what it takes to be a self-taught software developer
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- Another thing I should add: it can also take a long time to break into the tech space and pivot into software. It took me starting as an intern doing tech support calls, to systems administration, to eventually landing a developer job. It took years in the industry to prove myself and shift closer to my dream job. My friends who went directly for their CS degree were able to land a job as a dev without having to climb the ladder so to speak. You’ll also always need to exceed your interviewer’s expectations and likely outperform CS grads for employers to feel that you’re a safe bet. In your early years you will always be seen as a potential risk when looking for employment and you’ll need to prove otherwise.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this :)
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"You cannot skip the foundation just because you self-taught" - Music to my ears!
I had to say it! People (especially on tech twitter) seem to think that self-taught means you don't need to know those things. You do, maybe not right away, but eventually it really does help you continue to grow and solve cool problems
@@bashbunni I 100% agree. I trying to tell the same message in my videos, it's just my channel is really small now and I'm really glad when youtubers with bigger audience tells that message. This is why it's "music to my ears" :)
Speaking as a self-taught programmer....it's waaaay harder than just getting a compsci degree. I get that not everybody can _do_ that, but that is definitely an easier path to being employed in the industry in 2024. It _used_ to be easier to get a job without a degree 10-15 years ago when I was starting out but it's a lot more competitive for junior roles now. But the self-learning experience you describe, that's what it takes: you have to eat, sleep, and breathe it. At least if you want to be any good.
Totally! You’re seen as so much more of a risk. You really need to be outstanding to overcome the initial assumption that hiring you is a gamble. Thank you for sharing your experience! Good to know I’m not the only one 😄
I was made redundant November last year, in my search for a new job I was turned away from jobs because I don't have a degree. I have 20+ years experience but f*k that, where's the degree? 😂
Yeah, thats why I was really pissed by the german coding bootcamp WBS. They shittalked us into believing that we had to take a break from coding everyday after the Bootcamp. It was quite the commie vibe there. The certificate I got there was more like a participation certificate because skills just got signed on LinkedIn and were not checked.
Wake up babe two new bashbunni videos dropped
Million percent agree with this. It's less of a skillset issue, more mindset. The best team I've been on was made up of a former butcher, journalist, lifeguard and... me. None of us had degrees. All of us did have the "ever learning" mindset. Your journey is never done. It's never a case of "great you've finished this and that, you're an expert".
I think employers catch onto that, and seek people with those values.
You are such an inspiration!
Great video as usual. One point that's worth stressing is that, while being on the self taught route, it's tempting to try and cut corners; learning "as fast as possible". In the opposite direction of what a CS curriculum intends to do. This leads to superficial learning and shaky foundations, leaving you without a true understanding to build upon. That's a general form of what tutorial hell is. It's also why good textbooks are such a huge plus. Years of learning densely condensed and well put together in order for you to learn what an extremely experienced and smart person (or people) thought was essential. It is more challenging, and might feel slow, boring, borderline unnecessary, but it's way more worthwhile in the long run than getting quick and easy wins to make you feel good in the moment. Even when it has no immediate practical use.
Amazing explanation bashbunni , keep it up !!
It's like listening to myself explain the matter lol. Hopefully many newbies watch this
I figured it would be an interesting discussion! There's just been such a huge spike in new developers in the field. I just hope that newcomers also know there's tons of room to move laterally in tech and that you can still use your technical skills to improve your impact in other roles. Coding isn't the only way if it isn't for you, ya know?
Self-taught started at 13... Freelanced for 3 years (while washing dishes) before got a job-job I was HIGHLY over qualified for, freelanced 2 more years, got another job-job minimum wage to do that again highly overqualified for, I slept under my desk meeting a deadline because it was a 3 hour drive each way in traffic. That was 15 years ago, today I cannot fathom how anyone does this, as in those entry level jobs I was highly over-qualified for are just gone... I've watched my co-workers move onto Apple, Netflix, Google, etc. I interviewed them, trained them, and very proud of where they have gone. I remember having a girl who worked at a pizza shop be hired. Back then there wasn't some $15 Udemy course I could buy and now more than ever it's easier to learn. There is a "path" just look up the job market, freelance in that area of interest. At least it forces you to learn on the job and while pay might be garbage, you're getting paid to learn.
Yes! Getting paid to learn and getting that experience under your belt is so incredibly valuable if you're self-taught and/or early on in your career. My first position was also minimum wage as an intern, but getting paid to learn, and given the opportunity to prove myself and take on more responsibility. I wouldn't trade that time for anything. I was short on $$$ but rich in knowledge gains
No matter if you graduate or not, today if you don't keep learning you will throw to the end of the queue. I bet that you as self-taught software engineer is much better than CS engineers that finished the graduation and stop of learning new things like design patterns, languages, refactoring technics.
Exactly what I was going to say but you said it better :D . I think over time a self taught developer will outperform a college graduate in most cases just because a self taught developer knows the most important thing to be a developer, that is teaching yourself. Software development is a field where you need to learn continuously to survive, there is always new things and tech coming out, you need to be comfortable not knowing them and teaching them to yourself. And guess what, that's what self taught developers are good at.
Decade of active study-learning to get competent. Then a lifetime of keeping up with developments, while developing your own skills further.
Yes!!! It's way more of an investment than 40hrs/week
I am actually both. First I was coding for fun, then form hobby into the job. Then I started studying it at a Uni. Tbh: just study it and have fun.
Do you feel that going to college helped you learn the material faster than you would have if you had just continued on your own/
@@hypergraphic yes, a lot. I went to University, not college btw.
@@doom9603 Yeah I think that's just a US vs Int'l thing. We call Uni College.
I totally agree with most things here, I'm self taught and have been in the industry a little over 10 years. The learning shouldn't stop however I have noticed most of my coworkers that did go the college/university route did stop after school. So they only go with grow stagnant after some time and it is much harder for them as things are ever evolving in the industry. It could just be they got into it for the wrong reason hard to say for sure. This industry as a whole is absolutely about constant growth and learning, I feel like if you are a good self taught person you will have a harder time getting your foot in at this point, but if you are able to you will be worth more.
We stop learning because we don't have to learn everything over and over. So while it seems we would've stopped, we actually just adapt the already existing knowledge around the new stuff. It saves energy and the deeper understanding of literally everything helps. The downside is lacking specialization and detail knowledge. But that's the business of the nerds in a subfield.
3:50 that's a huge skill. Some people fool themselves into reading a book or hearing a lecture and thinking "yeah yeah, I get it," when it's really just passing through them with no effect. But others can take the approach of "I don't know what half of this means, but I'm gonna start building the schema in my mind to populate later" and get so much out of material that would normally be outside their level
this was very inspiring to watch, thank you for the video!
you look up to other people and I look up to you! keep being awesome!
im a eletrical engineering gradute turned SWE so I’d say I’m self taught myself too (although I’ve been coding since I was 11ish) and I definitely agree on the sentiment that basics are probably the most important. It shapes your way of thinking and prepares you for a role of an engineer (rather than a framework specialist).
The hardest part of teaching yourself the fundamentals is finding out what the fundamentals are. So a workaround is to find college syllabuses online since they'll provide a structure of what you should learn and the order of it.
Or you spend three years procrastinating, so by the time you actually start, you know the roadmap.
I like these short form videos
Thank you!!
I'm self-taught and have been a hobbyist for close to 20 years. At this point, I would know more than a junior but not enough to be a senior dev. This puts me into a strange position and don't know if I could ever break into the industry.
You certainly have to learn on the job, and foundations are vital. I dont think a 4 year degree is necessary. I started with community college never finished. Community collegel has its benefits, price, structure and someone a teacher invested in your outcome. But the latter isn't always guaranteed but hopefully you'll find someone in the class.
I'd argue the most important part is the love of tech and how things work. But many developers are musicians and linguists, there something driving them that is quite different.
I definitely agree! It's a cognitively demanding profession that I just couldn't imagine doing long term if I wasn't absolutely fascinated by computers
I think this continuous learning is why a lot of scientists move into software, also.
Let's be real here. Not everyone is here to disrupt an industry. To revolutionize the world.
We also need a lot of people who maintain and make things better.
That's what people should do who need this structure. Kaizen is an interesting approach to this btw.
I really books with exercises and answers after it. I'm so dumb to come up with the answers with the material I read and sometimes I'm so tired with searching for the answer. I might distract myself when I go to the Internet
I really like this video, and I think it was a great explanation of software engineering from a self-taught perspective and what someone who wants to follow that path can expect! Are the books that you showed when talking about textbooks books you would recommend or have read? I would love to start reading more textbooks, but struggle with where to start (outside of Thorsten Ball's Writing an Interpreter in Go).
thoughts on how AI will affect the future of tech? doesnt make sense to pursue this when it seems it could die out soon
also sooooo many people studying this now in uni/college
Do you do leetcode challenges sometimes ?
What are those foundations DSA?
hey, same outfit as stream! 😂
Am I an outfit repeater or all filmed on same day?? YOULL NEVER KNOW
I once worked with one developer without degree, he was great but one could tell that he doesn't have basic and general knowledge.
What exactly is *_tech?_*
Cant concentrate unfortunately
First