Am I being ridiculous to think I could learn to br a software engineer?

[overthinkersanonnymus]

Even though I know cock all about tech?

I was listening to a pod cast by this lady in Australia who basically taught herself how to code (don't know what that means). Anyway, she's basically now an absolute boss at life and earns a ridiculous amount of money.

I want to earn a ridiculous amount of money!

Please someone tell me this is just another ADHD fixation and not to spend hours and £££ on courses I'll do nothing with......or is it??

DH pretty much did this. Taught himself from scratch 6 ish years ago. Getting first job was really tough, but he is now taking home £160K a year working remotely for a US company, plus bonuses and stock options etc (tech start-up)

The commitment you need is pretty intense though. There are lots of starter/beginner courses online, but a lot will just be building sites / projects etc to figure it out until you get good enough to be employable.

I reckon you could. It would take a lot of persistence though. Try a free coding course online and see whether you actually like it, first.

Do you have any other skills that would combine well with software engineering? Some people are "straight" computer scientists, whereas others combine coding knowledge with things like science, or engineering, or data analysis, or project management.

Yes, you could definitely do it. There's lots of good free online courses. Have a go!

Taught myself to code, so can advise. I did have a technical background, though.
It is definitely doable.
Some things to note:

1. Free courses are great, but try to find a community of wannabe software engineers eho will support you. You will need a lot of commitment and time
2. Don't quit your other job yet - it will take you a while to find a job in the field.
3. You very likely won't be earning a massive amount of money. Look up SE salaries on Glassdoor. I make decent money, but I'm not rich. There will be some people who will make it big, but most won't command ridiculous salaries unless they are lucky or top of their field.

Many software jobs will be made redundant by AI in the future so make sure you are learning to do something robot-proof.

Hi op, I taught myself basic code skills from a non tech background. I watched a lot of youtube then did some freelance work then found my current job. I don't make silly money, just a normal amount, but better than I made before (worked as a TA). I found it very easy to find work though, there's a lot of it going and I'm not personally worried about AI. My job is easy and fun and I love it but don't expect to become a millionaire overnight. Feel free to PM me for more info.

Do it because you think you might be good at it, not because you're seeing pound signs.

Tech paying megabucks is mostly a US thing. In the UK tech jobs pay OK but no better than other professions that need similar training and experience really.

The good thing is you can learn software development at home, and prove yourself with open source contributions. The bad thing is, well, so can everyone else.

I did it a few years ago, trained myself ti code a couple of languages, with a data focus and now earn a lot more money than I was on

Can you knit? If you can knit you can code, its just understanding how the pattern/input dictates the end product

Are you mathy/good at logic? I wouldn't spend any money to start, do some free courses and see if you like it.

I think you need a natural ability (no matter what you do). This doesn't mean you don't have it!

I can knit but I’ve tried to learn c++, php, xsl:fo and JavaScript and I’m hopeless at all of them 😂 the only thing I’m vaguely ok at is html and css!

Yes, you can, of course. I'd echo PP by saying, do it for the interest rather than the megabucks. The wages are good, but you'll need hard-earned skills and experience to get the highest paying jobs, and then you'll need to continuously learn. The techs you're an expert in today stand a good chance of being old-fashioned and obsolete in 5 years time. For career longevity you need to actively enjoy learning.

Maybe try some different languages. I'd say Python is currently most popular in start ups, and there are lots of resources aimed at beginners. Java is more common in larger companies and often taught at universities. Go (google Golang) is a bit more unusual, but it's like a far saner version of C++, so you could try it, and see if your C++ knowledge transfers. C++ is definitely not beginner friendly.

Once you've learnt the first language, the second is easier, then it just keeps on getting easier the more you pick up. So for the first one pick whatever works for you, rather than worrying too much.

I wouldn't bother. Coding is now an AI task. Particularly niche areas will be OK for a few years, but 90% of people who work in the industry will be made redundant over the next five years.

Yes you could do this if you applied yourself to it. My DH did and it was lucrative.

However, will you enjoy it? Coding was obviously her thing but it might not be yours. Is there something you already do well and enjoy that you could pursue and make a good living from? It might be easier, more meaningful to you and make you happier.

Her - meaning the woman on the pod cast.

As someone who works in tech, this isn't correct. Of course the industry will change with the advent of new technology, such as AI, but it has been evolving for decades. I work for a multinational tech firm and can assure you that coding is most definitely not an AI task right now! 😂

OP, my advice would be to choose carefully. Data science remains a growth area, as does cyber security. Try and make sure that any skill you're investing time into is as future-proof as it can be.

Hi @overthinkersanonnymus, as others have said, and speaking as someone who works in tech and codes, you certainly can do it. If you enjoy it or not is another question all together.

There are loads of courses (both free and paid) if you're in the UK I know a number of developers who have started out doing https://www.schoolofcode.co.uk/ which (I believe) is free for UK residents. It's worth having a think about what sort of thing you enjoy doing, do you like dealing with how things look, do you like the logic of how systems can talk to each other? do you like dealing with people to understand what they actually want?

Anyway, don't be disillusioned by the huge salaries, the vast majority of software engineers are not on that sort of money, but equally if you find you enjoy the work, it is possible!

Anyway, more than happy to offer any help/advice etc if you do want to pursue this, I'm a huge advocate for STEM in general and I really do believe that software engineering counts!.

Would you happen to have a link to that podcast?
It sounds really interesting 🙂

This will never happen. Software development is very feature-specific. Unless you're coding simple websites then, yes. But, you can already do that today and the output is awful.