Learning an additional, "learning language", be it a real language like Pascal or an entirely conceptual/theoretical language like pseudocode or flowchart is th

Learning an additional, "learning language", be it a real language like Pascal or an entirely conceptual/theoretical language like pseudocode or flowchart is the only way to become a programmer. Programming is a very particular and abstract way to look at performing a task and most people need to be eased into it, trained to think like a computer. This ideea that you can take a shoe salesman, make them "proficient" at JavaScript, and let them loose in the job market is a bit strange. It might work for a very limited number of people with an knack for it, but most people I've seen will approach the task as some sort of incantation of magic formulas that make the computer work. When the complexity of the task exceeds what can be achieved with magic formulas, they give up in frustration.