I learnt to code at 27 - AMA

[OliviaSoprano]

Before anybody tells me to get over myself - I do know that there is absolutely nothing special or interesting about this! But women are still so under-represented in tech and I think far too many see it as an area that is "not for them" / a career option that wouldn't even be worth considering. I felt exactly that way three years ago but then I tried it and realised that I bloody love coding and now I'm working full time as a software engineer and really enjoy my job.

Just thought I'd start this in case there is anybody out there who may have questions about what's actually involved or how to go about starting to learn the necessary skills (or anything else obviously, it's AMA!)

[Starpleck]

@pinkandmarshmallowclouds

I would love to do this but I'm utter rubbish at maths! Well some you for achieving this a little later than normal x

I am rubbish at maths too. Although I have found colleagues with an aptitude for maths find some elements come a bit more naturally to them, it hasn't been a real barrier for me. There are plenty of other skills that are more useful. If you are interested the best way is to try one of the many free courses and see how you get on :)

Sorry OP for chiming in, this is a really good thread.

[OliviaSoprano]

@Starpleck definitely don't apologise and thank you for chiming in. I never meant for this thread to be about me, just seemed like a good way of putting this idea out there in a place where it might be visible to people for whom the option might not otherwise have been apparent as an option. The vague hope was that it might spark something for someone.

I am very glad it has been helpful to some people.

@pinkandmarshmallowclouds re the maths thing ^^ 100% what they said.

[JustKeepSw1mming]

Hi @Fere, well done on taking the plunge on Maker's! I was just wondering if you would mind giving us some updates as you go along? It would be really interesting to follow your journey. Thanks!!

[Fere]

@JustKeepSw1mming of course!
My situation is different from most of others as I used to (until few days ago!) work in IT so I am familiar with many concepts. So I hope the whole process will be less stressful than it is for those who are new to IT concepts.
Meanwhile have look at what government sponsors via bootcamps.
For some of you it can make it possible als all of them are fully paid for! As is mine. I know, I am very lucky. For Makers those offer was for London based people but there are plenty of other offerings outside of London.
Take advantage of them. Who knows how long they will be on offer....
www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-a-skills-bootcamp/list-of-skills-bootcamps#digital

[AutumnLeavesEverywhere]

I've read through this thread with great interest. I'm currently a nurse - absolutely hate it - and have been looking for a way out. I did a bit of basic coding years ago as part of a maths degree and enjoyed it, so it's definitely something that's piqued my interest! Off to sign up to some free taster courses

[OliviaSoprano]

@AutumnLeavesEverywhere

Excellent :) I hope you enjoy!

[TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet]

Thank you for this thread, it has inspired me to look into career changing. I had a go at a very short taster on Codecademy the other night and it was so much fun making the words and colours move and change!

[OliviaSoprano]

@TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet



Excellent! I am very happy to hear it. Long may the fun continue...

[Claireyskillz]

Marking a place, as I've just quit an NHS role and am plodding my way through codecademy!!!!

[Fere]

Week1 on Makers
For clarity - I am not working any more and still recovering from Covid so taking things easy.
The cohort on Makers is made of 28 people. Not everyone is active on the Slack which has been set for us. I can imagine that some people are still working and are very busy.
During the first week we were learning about how to
1/ use command line on Linux - very basic stuff but ig you never touched command line it would be worth familiarising yourself ahead a bit
2/ use Git and GitHub
3/ exercise which combined using concepts from 1&2, again - not v.easy if you've never seen both in your life

My advice for a prep would be - create free account and free environment on AWS, specifically Cloud9 and perhaps follow this documentation
docs.aws.amazon.com/cloud9/latest/user-guide/tutorial.html?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
Create personal token to use instead of Password for connecting to GitHub -

( I haven't watched those videos but they seem to cover a lot of ground)
All what I described above would be useful to learn regardless of where you are going to take your coding journey further. Those are concepts and basic knowledge which will set you on a good path to learn and progress further.
Over all I enjoyed last week and am glad I made decision to learn this way.

[Ihopeyourcakeisshit]

@elQuintoConyo

Can I be terribly rude and just placemark? I'm off to Google wtf coding is

This

[JustKeepSw1mming]

Thanks @Fere ! That's great info!

[Fluffycloudland77]

Is free codecamp.com any good? I completed the html module and I’m about to start css.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Thank you @Fere, it’s very kind of you to share with us.

I feel overwhelmed by what to learn first tbh.

[Fere]

No problem @Fluffycloudland77
What have you done so far?

[Fere]

It is overwhelming when you are starting from scratch, it is a whole new Universe!

[Fluffycloudland77]

I did freecode camp html, just starting css & I’ve signed up to code academy which was actually reassuring the way they talk about learning patterns.

[Fere]

What path do you want to choose from Code Academy?

[Fluffycloudland77]

I’m just on the html/css right now. No idea long term but it can’t hurt to learn a language.

Edx do a really good Harvard computer science course, I watched some last night and it’s really interesting. You know more than you think the way he explains stuff.

[Fere]

If that course interests you follow it and try to learn and understand as much as you can.
Html and css are just one small aspect of Front End scripting, not programming.
Yes, worth learning a programming language. Python, Javascript or Ruby are good for beginners.

[WannabeMathematician]

My people! I’ve been working as a developer for over 7 years now. It’s lovely to find others of you online!

I’m back end in c++. Could not write anything in UI to save my life. Best of luck to those starting out.

[Fere]

Carry on with that CS course, it will give you good foundation.

[Fere]

@Claireyskillz I sent you a PM

[Fere]

@Fluffycloudland77 I don't know anything about codecamp.
How about this free short course? It will ease you into understanding basic concepts of programming. www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-how-to-code

[Fluffycloudland77]

I’ve codeacadamy too but I’ve started freecodecamp and I need to finish that first, so far the cat has a webpage I wrote for her using it 😁.

It’s got a lot of courses on there. Codeacadamy is next, I’ve got time off next week so I can crack on.