout pff it has bin quiete a ride and im still far from my destination haha i recommend selling drugs or getting lucky at a casino for ppl looking for quick easy money
Hey Dorian, I'm the first commenter (maybe). this is amazing content, thanks for sharing, really appreciate your effort. I need advice from you, and that is. how can I feel that I'm ready for job apply? I'm a self-taught react developer. could you please help me out?
Best advice I can give you is don't wait until you feel ready. Build some projects, set up your portfolio and resume, and start applying early on. You might be more ready than you think you are. Let the potential employers determine if you're ready. You might face a lot of rejection but don't worry that's normal. Just keep studying, building and applying!
@@DorianDevelops Wow! Thank you so much, man. That's why love you!
Thank you thank you. Just what I needed to hear. And I'm still excited about learning!
❤ اللهم صلي وسلم وبارك علي نبينا محمد ❤
Much truth and reality spoken about learning and how hard it actually is
im conflicted with my passions i do the same amount of guitar that i do in coding but only one will pay me yet i can't just not do the one as much as the other i've currently split it to do 12hrs of coding one day and the other 12h of guitar i can slip in some time after finishing the guitar sessions but it feel off and the guilt of doing guitar even tho im not going to get paid in the future for that is just mind numbing but i have this need #atleastitsnotdrugs how i cope anyways thanks for the vid dorian!
You should start a TH-cam channel while you're learning those things. Might be a good way to see if you can monetize those things you are learning early on. My biggest TH-cam regret is not starting a channel while I was learning to code. If you do decide to start let me know and I'll make sure to subscribe! Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@DorianDevelops that's a good idea actually most likely will take that route yet again thank you!
I just started learning to code,..This WEEK. *Send help* these are motivational words. Thanks Dorian. I'll be sharing my devlogs on my channel(for self-motivation)
What is your opinion on the Network Engineer path as opposed to becoming a Developer? I'm looking at this as an alternative because of how saturated and glamorized it is like you said.
That's the route that I first took. Got my A+ and then started working toward Net+ and Cisco certs. I hated studying for certs and was bored out of my mind. Buddy convinced me to try learning to code, I did and enjoyed that much more so stuck with that.
Being a System Administrator/Network Administrator is a great halfway point between Help desk and Developer. You make sure everything is up and running do some scripting/coding do some physical work maintaining physical servers or cloud administrating. Best of both worlds if you want to sit at a desk but not all day.
Matter of fact if something isnt breaking us Administrators are partying and pounding brewskis listening to rock while laughing at the programmers having to sit at a desk and code all day. Pretty much the Alphas of the IT industry!
@@vindicatedafi that sounds awesome! Can one also break into this career without going back to school and getting into debt with a CS degree?
@@JDMorris81 Yes I dont have a CS degree.