So I recently just got back to coding after a two-month hiatus and damn! It's not a joke when all the legendary devs in the tech space insist that the first step to venture into programming is write a lot of code. At the beginning of my journey in May 2021, I began with HTML and CSS as do most self-taught developers. I already knew that I was more interested in back-end development but I have to admit that it is amazing having that visual gratification everytime you make changes to your code.
A few weeks later and I couldn't wait to dive deep into Python. And oh did I love it!! Everything from learning about setting up the Python environment, variables, strings, integers and booleans was just thrilling to me. I could already see myself as this nerdy guy who would have a setup of three monitors, coding away into the night with chill lo-fi music playing in the background. Lol perhaps that will one day be my story. But life happens and there are bills that need to be paid. So as expected, coding has to take the back seat while I put more focus on my transportation business.
Juggling between the two was actually a great experience. Judging from the research I've done, most self-taught devs actually started teaching themselves while working full-time jobs. Honestly, it doesn't get as motivating as that. This definitely propelled me into knowing that I can actually become and live that developer lifestyle one day. So I took it upon myself to wake up at 4:30am everyday to put in at least an hour and a half to coding. And yes, I did live that chill lo-fi nerdy life because this music really helps when it came to concentration.
A few months into the journey, I discovered Tech Twitter and how supportive the community is. Additionally, people I knew personally who are already devs in android, web, cyber security and machine learning really came through for me especially with recommendations to materials and online resources that would help me with my journey. I should probably have mentioned that I am transitioning from a civil engineering background, but meh. I like to focus on the present and future.
I started getting more comfortable with my code and sharing it with others. Also, it felt so nice being able to understand coding memes! Hahaha! Those memes are really next level and it felt awesome having the brain capacity to enjoy such intelligent content. Later on, I tried as much as possible to network and connect with as many developers and engineers as possible. LinkedIn definitely came through but Twitter is where it was at. Slowly but surely, the confidence was growing. And therein is where the problems started to begin.
There's something one of my favorite tech content creator calls the "Shiny Object" syndrome. This is when you are attracted to every new things that comes out or is announced. In the tech space, this refers to new languages, technologies, IDEs and a bunch of other things that beginners like myself shouldn't really focus on. I switched IDEs perhaps three times, started drooling over Java and began skipping videos in my tutorials because I thought they were "too easy".
BIG BIG MISTAKE! What happened next was having to deal with long periods of imposter syndrome. Additionally, I was never satisfied with any code I wrote because I was already doing too many things in one go. In my mind, I lived the life of a senior developer but in reality, my code and motivation had gone to shit. I didn't like it one bit. So I took a break to re-evaluate and remember why I actually began this journey. My intention was and still is be able to add value and impact thousands of people at the same time.
Two months later I got back at it coz honestly I was just nostalgic. And you guessed it, I forgot rule number one. Always keep coding! I couldn't remember a bloody thing :D At this point I figured that I have nothing to lose and that it was a good run. I should just get back to my normal lifestyle. And I did. But there was a huge hole that needed to be filled. And that hole was filled everytime I sat in front of a terminal and just typed away. Honestly, seeing how visually appealing my code looks on VSCode keeps me going haha!
So here's to continuing with the journey and remaining accountable to myself. Key takeaways for anyone else who wishes to embark on this journey:
- Continue writing code.
- Take your time with it.
- Allow yourself to go on breaks.
- Remember that you are exactly where you once wanted to be!