These 3 Things Will Make You A Better Programmer Even Before Starting

First explore

Becomming programmer Probably all the ancient knowledge of physics could be fit into one book. Whereas today it is physically impossible to find out all about one branch of this field. Programming, as well as the whole science, develops exponentially. New solutions are constantly emerging, while the foundations cannot be dug to the very bottom. Therefore, it is a common belief that the threshold for entry into this profession, as well as in any other profession, increases. We live in a world of specialization.

As a programmer you cannot learn it all

At the outset, you have to accept the fact that in programming you probably will not become an expert in everything. It is an extremely extensive field, present in practically all branches of the economy. There are about 200 programming languages ​​alone, of which the most commonly used are 20. You will learn exactly what a programming language is later. Now know that this is a tool. Experienced programmers match them to the needs of a given project.

It’s not hard to get confused when choosing your first technology. Therefore, when starting your adventure with programming, you should explore in search of answers to what interests you the most. Learning about particular branches of programming, such as front-end, back-end, artificial intelligence, databases, etc., will not be a waste of time for you, especially since all of this is based on the same foundations that you will learn about in the rest of the book. Knowing what, where, and when to use it. Having a complete grasp of anything at all is the quality of a good programmer. Additionally, one piece of advice repeated by many developers is not to let wages determine your career path.

What you are best at will give you not only money but also a sense of fulfillment and many other benefits. When exploring the world of programming, instead of following the bars on the salary charts, you should focus on what you like, feel the vibe, and what interests you most.

No1 programmer wannabe nightmare – tutorials trap

So it’s time to abandon the swimmers and the lifebuoy. If you are standing in a place where you have dozens of hours of tutorials and hundreds of lines of code rewritten from someone behind you and you are trying to create something of your own and you do not know how to go about it or you think you need one more.

Not knowing how to do something causes fear or something that just makes you don’t do it at all. You’ve probably fallen into something called tutorial purgatory/tutorial trap/tutorial hell. You don’t even know how many developers have been or are in the same place. In the era of hundreds of thousands of tutorials on various platforms, it is not difficult to fall into this trap.

How to get out of programmer tutorial trap

First of all, don’t worry, this is perfectly normal. Time to slowly remove the swimmers. Set a more achievable goal for yourself, take what you can, and start doing something of your own. Initially, you can ‘tear off’ parts of the code from the tutorials. You can even change the parameters themselves. Increasingly using google. This is what your work will look like. As a programmer you will find yourself in a new project where everything will be different for you many times. You will be guided by the code that has been created so far.

Besides, no one will let a junior write immediately god knows what. Even experienced programmers are gradually adapted to new projects. Of course, there is nothing wrong with following the guides. Undoubtedly, they are a large dose of knowledge and tools necessary to write code. The main thing is not to get attached to them. It is recommended that as soon as you complete each of them (or even during), you should apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Additionally, it is worth learning how to use the documentation as soon as possible.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Before we go on to the rest of the article, I will give you a specific point to remember.

People often confuse intelligence with wisdom and wisdom with knowledge.

Just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean you’re stupid.

Communication because this subsection comes down to it is one of the skills mentioned as key by many programmers in this industry. Programming is not only writing code but, as I wrote (here), work for people and with people.

Programming projects are an environment of constant changes, we often have no right to know about many of them. Knowing how to get the information you want is the key to being good. It is like that in every profession. Often, a properly asked question not only leads to the solution of the problem. It can also change the face of the project.

One of the skills listed as basic is using google. Searching is also the ability to ask the right questions. There are tutorials on how to google more effectively. I once saw an entire googling podcast as a developer. Besides asking google, one of the most common avenues is to simply ask your coworkers. Often people who are more experienced or simply better understood than us. The ability to ask the right questions is listed among the most professional qualities of IT experts.

How to ask questions as a programmer

In our industry, much of the communication is text-based via instant messaging. Of course, the way of asking should be chosen according to the circumstances. We will limit ourselves to questions related to technical issues, assuming that we work in a large company and are referred to a person whom we do not know.

First, introduce yourself – who you are and what you are doing – beyond the obvious, such as giving the other person an idea of ​​what to expect. This sketches the intentions, the reason why who can ask about something.

Secondly, outline what you are asking about – it will save you and the person time (even for further reading) in case you are addressing the wrong person – which happens frequently at work in huge companies.

Third, a description of the situation – be specific, include any relevant media (such as screenshots showing the problem, attachments from documentation or task requirements, or code snippets). Of course, let’s be careful to limit the information to the necessary minimum. More than once I have found out for myself that overdoing it can have the opposite effect to the intended one.

Fourthly (additionally) if you find it helpful, add a reason, justification why you are asking something. Oftentimes, misleading or inaccurate information from the wrong people can cause questions to arise in your mind. Often the related solution to a problem can be motives for asking a question. Presenting them can lead to a direct solution.

Try to solve it by yourself first

Of course, before asking a question, you should make every effort to find a solution yourself. In one of the companies I worked for, we had an official rule, if you’re sitting on something for more than an hour, ask. An additional benefit of asking questions is something related to the rubber duck method. You will see for yourself how many times while writing a question the solution magically comes to your head. It is also an indispensable element of understanding. Included in the techniques of solving algorithmic problems as you will learn from this blog in the future.

Summary

Before becoming a programmer you firstly need to find out what exactly interests you. Give yourself time for playing around with different technologies. This will not hurt you. Actually, it may prevent you from choosing the wrong path.

Get out of tutorial purgatory before even getting trapped. This is a very common problem among beginning programmers. Just whenever you are finishing some course, put your fresh knowledge into action. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, about which I’m writing more (here).

Asking questions it’s not only helpful. It is a highly demanded skill! The sooner you will start practicing it the better you will become at it!