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Is there any hope that trying to learn this stuff on my own will help me get real work to do / a real job? Granted, I have a ton of academic accolades that I've

Is there any hope that trying to learn this stuff on my own will help me get real work to do / a real job? Granted, I have a ton of academic accolades that I've never been able to get a potential employer to even glance at, so maybe the skills will help. I just doubt I'll learn anything well enough on my own...the best devs learn in pairs it seems. I wish I had a mentor here or something.

cliffy 7y ago
Personally, I learned most programming topics through individual effort. Pair programming can be great if the participants have a similar skill level while having nonoverlapping areas of expertise. But pair programming with one experienced developer and someone who knows nothing is essentially tutoring.
sethammons 7y ago
I got my feet wet in programming in 2001 with help pairing, but there are better tutorials now. I then did my own thing for years on the side. Like build tools and sites I could use. I built a crappy site or tool for a few folks over time. Sometimes for free. Eventually, all this playing around got me to a spot where a recruiter saw me and sent me on interviews and I started becoming a real dev. You have a good opportunity to learn and practice enough to get your foot in the door at an accelerated pace. You can always pair with smarter, more experienced people when you are a "real" dev.
saluki 7y ago
y, you can become employable if you learn HTML/CSS, then javascript and a framework like Rails/Laravel you can get a real job developing web applications. It will take time and some work though to build up the skills. Once you have the basics down offer to setup websites for family and friends, maybe a local small business that needs a website. Build a web application for yourself, maybe one to track a collection of yours, one to send messages in real time between you and a friend or maybe compile fantasy football stats and make projections. Pick something you are interested in and that isn't a step by step tutorial. If you have a knack for programming you'll just keep advancing getting more skilled.
- TurkishPoptart 7y ago
  Thanks for this.
wolco 7y ago
Yes if you get good and can pass programming tests and/or have a portfolio.

cliffy 7y ago

Personally, I learned most programming topics through individual effort. Pair programming can be great if the participants have a similar skill level while having nonoverlapping areas of expertise. But pair programming with one experienced developer and someone who knows nothing is essentially tutoring.

sethammons 7y ago

I got my feet wet in programming in 2001 with help pairing, but there are better tutorials now. I then did my own thing for years on the side. Like build tools and sites I could use. I built a crappy site or tool for a few folks over time. Sometimes for free. Eventually, all this playing around got me to a spot where a recruiter saw me and sent me on interviews and I started becoming a real dev. You have a good opportunity to learn and practice enough to get your foot in the door at an accelerated pace. You can always pair with smarter, more experienced people when you are a "real" dev.

saluki 7y ago

y, you can become employable if you learn HTML/CSS, then javascript and a framework like Rails/Laravel you can get a real job developing web applications. It will take time and some work though to build up the skills. Once you have the basics down offer to setup websites for family and friends, maybe a local small business that needs a website. Build a web application for yourself, maybe one to track a collection of yours, one to send messages in real time between you and a friend or maybe compile fantasy football stats and make projections. Pick something you are interested in and that isn't a step by step tutorial. If you have a knack for programming you'll just keep advancing getting more skilled.

TurkishPoptart 7y ago
Thanks for this.

wolco 7y ago

Yes if you get good and can pass programming tests and/or have a portfolio.