How to Turn Programming into Your Passion

Before we know it we’re stuck in a dead-end job that results in a mundane routine bundled with an ok salary and acceptable benefits. We need a change. We want to find our passion, especially in the workplace. Could programming be the answer?

The Glamorous Career in the IT Industry

If we don’t know much about coding in general, our basic understanding of the IT world is based on Silicon Valley TV series. We tend to believe that the majority of IT employees are nerds, with high salaries, ridiculous whims and great career prospects. With the technology advancing so fast, we think we’ll inevitably go places. We’ll have no trouble in finding a job, making big bucks while working remotely somewhere on a beach in Thailand, sipping freshly made cocktails and enjoying a back massage. Sounds like a dream?

There’s no denying that high demands in the IT industry greatly surpass the supply as the internet possibilities continue to grow. Salaries tend to be higher and the shortage of skilled workforce is unnerving. This might be the gap you’ve been looking for, as the competition between companies hiring tech talent is fierce, this could be a way of marketing yourself and putting your best foot forward. Bear in mind that the beginnings might be tough as usually, the initial pay is lower, however, the IT world offers myriads of opportunities and it’s no surprise that the career prospects in IT are quite tempting.

The Burning Question: What is Programming all About?

In simple terms, programming is a way of talking to a computer. You have to use a language that the computer understands so that it can perform tasks you’ve asked it to do. The process of learning computer programming starts with learning the programming language. When you’re a newbie you might be confused with all the acronyms that sound like gibberish at first, front-end, back-end, html, css, API, CMS, PHP and so on. You could easily get discouraged and convince yourself that it’s not for you.

Programming is exactly like learning a foreign language, you start with simple words and sentence structures knowing how to say hello, thank you and goodbye and with time end up discussing political & environmental issues. The unfamiliar will become obvious and turn into second nature. It takes time but once you start recognising different terms and patterns you’re that much closer to discovering the magic behind coding and more importantly exploring what you could actually create with your own code, admiring your brilliance once it’s shaped into an actual, working program.

How to Turn Coding into Your Next Favourite Thing?

First of all, you need to put aside a bit of time. It’s no secret that learning a programming language requires time and effort. You’ll need a bit of willpower to get through the initial stages and once you’re hooked you’ll be glued to a computer getting excited about a program you’ve just created!

Once you have a bit of spare time, you need to decide which learning style is best suited to your needs. Some prefer in-person full-time coding bootcamps that last 2 to 3 months and require your personal life to be put on the back burner. Others prefer a balance between private life, work and studying that is spread over 6 to 9 months and can be easily accessible from any part of the globe.

Studying online offers lots of benefits, flexibility and results in high job-placement rates. It’s particularly appealing to students living outside of major towns that want to learn at their own pace. Studying online gives you access to numerous online communities and groups where you’re able to share your knowledge and get support from online mentors. Everything is on your terms. However, there is no one-size-fits-all formula, it’s up to you to decide which method is best for you.

Front-end, Back-end? What Programming Language to Start With

Which part of programming speaks most to your talent, skills and innermost curiosity? If you’re more into the visual side of things and curious how the design is implemented on the web, you should consider becoming Front-end developer. Front-end developers tend to work with HTML, CSS and Javascript, coding web app designs, making sure they appear correctly on different devices. The code is then translated by the browsers. Back-end developers work their magic on the server side integrating the work of front-end developers, managing real-time updates and changes while continuously playing with databases that understand languages like PHP or .Net. The code talks to the server and tells the browser what should be displayed from the database.

The beauty of programming and learning how to code is that once you get a grip on one language all the others will be much easier to pick up. It’s like learning French, once you know the basics, you can easily learn Italian and Spanish as they have lots of words and sentence structures in common.

You Start Programming and You’re Stuck, Help!

You’ve decided to learn how to code, starting with the basics and you turn to the internet as it’s the most powerful knowledge hub. You’ve been watching tutorials, reading books, you know a fair bit already but when it comes to practising you realise you’re stuck! You’ve spent hours on google trying to find an answer with the same buzzing question in your head, what have I done wrong? Have I missed one tiny detail that totally messed up my entire code?

You’re very close to giving up, what then? You need a mentor, someone who will support you and show you a way out. Someone who can check your code, give you some guidance. Online bootcamps provide invaluable help in these situations. You’re able to reach out to your mentor as well as various communities of up-and-coming programming buffs.

You’ve Finished a Bootcamp and You’re Asking Yourself, What Next?

Once you’ve got a fair bit of practice, and you’re proudly holding the bootcamp certificate the only advice is, don’t stop, keep programming! You will have a much higher chance of landing a job in the IT industry with a coding certificate and your personal portfolio. As the internet grows spitting out hundreds of new apps every minute for the least imaginable things, you know there is potential.

Coding could easily become your passion, you just need to find satisfaction in transforming a code into a real action. With programming, you can create something people will actually use, something that could make their lives easier. You can create something innovative that everyone will talk about, which boosts social interaction & creates a buzz in the digital world. If you can find a sense of accomplishment in solving a complicated problem, you know that programming is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Programming is like stepping into the wild. Once you’re familiar with the environment around you, you’re that much more likely to enjoy the sheer vast of freedom and possibilities, it can be quite addictive at times. It’s quite an astonishing thing, putting small bits together, understand the way they interact creating something bigger and much more impressive.

With programming, you’re always moving forward. If you look back to when you started you realise how much you’d actually learned and what you are able to create. Programming is waiting for You :)!