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This part stood out to me: > Every weekday - 1 hour post work > Every weekend - 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday each > Done over 4.5 months, so total = 234 ho

This part stood out to me: > Every weekday - 1 hour post work > Every weekend - 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday each > Done over 4.5 months, so total = 234 hours As an almost-40-year-old that has minor coding experience (but wants to do / learn more) I find that time is the component that's the most difficult to overcome. I have a wife, a 5 year old, a house... all of which require time. Getting 4 hours _per day_ on a Saturday / Sunday combination to be able to focus is nearly impossible for me unless I wanted to completely forgo spending time with my wife and son (and even then it might not be possible due to responsibilities as a parent / home owner). On the flip side of this discussion: his breakdown and explanation of the walls you hit and the feeling of excitement an elation when you pass them really stuck out to me as something not often talked about enough. Learning is a commitment and requires dedication. The author did (IMO) an amazing job talking about his experience with that and how he worked to overcome those obstacles.

cosmodisk 6y ago
Very similar experience here too: I'm not a full time dev, which is probably even worse,as I have to switch between very different contexts throughout the day, which is draining. After work I have two options,either forgo time with family,which isn't sustainable,or try to work late evenings/nights on a side project. It kills every drop of motivation that is left there when trying to debug that code at 1am. Weekends are the same: I can't tell my family I'll be going through some code for 5 hours,while you sit there and keep yourselves busy.
- willbw 6y ago
  I learned at 27 and it was difficult, even without children. Working all day and then spending 5 hours after work debugging and writing code is very taxing. I have sympathy for this viewpoint but it doesn't seem any different to learning any skill after a certain age. Unfortunately you either can or you can't find a way around the time constraints. I know there's lots of hobbies I've abandoned for the same reason.
  - navbaker 6y ago
    > "even without children." ... "but it doesn't seem any different to learning any skill after a certain age" This couldn't be farther from the truth. There is a vast difference between being shot from work and sitting down for a long stretch of time by yourself to self-study and being shot from work and sitting down for a long stretch of time while also being constantly interrupted by the responsibilities you have to care physically and emotionally for another set of human beings.
    - emodendroket 6y ago
      Yeah of course but he's right about the reality that you can either find some way to make time or move on and there isn't much other solution.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
senectus1 6y ago
100% Agree
ChrisRR 6y ago
This is important. With a busy family life, you will never find 4-8 hours regularly to sit down and study solidly. What you're quite likely to have is half an hour every day, and if you do some study for a short amount of time daily, the hours will very quickly add up
Taylor_OD 6y ago
Time is 100% the hardest part. I advise people making the jump to spend 1 hour a day over 90 days doing a Udemy course or something similar in JavaScript. If you can force yourself to make that time and make it a habit then you might be a good fit for a coding bootcamp or deciding to make a more dedicated effort. But most will never be able to spend 1 hour or more a day learning a new skill because its hard to learn after you work all day.
batesy 6y ago
The thing is, even if you just spend 1 hour every weekday and then whatever you happen to have available on weekends (even if it's nothing), those hours are going to add up. The most important thing is that you code daily on something meaningful to you. Even finding an hour a day can be difficult, but should be doable for anyone.

cosmodisk 6y ago

Very similar experience here too: I'm not a full time dev, which is probably even worse,as I have to switch between very different contexts throughout the day, which is draining. After work I have two options,either forgo time with family,which isn't sustainable,or try to work late evenings/nights on a side project. It kills every drop of motivation that is left there when trying to debug that code at 1am. Weekends are the same: I can't tell my family I'll be going through some code for 5 hours,while you sit there and keep yourselves busy.

willbw 6y ago
I learned at 27 and it was difficult, even without children. Working all day and then spending 5 hours after work debugging and writing code is very taxing. I have sympathy for this viewpoint but it doesn't seem any different to learning any skill after a certain age. Unfortunately you either can or you can't find a way around the time constraints. I know there's lots of hobbies I've abandoned for the same reason.
- navbaker 6y ago
  > "even without children." ... "but it doesn't seem any different to learning any skill after a certain age" This couldn't be farther from the truth. There is a vast difference between being shot from work and sitting down for a long stretch of time by yourself to self-study and being shot from work and sitting down for a long stretch of time while also being constantly interrupted by the responsibilities you have to care physically and emotionally for another set of human beings.
  - emodendroket 6y ago
    Yeah of course but he's right about the reality that you can either find some way to make time or move on and there isn't much other solution.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

senectus1 6y ago

100% Agree

ChrisRR 6y ago

This is important. With a busy family life, you will never find 4-8 hours regularly to sit down and study solidly. What you're quite likely to have is half an hour every day, and if you do some study for a short amount of time daily, the hours will very quickly add up

Taylor_OD 6y ago

Time is 100% the hardest part. I advise people making the jump to spend 1 hour a day over 90 days doing a Udemy course or something similar in JavaScript. If you can force yourself to make that time and make it a habit then you might be a good fit for a coding bootcamp or deciding to make a more dedicated effort. But most will never be able to spend 1 hour or more a day learning a new skill because its hard to learn after you work all day.

batesy 6y ago

The thing is, even if you just spend 1 hour every weekday and then whatever you happen to have available on weekends (even if it's nothing), those hours are going to add up. The most important thing is that you code daily on something meaningful to you. Even finding an hour a day can be difficult, but should be doable for anyone.