"Learn to code"

[Howaboutnope]

I've read this on a few threads recently - IT is where the money is at. But its all double dutch to me- I'd love to learn and try a new career and earn more money but I'm 34 and really don't have much IT knowledge bar the basics and using a laptop everyday. Is it really that easy to learn?! And how does it translate into a new career? Tips for dummies welcome!

If it was bitchy to say there’s people in software development earning good money who are rubbish, and far less deserving of their salaries than those working hard in supermarkets etc earning minimum wage - than I stand by that.

Some of the people I’ve work with are totally
inept, and them earning good money because they’ve blagged their way into a job via some shitty degree is an insult to society.

Oh and just to be clear - for many, many scenarios - knocking up a site in Wordpress is the right thing to do. There’s nothing wrong with it - part of engineering is knowing the right tools for the job at hand.

Op - this is one thing to be aware of though. There is no place other than software you’ll find people with

• bigger inferiority complexes
• insane levels of entitlement
• outstanding levels of arrogance

i am an example of the latter two 😂

Of course I’m equally annoyed with politicians and anyone who’s blagging a good income when they are inept! That should be fucking obvious’

it’s an insult because these people are generally those who have been given opportunities by their circumstances of life (advantages of rich parents etc, etc) that are not commensurate with their skills.

Not a poor example at all@pixie5121 , your friend was one of a few who could, because the talent and interest were there.

Many do not have a talent or aptitude to write code.

Yes! This is exactly it.

But (see my user-name) the big bucks are not just in coding.

Look for Digital Women on Facebook, and SuperMums too. Both specifically work with re-training women into digital careers. There are big shortages, so lots of opportunity if you have aptitude.

The tl;dr - society should endeavour to be meritocratic, whilst ensuring that people who are unfortunate and unable to look after themselves are well looked after.

instead we have a corrupt shitshow of shysters. Both in the public and private sectors.

When I’ve finished my jobs for the day I’m going to sit down with a cuppa and read this thread. I’m very interested in learning to code and recently I stopped myself buying one of those idiot guides … Coding for Dummies or something similar. I think I might just pop it back in my basket 😬

Thank you for a great thread @Howaboutnope 👍

Yes this.

I agree! In fact I’m not sure why you have such a problem with what I’ve said on the thread.

I think it's great the OP is asking. It was from reading a similar thread a couple of weeks ago on here that i finally dipped my toe in properly.

As to where to start? I would have a look at 100Devs. Leon Noel has a fantastic 30 week bootcamp which is free. You can catch up with his videos on youtube as this started back in January and there is a great support network on Discord if you need help. For me, there are far too many courses and youtube tutorials out there to try and choose from but I like the structure of watching his lessons and having set 'homework'.

I'm saying this as a forty something ex-accountant who normally spends all her time tinkering with crochet and knitting patterns. With crafting I love looking at something and working out how to do it, how can I make it bigger/ smaller, how can I incorporate new techniques in my own designs or how can I translate a specific item from one craft to another. I love the problem solving aspect to this at the moment. I've dabbled with IT stuff before at home, played about with raspberry pi, dual boot an old laptop with Linux etc but my curiosity at work with systems was always squashed by the male IT manager not wanting to share information with or view women as being capable with technology.

I was also not academic at school for lots of reasons. Maths was never my area of expertise. I am more of a problem solver, curious about how stuff works, why it works or what it means when it doesn't work! I also have a habit of pushing myself to learn a new skill, being very stubborn until I can conquer it and then wanting to teach myself something new.

I am not saying this will magically lead to a job for me or anyone else but if you don't have a go you will never know if it is for you or not 🙂

@pixie5121 , i didn't say it was an insult to me. It needs aptitude and inclination.

OP could take an aptitude test and sign up for a few courses to see if it's the right thing for her

The software engineers I work with aren't ones who taught themselves a bit of python, they are very good at what they do and are highly experienced. And they don't argue for the sake of it

The op says IT is double dutch to her.

I stand by what I said. And as someone who knows plenty of people in this line of work.

If the op, or anyone else wants to go for it. Fine.
But if IT is double dutch later in life, it doesnt bode that well, does it.

The fact that some people were in uni with lots of females doing STEM doesn't mean that many of the girls who weren't there were not put off or prevented by bad teaching, stereotypes, and a lack of confidence that no-one helped them with. I am only a lowly Philosophy grad but that seems logical to me. I am trying to develop mathematical skills in later life and I just don't agree with the idea that a lack of aptitude, intelligence or interest are the only things that prevent people from doing so in earlier life. Nor can I agree that the only people with aptitude for something are those who discovered it young.

Haha @SwanBuster - I’m glad you’re not reviewing my code! I’m an unashamed copy-paster. 1) google 2) select relevant example code 3) paste into my script 4) alter to work with what I have written (change variable names etc).

I don’t earn 50-60k though - 2yrs post career change. But I’m persistent, have initiative and work hard. I don’t use maths really but was good at it in school. Friend who worked for investment bank software(not quant) said that the stuff they did was not mega hard - maybe gcse level things intellectually (though I’m sure due to competition - securing an actual place may be v competitive).

It’s not a walk in the park, but definitely worth trying to see if you like it - don’t be intimidated, join a meet-up group for support (especially when starting out).

Dh teaches coding and also does web design and hates the 'learn to code'thing bandied about as it drives people to courses they're not suited for and he has a huge amount of students stressed to bits because they spent thousands on a course they can't figure out the basics of. Yes you can learn, yes if you love it and breathe it you will fly and there will be no shortage of opportunities but it is one hell of a slog and leads to jobs which although high paying, take over your life (dh codes for hours nightly but he loves it). Definitely try it but with a 'I will work like never before' attitude

Go for it @DeafOldGoat ! I found after learning some of the basics like looping, variables - challenges like hacker rank were good. I’ve only done 1 coding interview, but it was good prep and interesting puzzles.

Au contraire - Your first bit is what my entire career is based on!

knowing how to adapt existing solutions for similar but not quite the same problems is a huge skill 👍

I think that’s exactly what some of the most productive engineers do 😁

There are plenty of tests that you can do to see if you have an aptitude for programming. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.