Can I Be A Programmer?
It’s a common question that weaves its way into all the popular programming threads found on Reddit and other online communities. Self-doubt is so prevalent in the beginner’s mind and they often think that at some point, this doubt will completely vanish.
So, how do you know if you’ve got “the right stuff?”
Maybe you could order a book online that one of your friend’s told you about. “Clean Code” by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) would be a good one! But as you dive in with all the ambition and inspiration in the world, the words seems foreign and the concepts are ambiguous. The self-doubt grows, but it doesn’t stop you.
Forget this book — let’s move to online classes!
You sign up for Treehouse and get started on one of their “tracks.” Ah, now you’re learning! Or at least you think you’re learning (and you are..to an extent). After so many hours, you’ve got a working mobile app, or a functional website. For a moment, you’re proud. And as well you should be. So you show your friends and family. Their feedback is along the lines of…”Oh, cool…good job…I guess?”
That little balloon of confidence releases some air, but it’s ok, you’re still floating.
After finishing a couple more Treehouse tracks and some other hand-holding tutorials, you decide you’re a programmer. The next logical step bubbles to the surface, “It’s time to make my app idea a reality!”
You boot up your IDE of choice, your posture is perfect, fingers are ready to run all over the keyboard, and you’re ready to paint code across the canvas of your monitor.
The problem is, nothing comes out. All those tutorials and half the book you read didn’t prepare you for this moment. You’re staring at the abyss, and it’s staring back at you. Self-doubt takes a seat on your shoulders and whispers, “Hello…did you miss me?” He’s heavier than you imagined.
At this point, I think you only really have 2 choices:
- Realize that your doubt is right. You can’t be a programmer. You’re just not smart enough. Maybe if you had taken those CS courses, then maybe you could do this. But it’s just not for you. Ok, you’ve justified it, so you move onto the next thing. There’s no true shame in this. If this is your decision, that’s 100% fine. But at this moment, you’re not a programmer (I say
“at this moment” because I believe you can always come back and try again). - You re-open that book you purchased a couple weeks ago. You skim through it looking for the “How to start an Xcode Project” section. You find it, but it does little help. So you log back into Treehouse and revisit some course. That helps a little bit but you’re still missing something. So you try something else — you Google the hell out of Google. All of a sudden, you’re signed up for StackOverflow and it becomes your new homepage. And after too many hours, the app launches, and it says, “Hello World, this is the start of MY first program.” You know you’ve got a long way to go, but at this point, with your fledgling program staring through the screen like a chick through its egg, you are a programmer.
If you’ve taken option #2, then self-doubt climbs off your shoulder and whispers a few final parting words, “Good job. I’ll see you soon.”
See, that’s the thing. You’ll get a hundred lines into your program, and doubt will rear it’s head again. You’ll get 2 years into your career, and here it comes again. If you’re ok with fighting this on-going battle — if you look forward to the fight, and are willing to buckle down to find solutions to the problems, then I think you’ve got what it takes, 100%.
A lot of people get discouraged during their first swim in the programming waters. The difficulty makes them think they’re going to drown. But I’m here to tell you that you just need to tread water at first.
Buy a couple books. Sign up for online courses. Watch tutorials on YouTube. And most importantly, build your own things — no matter how small!
Learn, Build, Repeat.
Let that be your mantra because you are a programmer.
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