Are you a programmer?

Programming Challenge

Now that you know programming is more than just “working with computers”, I want to give you a taste of what you’re getting into so that you’re prepared. Some of the general ideas that float around the programming community are “you are a programmer” or “you’re simply not”. Due to these types of ideas floating around a lot of new programmers tend to be turned off, and one can see why. Let me be the one to tell you that programming is not easy, and if you find someone that tells you that programming is the easiest thing in the world, that doesn’t make them an expert.

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field ―Niels Bohr

Let’s take a closer look at “What is Programming?” The entire point of programming is to tell a computer what to do. So it comes down to: can you command your computer to do your bidding? Here is where the ego comes into play. YES!

Male Human – “oh computer make me cup of coffee”

Computer – “Coming right up sire”.

This cannot be stressed enough. If you are not good at giving commands in the real world then programming is going to be even more of a challenge to get started with. This is where being bossy really pays off! However, as a programmer it’s better to call it “attention to details”.

Programming is time-consuming! There is no way of getting out of it. The best example that I can think of is related to that of a math problem or writing a novel. Some parts of programming can take hours on hours to figure out and, to add onto this entire thing, the problem could end up being a single missing semicolon. It is just like spending hours on a tedious math problem and getting the wrong answer because one of the signs got messed up along the way. Be ready to spend hours in front of a text editor trying to figure out a solution.

Needless to say, it will take courage, persistence, and most importantly determination in order to become a programmer. It’s not just a big salary.

Figuring out if programing is for you. “You get it” or “you don’t”. Deciding to make programming your career requires a large shift in thinking, both in what has been done in the past and what will be done in the future. This is why older people tend to have a larger learning curve when learning to program. “But I have always done X!” If you are shifting from your current profession to programming, letting go of X can be challenging, but it must be done before something new (programming) can become a reality.

Once that barrier is removed, go over and take a personality test. This is just a rule of thumb, and it should give you a bit of a window into the type of personality you have. This is a good idea because if the personality that you have does not match with that of a programmer, an inner conflict will arise. This step is important, so don’t skip it.

What to do if my personality is not of a programmer? Don’t give up! If the role you carry is that of a project manager, or a CEO and understanding programming is a vital part to what you do. Then the sacrifice must be made (consuming resources) take a deep breath and get ready to learn an amazing way of thinking.

I have what it takes! If you fall into this bucket, then you are extremely young (7-13 years old) or you are a veteran in a profession that requires the same traits as a programmer, giving you a leg up on everyone else. These types of careers are musicians, mathematicians, scientists, or other strongly analytical professions. In the other case of a young programmer (7-13 years old), then you are in great shape to start learning programming.

Have fun! A programming career can be one of the most rewarding, fun accomplishments that you undertake in your lifetime. So have fun! Don’t take every single project too seriously; joke around. Break your code, fix it, fork off to different possibilities, improve your tools, but most importantly CODE.