"Just learn to Code" they said... the TRUTH about Coding / Programming Jobs

[LV Koopa]

I definitely need to brush up on my Discrete, I feel like I missed somethings there.

Could also be your teacher. My professor was good in some ways (exams were tough but if you passed you for sure knew the stuff), bad in others (introduced topics, didn't teach much in depth and you had to figure stuff out on your own).

Also, discrete math isn't really one type of thing but a bunch of distinct topics. I'd say if you are comfortable with graphs, sets, and the math of probabilities and combinations you are solid.

 

[desjardins]

You're mostly right but the constantly having to learn new frameworks/languages/libraries thing mainly applies to LONG TERM marketability. You can coast making $150k maintaining some old system somewhere.
There are plenty of old legacy code jobs out there using old ass frameworks but those aren't sexy jobs. Also you essentially get paid to learn since most jobs will hire you even if you have 0 experience with what they use IF you have demonstrated you are experienced in other areas. Basically during the interview you need to be able to sell the fact that you can learn whatever tech stack they use......then you get paid 6 figures for months while you learn it. Not sure how that's a bad deal honestly, especially since you can then take what you learned and flip it into another higher paying job

Overall you're right, it's way harder to be a successful software engineer than people make it out to be and it gets to a point where the learning gets annoying (this not even including the studying of algo and ds you need to do to get the $300k+ jobs) but the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[ViShawn]

I'm a "systems" guy myself in the SRE world. You have to constantly learn now technologies and update your skills. Being teachable is a skill in itself in tech once you learn the fundamentals.

Yeah those coding bootcamps don't tell you that part.

 

[Gold]

OH. Forgot to mention for brehs in college. I don't know what the CS equivalent is but in engineering, there is the NSBE which is for black engineers. Get in on that shyt. They have job fairs usually specifically for that organization and a lot of companies like Boeing and Raytheon and the like go to those fairs specifically because government contracting organizations get incentivized to hire black engineers. Take advantage of their job fairs and resource. I can't remember if CS major could join the NSBE also but I'm sure if they can't there is a CS equivalent.

NSBE takes cs brehs, even though are technically arts and sciences

At least they did a decade ago

 

[the bossman]

What this thread has taught me is that there are a lot of tech brehs on this forum

and given the stats, most are likely CACs and indians



As for you @Dap Fishin , im sick and tired of your defeatist mentality, You said the same shyt in the Official Software thread and I guess the replies didnt mean shyt to you huh











Again, If you really want this, you'll grind and realize its a never ending learning process. If you dont like the idea of constantly sharpening your iron, then I dont know what to tell you. Yes, its really hard to get on as a black man, but if you dont become the dude who challenges the status quo, who is it supposed to be then?

This explains a lot. Breh don't even have deep experience in the industry to even know what's what. defeated ass trolling

 

[Afro]

Wordpress development can still be a nightmare for a beginner. Creating a plugin, filter, custom child theme or just looking at the database schema they wouldn't know what the fukk is going on.

First IT job and my manager was like

"You mentioned HTML on your resume....can you fix our site"

"Yea "


NO I CANNOT HOLY shyt. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ERRORS?!

THE fukk IS WOOCOMMERENCE?! HOW MANY PLUGINS DOES THIS SITE HAVE?!

Nah I'm good on WordPress

imposter syndrome is prevelant in IT

I feel it everyday

 

[SoSoSlick]

Ive been in IT over 20 years and yes continuous learning is part of it but why shouldn't it be? Tech changes... theres constantly newer, better, faster, and easier ways to accomplish and implement the solution you learned how to implement 5 years ago. And of course companies expect you to have those skills and utilize todays tech stack. Aint nobody hiring you to develop a modern web app because youre expert in Access and ASP.

"Learning to code" is one thing. Being a developer capable of implementing a solution from start to finish is another. And yeah that means learning everything that comes with being capable of doing that (SQL Server, JS, Node, a little Devops etc.).

Once you have the foundational level skills of knowing how to approach implementing a solution, learning the tools necessary to get it done becomes the easy part.

 

[Gold]

Btw, i didnt mean to talk down on anyone by calling this "easy". Ill use a better word and say "rewarding" based on personality.

Do not get into this field if you don't have a passion for this shyt. The amount of technology you have to learn and keep up with is enough to crush you if you dont enjoy it.

My company sends me across America (pre-covid) to attene conferences on the latest developments so we can be in the know. And that shyt gets me geeked! I love it, i could do it all day.... in fact i do. I constantly have conferences playing on YouTube while i work.

My point is, if you dont have a passion for it... you wont want to learn 6 languages, travel for seminars, build your own personal projects, etc. Passion is what makes it easy, not the actual difficulty level

 

[Germms]

Okay go be helpdesk then

 

[The Fade]

Lol I wanted to get into coding cause I was good at HTML when I was 12. Used to run private servers and fukk with MySQL

I don’t know shyt now and am just doing beginner JavaScript to see if it’s for me. It’s been so long

 

[JT-Money]

Another programmer who's been in the field for years.

 

[the bossman]

You don't need to learn code to make 6 figures in software.

There's customer success, user experience, project management, program management, business analysts, product manager, product owners, scrum masters...at every level. Jr, Regular, Sr, Lead, Manager, Director, Sr. Director, VP, Sr VP, C-Suite etc

I can go on and on and on and on and on.

There's at least a handful of people at my company with those roles making 6 figures. MAYBE the exception are business analysts if you take away bonuses. But they usually progress to product owners / product managers.

Regardless. The talented software engineers I work with everyday spends most of their day Googling and writing the same function over and over and over and over again.

If anyone in here is set on learning code then pick one of these 3 areas

• Data Science - Learn R, Python, and to a lesser extent SQL
• Front End - VUE or React
• DevOps - just have a general familiarity with EVERYTHING

Want to learn something that's on the come up that could contribute to all 3 of those? Pick up GO.

Excellent post

 

[J Money]

I tried to get into learning coding (C#) but I couldn't stick with it. Its honestly not a passion of mine its not something I could stick with

I started to learn about networking though and I think that is the avenue I would like to go down. Is that a good career path?

 

[Carlton Banks]

This explains a lot. Breh don't even have deep experience in the industry to even know what's what. defeated ass trolling

Breh why are you so mad? You literally the only one in here taking shyt personal and trying to talk shyt and beef with nikkas. Do you not know how to have a different stance on discussions you disagree with without coming off like an immature pubescent child? Or maybe you're dealing with some domestic issues? What's wrong breh? Share with your coli family

 

[Dr. Acula]

I tried to get into learning coding (C#) but I couldn't stick with it. Its honestly not a passion of mine its not something I could stick with

I started to learn about networking though and I think that is the avenue I would like to go down. Is that a good career path?

Networking is great. I have a lot of programming experience for my degree but I realized in the process I did not want to be a fukking coder. I like the abstractions behind programming and what is involved on an intellectual level but the endless trial and error and frustrations were not fun at all. No shame in it. That is the saving grace for a lot of people who think simply coding is a fast track to fast cash. They will learn very quickly if it is not their passion, the novelty of money if they get lucky to make good money wears off. I've worked somewhere before, unrelated to my current degree and career, where I absolutely HATED MY JOB and gladly quit it for a path that initially I wasn't making much if any money. Being at a job you hate or have no interest in doing will put you in an early grave and will teach you quickly money isn't everything. Trust me, this is no bullshyt. It is not a lie that money can't buy happiness most times. Do not do a job you hate. You will regret it.

I would say the only programming I enjoyed in my education was FPGA programming (VHDL and Verilog). The programming there is a little bit different than traditional programming. Its more...concrete in implementation is the best way to put it. If you're programming an FPGA device you're using very strict logic to either make something work or not. You don't have to use a bunch of syntaxes or logical puzzles to solve a problem. My current job does not have me do any programming besides basic scripts thankfully and I'm glad.