My Coding Journey and Why I am Learning How to Code
I have started and failed at the #100daysofcode challenge more times than I care to count on my coding journey, and the reason why I am learning code is likely different from yours, specifically if this is the first time you have thought about doing it. If you are on the fence about starting your coding journey or, like me, you have tried and failed a couple of times and are looking for a deeper motivation to make this time different, you are in the right place.
General Reasons to learn coding
I will not touch on this in too much detail as you can quickly do a Google search on the reasons to learn code, and they are numerous. The obvious reason is that learning to code can give you the laptop lifestyle as a freelancer or a more “traditional” tech career path; maybe you have silicon valley in your dreams!
But the reason why you should learn to code is not limited to a tech career. Having coding/programming capabilities on your CV could make your CV stand out in a non-coding related industry. An example of this is in finance. Finance professionals work with large amounts of data, and having some coding ability may help you extract valuable information from that data.
Programming and code are fundamentally logical processes, having the ability to code aids your critical thinking ability, which makes you a more effective problem solver, and employers are always looking out for people with this skill!
Why should you learn to code — it’s not what you think
The more obvious reason many people want to learn to code is the possible salaries that can be earned. Now I will admit that these salary figures are enticing and you may think a great salary is reason enough to stay motivated and start your coding journey. Wrong!
I was one of those people trying to learn a new skill mainly for the financial rewards it could offer, and with that mindset, I didn’t even make it past day 20 of the #100daysofcding challenge.
If you think, “I’ll be different, I am a dedicated person with willpower”. I can guarantee you I thought the same, but here is the problem. The reality is that learning a new skill is difficult, specifically when you are going through the process on your own and not part of a coding Bootcamp or coding community. Who do you ask all the questions to when you get stuck? Yes, you can easily Google your problem or error message, but are you advanced enough to understand the answers on Reddit or Quora? I know I wasn’t.
Eventually, learning to code can start to feel like an advanced course in finding the most obscure videos on Youtube rather than learning to code.
By this point, you have invested hours into your coding journey, possibly sacrificing sleep, if you have a day job, and time with family and friends. You start to ask yourself, “why should I learn to code” suddenly, the financial reasons that you thought were so important don’t seem to be as important anymore.
At this time, you need to dig deep to keep yourself motivated, and it’s because I am at that point in my coding journey that I am sure that this time it will be different.
Why I am learning to code
I am learning to code because I have a passion project. I have been involved in the crypto space for over five years now, and if anything has been constant in this time (the price hasn’t been), it is that I love the tech behind crypto and what can be created. Don’t worry this is not a crypto post, I am just sharing what has motivated me to want to learn to code.
Countless times I have come up with ideas of tools to create or apps to develop. The problem that I encountered every time one of these ideas popped into my head is that I didn’t have the cash flow to outsource the project’s development to see if it will work. So the jury is out on if these ideas were good, great or terrible.
The inability to turn my ideas into reality, ultimately finding out if they would work in the real world, eventually got so frustrating that this frustration outweighed the frustration I felt every time I remember getting stuck on a coding problem.
So this time, it is about passion, the passion for creating and hopefully influencing change, even in a small way, by creating something that will long outlive me.
How long is it going to take for me to learn to code
I am on this coding journey with you, which means I don’t have all the answers, but I can tell you that I am documenting every aspect of this journey, from clocking my time to making summaries of resources that I have found useful. I am doing this hoping that if you come across this blog, it will make your coding journey easier.
There is an old saying that it takes 10,000 hours of practice before considering yourself an expert. So if you are looking to become a true coding expert, I would use that as a guideline. Now 10,000 hours may not sound too bad, but here is the scary part. To clock up 10,000 hours working 8 hours a day would take you 1,250 days, assuming 365 days in a year that is 3.5 years, without a weekend. If you factor in weekends, that would be 4.5 years.
Don’t run away just yet! That is how long it would take to learn code at an expert level. You can easily get a coding job and start building tools and apps long before considering yourself an expert — a great aspect of the tech industry.
I believe in setting goals, and my personal goal is to understand and be able to work with all of the core technologies by September 2022, approximately a year from now.
I have set up a Gantt chart using Monday.com that you can view here. I have also set myself a goal to spend 14 hours a week coding, which I track using the time tracking feature on Monday.com. So after a year (52 weeks) I expect to have logged approximately 728 hours in coding experience.
Using Monday.com has been a game-changer for me in my coding journey, as it has helped provide a clear map of future goals, with dependencies and time tracking. I also have to admit I love my Llamas. If you are not sure why I am talking about Llamas check out Monday.com and the Llama farm here.
At the time of writing this article, I have spent 32 hours coding.
Conclusion
Before you start your coding journey, make sure your reason to do it will be enough to keep you motivated for the long term. In my experience, financial reasons alone have fallen short, leading to frustration and failure. If you are going to succeed at learning to code, like with most things in life, make sure you are backed by passion.
How many times have you started your learning to code journey? Share this post on social media using the buttons below with your answer, and lets start building a community of new coders!
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