My First Line of Code
And How I Have Grown Since Then
My programming journey, from knowing nothing to learning some programming skills to getting a job in tech, has been transformational and challenging. And definitely not linear! This skillset is rewarding, profitable and attainable for most people. I am hopeful that my experiences and perspective on programming will inspire other people with little to no programming experience to learn how to code!
Watch my video about My First Line of Code on my Youtube Channel. Or else read below.
How did I begin programming?
I started coding in my twenties. I quit more than once because it was hard and I didn’t see the point. I didn’t really get hooked into programming until I was trying to start a career as a data scientist in 2019. I started teaching myself with free online courses and learned about all the cool applications of programming. From making websites to data analysis and model building, programming became a real, pragmatic and useful thing as opposed to a stagnant blob of text on a computer. Or some complex problem to some online quiz.
The process of first starting and then getting hooked or addicted to something is hard to explain. Maybe it was the desperation of needing a good job. Or maybe it was the fact that I had a roof over my head and more time in my life to spend on researching and learning. It definitely depends on the person and situation. For me, it was the time, space and energy that was available in my life to learn to code, the growth in my learning capabilities and my new knowledge of the applications of code. Once I realized how to apply computer programming to problems and find pragmatic solutions to these very problems with code, then coding became a worthwhile endeavor. From computer programs, data visualizations, data analysis and machine learning models, I finally saw the wide array of uses that make up computer programming.
Why do you code?
I love programming because of the journey of learning new things, especially complex problems that take a long time to figure out. Obviously, it’s not always fun. However, this skillset helped me get into an in-demand field and have financial security, which is invaluable. From the very first time I wrote a line of code to today, I continue to learn but also get frustrated with programming. I use python in my day job and I enjoy using it in my personal life as well.
Is coding for you?
I think everyone can code and not everyone has to be an expert at it. Whether or not you will like it will depend on deeper questions about yourself that is impossible for anyone else besides yourself to know. But I definitely think programming is a lot easier than most people think. Also, getting a job in tech is also a lot more possible that most people think. Not all jobs in tech require knowing how to program! So I think this question is definitely a yes! But it also just depends on what you want to do.
