(2/4) How To Become A Coder - The Long Way

The Long Way

Most people learn to code the long way. It takes them many years and they lose a lot of money and time becoming skilled.

Each kind of coder writes a different kind of code for a different purpose.

The Professional

Most professionals got a 4-year degree, then learned to code on the job. Some professionals took a 6-month boot camp where they learned basic coding before getting a job.

As a professional, I took a contract job recently to build a web app. Most professionals earn a very good living writing business code.

The Hobbyist

Most hobbyists learned basic coding as curious kids over many years, then learned to code better as professionals later. Some hobbyists were professionals first, and start enjoying to code later. Hobbyists learn by default.

As a hobbyist, I just spent 100 hours of my leisure time reviewing what new libraries are available since last year. Most hobbyists have many side-projects that they enjoy, but nobody uses.

The Hacker

Most hackers learn only what they need to, when they need to. Skilled hackers are normally professionals or hobbyists first. But there are many novice hackers who have never been professionals or hobbyists.

As a hacker, I wrote a script to download and organize data for TechLit last week. Many hackers make websites and plugins for software they use.

How Most People Learn To Code

Despite studying coding in school or in a coding boot camp, most people learn on the job.

Some people learned to code as kids, but if you're learning as an adult, you may have a full-time job and a family to take care of.

Next I'll explain how I learned to code (the hard way).