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I think you got the professions backwards :) You just can't be an "amateur programmer" - it takes a lot of effort to get to the point where you're employable in

I think you got the professions backwards :) You just can't be an "amateur programmer" - it takes a lot of effort to get to the point where you're employable in the field. Probably something like a year of sustained work. Sure, you can learn light scripting in a week, but learning curve gets a lot steeper at some point. On the other hand, it's relatively easy to learn a slice of health care or law enough to be able to give advice. As for engineering... try combinations including the word "redneck" on youtube search and enjoy yourself.

Firadeoclus 7y ago
You don't need to be "employable in the field" to be an amateur programmer. And plenty of people learn to program in their spare time to a level where they would be employable. Often while they're still in school.
superhuzza 7y ago
Of course you can be an amateur programmer, amateur means you're practicing something but not in a professional manner (i.e. unpaid). A huge number of the people who program things like their raspberry pi or open source projects are amateur programmers. Or all the students and dabblers. Same goes for engineering in general, if you spend any amount of time in a rural area you'll stumble on some amateur engineering genius.