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AI plays a significant role in almost all tasks today. There are so many opportunities to get things done fast which increases the pressure on everyone to get everything done by themselves. I guess it will end in some kind of Cooperation between Humans and AI.
Summary: 1. As you learn things, actively put them into practice into your own projects 2. Don't let failure get to you, even as it hits you again and again back to back to back 3. Get a good amount of exercise daily, making sure to do it in the morning instead of at noon or night 4. When coding, try doing it for just 4 or 5 uninterrupted hours per day. Don't force yourself to spend time coding like you're a workaholic 5. When frustrated, spend some time doing something else so you can come back to the problem later with a clearer mind
1. Choose a career path that you hate but it pays well 2. Master the basics so you can start a RUclips channel and look like you actually code for a living 3. Monetize your channel and start selling courses 4. Keep your audience hooked telling them how great is to code and all the money they will make one day for following you
At about 8:00, the comment about another dev recognizing a problem in a few seconds that took you forever to (not) figure out - This is always how it is. Your explanations of why are apt, but even for us senior devs working in a technology over a decade, it still happens every few weeks or more. Working on a problem, you build a mental map of it, but whatever is wrong is outside that map. The other person who looks over your shoulder doesn't have that map and sees what's there right away. You just have to sigh and get used to it.
I feel this is normal... a set of fresh eyes. Sometimes we can look at things for too long and we become "blind" to issues that may be occurring. It takes someone with "Fresh Eyes" to see the full picture. And point out where we went wrong. Just today, someone was trying to hook up a laptop. But couldn't get a picture. The knew all the steps to set up the laptop on to the tv. But forgot the first step. turn on the tv.
True what you're saying r.e tutorials, I think students/beginners need to know this the most. I learnt way more by planning and diving into my own projects, changed my mental approach and entire perception to development
Absolutely! While tutorials are a good starting point, they can become a crutch that keeps you in "tutorial purgatory" instead of building real-world skills. Taking the leap into personal projects forces you to think independently, solve unique problems, and develop a deeper understanding of development principles.
As a person who's been trying to learn coding on and off for years and is neurodivergent, I really needed to hear your message today. It's especially frustrating when I'm a person who struggles with perfectionism and when I can't grasp things, I tend to give up and feel "dumb". You gave me a newfound perspective on learning to code and I appreciate your insights that just because programming is hard, it doesn't mean I'm not intelligent or incapable. So thank you, it really means a lot.
99% of projects build with PHP needs using a framework like Laravel, lots of Javascript, AJAX petitions, good CSS and HTML, JS Plugins, MySQL or similar, etc... Never only PHP. I love the results we can build with all of that tools
Same here. And the day namespaces were introduced to PHP was awesome. 100 years after emerging it finally came near a fully grown language :) I like PHP because you still have the option to be sloppy if you don't know how to do it like it was meant to be done :)
Been coding on and off for while but still feel like more learning and coding has to get done. But it’s fun to do and love learning more about it. Great video🎉
I'm a programmer and started in the 80s. For me, once I learned advanced concepts, once something new came along it was easier to grasp, but, of course, it all takes time. Anyone that wants to become a programmer, it is a constant journey of learning and adapting.
Thank you for this video! I feel so validated and inspired by what you have said here. I am in a coding bootcamp and I feel on top of my game one minute - and then completely lost in the next activity. But I have a tolerance for stress and resilience for challenge. and I know now that it will make my difference. It was a refreshing 14 minutes to have spent with you!
Absolutely love your candor and honesty! These are things that befall most coders that no one admits, and it is inspiring and encouraging to hear these from you. Subscribed!
You are so on point about allowing yourself to fail. Learning through failure is powerful. Those are lessons that really stick. As long as there’s no bodily harm, failure is a good teacher. I saw your video while taking a break from stumbling through my current project. Thank you for helping me regroup and ready to take a fresh run at my project.
Thank you for sharing your experiences! To hear that you embraced failure as a natural part of growth and learning. I'm glad this video helped you reframe your current challenges and gave you renewed energy to tackle your project with fresh eyes.
I've only been coding for a few years but I noticed that once I had the fundamentals down they transferred to other languages with minor syntax changes. It took a while and much frustration but now I can look at most code and see basically what it does. Also, there have been times (multiple) when I was about to give up or pull my hair out thinking that a problem was unsolvable or beyond my capabilities but the answer always came and the relief that I felt was enormous. It was always at these times that I learned the most. It's easy to do what you already know but we learn the most when we challenge ourselves with something new. p.s. I also play guitar. The first time I held it I didn't know where to start (like first time seeing code) but I had to learn the scales and chords (foundation) counterpoint and ear training and after a while I could play simple songs (basic programs) and now I can play most anything (senior guitar player 🤣). Why should programming be any different?
I came here to say something similar, fundamentals are key, once you have acquired a feeling for enough abstract patterns you will start recognizing them in more and more things you see as you learn new things. A lot of fledgling developers struggle with one thing yet understand another thing will yet those two things might actually be very similar or even the same thing, just dressed up differently. During the learning process, frustration is usually when you are learning the most, you are at the bleeding edge of your own. I also suggest when learning, to explain new concepts to yourself using analogies sometimes it it's hit or miss, but the thing is once you get good at it you will see that being able to analogize a concept allows you to more easily apply the concepts and know when to apply them.
By far and away, best video ever on this topic. Deals with all the underestimated and undermentioned, obscure areas that make this problem a problem (and how to get away from those!). Thank you!
Nailed it! best summary of all the little challenges that nobody talks about. I think your best point was that figuring out how to program is the part of the job that makes you so valuable, not a distraction from actually programming. Such a good mindset. some of my thoughts (as a programming plebe) as I listened through the content PHP can do a lot simply but I would start with something else if I had the choice. React elegant but esoteric enough that I wouldn't pick it up unless you have to. the problem is that angular can be so heavy. My go to is to find a lighter solution first. llms are going to change the game. I would never learn programming without an llm today.
the jargon is what really throws me off a lot and makes things seem more confusing than what they are, when you really get into things itsmuch simplier than you think
Absolutely true! Totally agree! I've have a bunch of coding experience and most efficient thing is an adaptation and an evolving through the projects and technologies. programming languages arre just tools. And really valueable during your coding job is a skillset to use different tools to solve different problems. So, do not fear the knowledge gap with coding. It's normal to know less than it needs. Have fun and be proactive in whatever you do! Better be halthy mentally than be sadly each time your code fails.
I program mostly as a hobby and it certainly can be difficult, yet rewarding when you finally have success. I usually find programing completely from scratch easier, but most of the time I am attempting to write code to interact with someone else's code, which mean you have to figure what someone else did so that you can interact with it.
As you point out around 5:00, everything is harder when you have to actually do it yourself. Not just programming - anything. A similar point was made in the Elsa Scola video on this topic. Probably this is the most important thing: If you want to be a coder, you have to code. And code. And code. That said, what I've always told people is that the first job of a programmer is to think. If you don't think well and clearly about the problem at hand, your code will suck no matter how well you know a language. But guess what, you can practice thinking too.
@@victormokutstill working on it myself but using as much common sense as possible and thinking of how to approach the problem step by step, relying on the documentation and being as specific as possible will help
@@victormokut You can make a mental framework. "trentinuit" the one that we are commenting on - is right that learning how to think is the main thing. I have a 5 point mental framework that I use and It has made me much more productive
divide and conquer are the most basic steps to apply to put your problems into manageable pieces. at least that‘s what i understood that was meant by learning to think. these thoughts plus thinking about cohesion and your ability to build upon abstractions of the real world, combined with single responsible principles and clean coding styles will lead you to become a better coder ^^ … as being said, this concepts need practice though … there is as always no such thing as free lunch 😉
@@victormokut First, if you are serious, you can find ways. There are even classes (and RUclips videos) specifically about critical thinking - I don't limit "first, think" to implementation choices. The previous answers to you were IMHO mostly good. For me, most generally, thinking means asking why something is the way it is, and how it might be different. Going further: every technology we use, every syntax, every "rule", was at first someone's choice. Why did they choose that? What assumptions did they make, and what values did they pursue (efficiency? clarity?). Nothing just is. And... sometimes they screwed up! This applies to syntax, semantics, algorithms, user experience, product direction, and much more - the sky's the limit. I hope that helps. Just trying to think about the why a little daily gradually snowballs. And if you don't know algorithms, learn them and code them yourself: they sharpen your thinking immensely.
Excellent video with great insights and advice! I’m just beginning my education into coding and being an older, lifelong learner I know that what you say here is spot on. Thank you for sharing this. I just became a new subscriber to your channel!
In regards with the lack of risk of failure when following tutorials online: I would say that the risk is quite high as someone that has followed A LOT of them. They are often quickly outdated, and simple syntax or even libraries have changed. So I'd say: Just embrace failure and troubleshooting from the get-go, no matter what.
I think following tutorials can be great when you reflect on and apply what you've learned from it. I'm a hobbyist game programmer, so I typically take concepts I learn from tutorials and think about how to incorporate them into something I am interested in creating. But you can draw similar parallels to front-end, back-end, or whatever programming language you're learning to do stuff with - like robotics. That said, if anyone is on the fence, considering whether or not you want to learn to code: programmers are like modern day wizards. You make magic happen on a screen. That shit is tight.
surprisingly relatable. As topics have become more complex, I found myself getting slower compared to my peers and impostor syndrome took over so hard.
Good advice! Everyone seems to bombard their perspective over which framework or language is the best, but that's all it is, a perspective. If you stand in front of a building, you don't see what's behind it. Different perspectives are true, just depends where you're coming from. If you want to be a good developer focus on learning what you can do with what you're learning, instead of focusing so hard on the how, only to end up later realizing you have no idea when and where to use that how.
Very good advice. It has been my experience that learning basic programming concepts and understanding the philosophy of software design is more valuable than learning a particular language. The thought processes and methodologies that I used coding assembly are the same that I use today to create web applications. And you definitely learn more from code with errors, than code that works perfectly the first time.
Really good video. I am new to coding but a lot of this advice applies to nearly anything you want to learn. In my case I often learn new skills best by doing things, having a goal, and being rewarded with tangible steps toward that goal. As such tutorials in general aren’t useful to me because they might not directly relate to what I am trying to accomplish. Instead with everything that I’ve learned really well outside of a degree program I’ve started with specific very advanced goals, and moved forward with the attitude of “Everything is possible, it’s just a matter of figuring out how.” And then proceed to learn whatever compartmentalized piece of information I need to know to complete the next step in the process. I also agree that adaptability is key and good sleep should NOT be underrated though as a night owl I disagree with the morning assessment. I just discovered your channel with this video and you have a new subscriber.
I started to watch this for the tips but it turned out into a motivational video, and helpful all the same. I struggle with a lot of the things you mentioned. Imposter syndrome obviously, it’s so common in this industry. Emotional regulation is one thing I don’t hear enough people talk about. I’ve been in IT for about 7 months now, and one thing that upsets me is how upset I can get. Not only do I give myself a hard time for not knowing things, I also give myself a hard time for getting upset at times, and it makes me question if I’m cut out for this world.
So true. My frustration tolerance is tremendous. I no longer cry or close my pc. I litterally say i am not moving or going home till i figure this out. Lol. Almost wet my pants a few times because of this and my husband must think i am coming home late on purpose. The truth is i literally am working on different projects as a larger project and when thing come up, i figure it out. You are so correct ... I do 14 hours a day every day coding and accomplished what would take a team of ten programmers three years to code, i did in months. Tolerance building works
Thank you so much! If you haven't done so already, have a look at my coding life playlist for more of this type of content, or my javascript tutorial one if you're just starting learning!
Sometimes taking a break in the middle of a complicated task is not so easy. Sometimes you go out and you are not able to disconnect. You just want to solve the problem as soon as possible and move on.
For me, I learn by doing. Spending more time in an editor. Studying in my off time to further my knowledge and understanding of a language. One thing I love about web development is there is always new things to learn because technology is constantly changing/being updated. Coding for longer periods of time is more of a struggle for beginning or getting back to writing a document. Start with what you know and go from there while building your skills.
That's awesome to hear that you embrace continuous learning in web development. Starting with what you know and gradually expanding your skills is a fantastic approach to mastering coding.
1:04 "THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE" That's fascinating to learn! It reminds me of a thought-provoking verse by the renowned poet Sir Muhammad Iqbal, who is celebrated as the "National Poet" of Pakistan. He expressed a similar idea in one of his Urdu poems: سکوں محال ہے قدرت کے کارخانے میں ثبات ایک تغیّر کو ہے زمانے میں This translates to: "Quiescence is impossible in the universe; Only 'change' is permanent in the universe."
I migrated from aspiring dev to cybersecurity 3 years ago. Never been a dev, just programmed some small front end projects. Now I’m in the blue team because it was easier to break in. I miss programming and after learning network, I feel more prepared to program and the communication between front and backend now makes sense.
@@adam-nw5cn I meant the understanding of the network and communication of systems somehow opened my mind to programming and I think I'll look at it through different eyes. But I have not programmed for network and or automation yet.
Great video Catherine, the problem became on HR perspective, HR have checklist for libraries and frameworks, they do not know anything on behind and only looking checklist. As engineer, I am not accept the behavior they are using this method for reducing the offer salary. As an example if you have knowledge about MQTT, RabbitMQ but you did not use Kafka, they will reject your resume. This is the same thing dear HR.
i like to learn vanilla languages and runtimes since, because it is the source of frameworks, it has a way longer lifespan. and if i ever need a framework, i will learn it then. also the less i rely on fws, the more i have to understand the language itself and what it can do. it is a hard path, but definitely not a bad path.
3:59 Yes, so many technical document writers are _terrible_ at plain English. They could definitely benefit from a class or two on how to simplify their writing.
My old Spanish teacher had a saying that I use, "practica, practica, practica". It means practice 3x, it's all well and good to read or watch something being done but until you practice or apply it you won't internalize the process. That is one of the main reasons I was so much better at OChem than Biology.
The only constant is change...I learned that working at a call center. You either went with the changes (no matter how dumb management and their new rule was) or you failed and found a different likely better job.
Thinking about your comments at about 11:00 that you have to be tolerant of things going wrong: Yes, it can be a struggle. Tony Hawk once said that every trick he learned had some number of failures required before he could master it. And writing a piece of code is like that: It has some unknown number of failures. If your fixes have failed 10 times, it just means that the fail number is 11 or higher. You just remember that and keep going till you beat the count. As a corollary: When senior devs see something complicated work right the first time, we grow very suspicious. Because something is always wrong in the code, and the apparent success is hiding whatever that is!
So I'm trying to learn this. I'm older (32) with a full time job. What you said about an hour in the morning is worth 2 at night really peaked my curiosity. I think I may give that a try for a bit while learning my own coding. Thanks!
I think that a large part of the problem is that the old KISS (keep it simple stupid) rule has gone out the window. That, and real coding world examples, are few and far between. Stuff that is broken down and dissected line by line and jargon demystified. In short, just like any other good 'how to' manual.
+1 for the book Mindset. It’s so transformative and absolutely helped me in reframing my beliefs and perspective of the experiences I had in my life. Welcome challenges and embrace failures because they are the sources for the fastest growth and improvement!
Love this video and its the same for me. Love my job but sometimes i feel thick - as i take in things alot slower, have to use AI to help explain things to me etc. Bare in mind that i only started to learn code when i was in my 30s, and coding wasnt a thing at college where as it is now. However something great happened to me and HTML and CSS is becoming more popular again for websites and this was a language i did when i was very young and literally everyone off today doesnt know anything about it or don't like it. So now i feel like the smart one when working with this language :)
Hey Catherine, I'm gonna leave tutorial hell, but only with you on the back of my horse as we ride into the sunset, letting go of our worldly struggles and tasting the beauty of life as it truly is. . . . Lmk if you're down
Thanks for putting this together. I am struggling with all the things you had discussed so greatly appreciate this video. May I suggest another video on how to use AI tools to help learn coding? Mistake I am seeing with my fellow beginners is that we are relying too much for AI to generate the code and at the end unable to code it without AI. Any suggestion how to leverage the AI but not become dependent on it?
That's a great observation! To leverage AI effectively, use it as a tool to speed up tasks or get guidance, but always make sure to understand the code it generates by breaking it down, experimenting with it, and writing your own code to reinforce your learning.
It's hard for me to study in the morning because of intermediate fasting. My first meal is at 12 pm, and it's pretty hard to study on an empty stomach.
I’m 18 years into my software engineering career working in games thru to aviation and weather forecasting. For once, in these kind of videos, I can say I largely agree with you. I’ve noticed that with the AI hype it’s all about creating new code but what about existing code? Not even AI can read the mind of a past programmer who wrote some algorithm, as well as the requirements at the time. AI doesn’t communicate with SMEs and literally just relies on the intentions of what the current developer is working with. I completed my CS degree in 1999 where I specialized in academic AI, anybody who understands the theoretical side of AI and algorithm complexity will be well aware that AI will not be taking our jobs anytime soon. I have said many times over that AI will not be replacing us until the late lifetimes of our grandchildren. There are many reasons why I say this that are too long to list here but I honestly believe that.
Insightful perspective! AI is a powerful tool, but understanding legacy code and collaborating with SMEs highlights the irreplaceable value of human expertise in software engineering.
You're welcome! Have a look at my Coding Life playlist ruclips.net/video/GblRp9bvhh4/видео.html if you're interested in a few more of my videos on these topics
Your video popped up in my feed and I just want to say thanks. I'm not going for a SWE job but I'm learning Python for Linux SysAdmin and DevOps scripting. You've perfectly described the struggles I've had with learning to code and I'm going to put these tips into practice.
I started programming in 1982 (What's a graphics card?), but it's been on and off since due to time/money spirals. Now - solved. Python and BASIC are similar enough so that I can get the language down with little effort. World, see you in two years!
Oh My Gosh Catherine even u don't know how damn great of a video is this, came here for the first time and i am really really impressed.This is exactly what i needed as a software engineer. Quite early in my career. By the way how do you handle the stress that you get on what do you report to the tech lead the next day in standup. We do a lot of things in the day (working from home currently) but when it comes to explaining in standups it seems weird to explain each and every detail and it gets tiresome also and at the same time the thought runs in head is that the tech lead might not think that i worked less although i did a lot of things. And i also get a lot stressed out when i don't know something and the tech lead says you tell me, you tell me. Although it is not about understanding but just about knowing it and they know it that's it but i feel very bad when he does like that. And Catherine as a fried would like to know your point on the managerial position. Like as we proceed in our careers we definitely are going to get to a managerial role and will code less or will not code at all. So is it good to get a managerial role early by doing an MBA or something? Because tech keeps changing and you have to always learn and everything becomes new again so it seems a lot stressing/challenging and plus we do not have job safety(would like to know how do you think about this). Thanks a lot in advance and lots of love to you🤍
Thank you so much for the kind words, it really means a lot! Regarding your stress, try focusing on communicating your progress in terms of outcomes rather than details, and don't worry too much if you don't know everything-your willingness to learn and ask questions is what matters. As for managerial roles, it’s definitely a personal choice; some prefer to continue coding while others enjoy leading teams, but an MBA or managerial experience can offer new perspectives if you're looking for a change in career direction!
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Question:
Do you find learning to code in a school setting is not as effective as learning to code outside of a school setting?
I can even turn coding on.
AI plays a significant role in almost all tasks today. There are so many opportunities to get things done fast which increases the pressure on everyone to get everything done by themselves. I guess it will end in some kind of Cooperation between Humans and AI.
@JohnDoe-fz7hz Especially turning website on.
@@workon-lineadvertising1525 Probably we all find a solution to use AI in our favor to make our lives become prosperous
Summary:
1. As you learn things, actively put them into practice into your own projects
2. Don't let failure get to you, even as it hits you again and again back to back to back
3. Get a good amount of exercise daily, making sure to do it in the morning instead of at noon or night
4. When coding, try doing it for just 4 or 5 uninterrupted hours per day. Don't force yourself to spend time coding like you're a workaholic
5. When frustrated, spend some time doing something else so you can come back to the problem later with a clearer mind
focus on transferrable skills? (DSA, design patterns, etc)
1. Choose a career path that you hate but it pays well
2. Master the basics so you can start a RUclips channel and look like you actually code for a living
3. Monetize your channel and start selling courses
4. Keep your audience hooked telling them how great is to code and all the money they will make one day for following you
Have a PKM system. You cannot know everything by heart.
At about 8:00, the comment about another dev recognizing a problem in a few seconds that took you forever to (not) figure out - This is always how it is. Your explanations of why are apt, but even for us senior devs working in a technology over a decade, it still happens every few weeks or more. Working on a problem, you build a mental map of it, but whatever is wrong is outside that map. The other person who looks over your shoulder doesn't have that map and sees what's there right away. You just have to sigh and get used to it.
I feel this is normal... a set of fresh eyes. Sometimes we can look at things for too long and we become "blind" to issues that may be occurring. It takes someone with "Fresh Eyes" to see the full picture. And point out where we went wrong. Just today, someone was trying to hook up a laptop. But couldn't get a picture. The knew all the steps to set up the laptop on to the tv. But forgot the first step.
turn on the tv.
28 and getting back into learning how to code again, this video was great, this helped me alot. helped me gain a bit more focus.
So glad to hear it was helpful! You got this!
True what you're saying r.e tutorials, I think students/beginners need to know this the most. I learnt way more by planning and diving into my own projects, changed my mental approach and entire perception to development
Absolutely! While tutorials are a good starting point, they can become a crutch that keeps you in "tutorial purgatory" instead of building real-world skills. Taking the leap into personal projects forces you to think independently, solve unique problems, and develop a deeper understanding of development principles.
As a person who's been trying to learn coding on and off for years and is neurodivergent, I really needed to hear your message today. It's especially frustrating when I'm a person who struggles with perfectionism and when I can't grasp things, I tend to give up and feel "dumb". You gave me a newfound perspective on learning to code and I appreciate your insights that just because programming is hard, it doesn't mean I'm not intelligent or incapable. So thank you, it really means a lot.
I started with PHP too.
20 years later, I'm still using PHP 😅
So true pho is a winner. Same as JavaScript
PHP is awesome
99% of projects build with PHP needs using a framework like Laravel, lots of Javascript, AJAX petitions, good CSS and HTML, JS Plugins, MySQL or similar, etc... Never only PHP. I love the results we can build with all of that tools
Same here. And the day namespaces were introduced to PHP was awesome. 100 years after emerging it finally came near a fully grown language :)
I like PHP because you still have the option to be sloppy if you don't know how to do it like it was meant to be done :)
Same 🙋♂
I kinda love that you're your own stock footage, subbed!!
Thanks!
Been coding on and off for while but still feel like more learning and coding has to get done. But it’s fun to do and love learning more about it. Great video🎉
Thanks! And yes you can never stop learning on this field
I'm a programmer and started in the 80s. For me, once I learned advanced concepts, once something new came along it was easier to grasp, but, of course, it all takes time. Anyone that wants to become a programmer, it is a constant journey of learning and adapting.
You've captured the essence of programming perfectly-it's a lifelong journey of learning and adapting to new technologies!
I love the 80s. You could just code in asm. Everything was simple and straight forward.
@@yllatusmuna I was too young to understand asm then, I started with BASIC. I agree though, asm was the language to choose back then.
Thank you for this video! I feel so validated and inspired by what you have said here. I am in a coding bootcamp and I feel on top of my game one minute - and then completely lost in the next activity. But I have a tolerance for stress and resilience for challenge. and I know now that it will make my difference. It was a refreshing 14 minutes to have spent with you!
Thank you so much for watching!
Absolutely love your candor and honesty! These are things that befall most coders that no one admits, and it is inspiring and encouraging to hear these from you. Subscribed!
Thanks so much! I try to be as transparent as possible, I hope you find it helpful. 😊
Thanks! I'm a good programmer, but I struggle to learn new things. It really helps to know that I'm not alone.
Thank you for watching! I have more videos in my coding life playlist that might help you out and I’m hoping you can check them out!
You are so on point about allowing yourself to fail. Learning through failure is powerful. Those are lessons that really stick. As long as there’s no bodily harm, failure is a good teacher. I saw your video while taking a break from stumbling through my current project. Thank you for helping me regroup and ready to take a fresh run at my project.
Thank you for sharing your experiences! To hear that you embraced failure as a natural part of growth and learning. I'm glad this video helped you reframe your current challenges and gave you renewed energy to tackle your project with fresh eyes.
I've only been coding for a few years but I noticed that once I had the fundamentals down they transferred to other languages with minor syntax changes. It took a while and much frustration but now I can look at most code and see basically what it does. Also, there have been times (multiple) when I was about to give up or pull my hair out thinking that a problem was unsolvable or beyond my capabilities but the answer always came and the relief that I felt was enormous. It was always at these times that I learned the most. It's easy to do what you already know but we learn the most when we challenge ourselves with something new. p.s. I also play guitar. The first time I held it I didn't know where to start (like first time seeing code) but I had to learn the scales and chords (foundation) counterpoint and ear training and after a while I could play simple songs (basic programs) and now I can play most anything (senior guitar player 🤣). Why should programming be any different?
I came here to say something similar, fundamentals are key, once you have acquired a feeling for enough abstract patterns you will start recognizing them in more and more things you see as you learn new things. A lot of fledgling developers struggle with one thing yet understand another thing will yet those two things might actually be very similar or even the same thing, just dressed up differently. During the learning process, frustration is usually when you are learning the most, you are at the bleeding edge of your own.
I also suggest when learning, to explain new concepts to yourself using analogies sometimes it it's hit or miss, but the thing is once you get good at it you will see that being able to analogize a concept allows you to more easily apply the concepts and know when to apply them.
This is godly. Love the authenticity. I have been doing it 7 years and Its all so relatable. Incredible work Catherine. Keep at it
Thank you so much!!
By far and away, best video ever on this topic. Deals with all the underestimated and undermentioned, obscure areas that make this problem a problem (and how to get away from those!). Thank you!
Nailed it! best summary of all the little challenges that nobody talks about.
I think your best point was that figuring out how to program is the part of the job that makes you so valuable, not a distraction from actually programming. Such a good mindset.
some of my thoughts (as a programming plebe) as I listened through the content
PHP can do a lot simply but I would start with something else if I had the choice.
React elegant but esoteric enough that I wouldn't pick it up unless you have to. the problem is that angular can be so heavy. My go to is to find a lighter solution first.
llms are going to change the game. I would never learn programming without an llm today.
Great video and perspectives. Love how you reference books, it shows your not just creating fluff content. Thank you
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
the jargon is what really throws me off a lot and makes things seem more confusing than what they are, when you really get into things itsmuch simplier than you think
Absolutely true! Totally agree! I've have a bunch of coding experience and most efficient thing is an adaptation and an evolving through the projects and technologies. programming languages arre just tools. And really valueable during your coding job is a skillset to use different tools to solve different problems. So, do not fear the knowledge gap with coding. It's normal to know less than it needs. Have fun and be proactive in whatever you do! Better be halthy mentally than be sadly each time your code fails.
I program mostly as a hobby and it certainly can be difficult, yet rewarding when you finally have success. I usually find programing completely from scratch easier, but most of the time I am attempting to write code to interact with someone else's code, which mean you have to figure what someone else did so that you can interact with it.
hey~ this is some amazing video clip you got here. Had a great time listening to you. Thanks! I will (or must) follow some of your advices.
As you point out around 5:00, everything is harder when you have to actually do it yourself. Not just programming - anything. A similar point was made in the Elsa Scola video on this topic. Probably this is the most important thing: If you want to be a coder, you have to code. And code. And code. That said, what I've always told people is that the first job of a programmer is to think. If you don't think well and clearly about the problem at hand, your code will suck no matter how well you know a language. But guess what, you can practice thinking too.
How can we learn how to think?
@@victormokutstill working on it myself but using as much common sense as possible and thinking of how to approach the problem step by step, relying on the documentation and being as specific as possible will help
@@victormokut You can make a mental framework. "trentinuit" the one that we are commenting on - is right that learning how to think is the main thing. I have a 5 point mental framework that I use and It has made me much more productive
divide and conquer are the most basic steps to apply to put your problems into manageable pieces. at least that‘s what i understood that was meant by learning to think. these thoughts plus thinking about cohesion and your ability to build upon abstractions of the real world, combined with single responsible principles and clean coding styles will lead you to become a better coder ^^ … as being said, this concepts need practice though … there is as always no such thing as free lunch 😉
@@victormokut First, if you are serious, you can find ways. There are even classes (and RUclips videos) specifically about critical thinking - I don't limit "first, think" to implementation choices.
The previous answers to you were IMHO mostly good. For me, most generally, thinking means asking why something is the way it is, and how it might be different.
Going further: every technology we use, every syntax, every "rule", was at first someone's choice. Why did they choose that? What assumptions did they make, and what values did they pursue (efficiency? clarity?). Nothing just is. And... sometimes they screwed up!
This applies to syntax, semantics, algorithms, user experience, product direction, and much more - the sky's the limit.
I hope that helps. Just trying to think about the why a little daily gradually snowballs. And if you don't know algorithms, learn them and code them yourself: they sharpen your thinking immensely.
Damn, a sensible video with sound. I graduate from my university this year and I’m excited to eventually dip my toes into the job pool!
I wish you all the best on your job search!
Excellent video with great insights and advice! I’m just beginning my education into coding and being an older, lifelong learner I know that what you say here is spot on. Thank you for sharing this. I just became a new subscriber to your channel!
I'm so glad you found it helpful and welcome!
In regards with the lack of risk of failure when following tutorials online: I would say that the risk is quite high as someone that has followed A LOT of them. They are often quickly outdated, and simple syntax or even libraries have changed. So I'd say: Just embrace failure and troubleshooting from the get-go, no matter what.
I think following tutorials can be great when you reflect on and apply what you've learned from it. I'm a hobbyist game programmer, so I typically take concepts I learn from tutorials and think about how to incorporate them into something I am interested in creating. But you can draw similar parallels to front-end, back-end, or whatever programming language you're learning to do stuff with - like robotics.
That said, if anyone is on the fence, considering whether or not you want to learn to code: programmers are like modern day wizards. You make magic happen on a screen. That shit is tight.
So true, you tell a lot of truth in this video !
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
I wasn't expecting much from this video but ended up watching till end. Excellent advice, thank you!
Thank you so much! And I’m truly glad you enjoyed it
surprisingly relatable. As topics have become more complex, I found myself getting slower compared to my peers and impostor syndrome took over so hard.
You’re not alone!
Very creative solution for your teleprompter to use a switch controller. Nice.
i skipped more years than you are in... you said many great things so i try again no matter what !
Good advice! Everyone seems to bombard their perspective over which framework or language is the best, but that's all it is, a perspective. If you stand in front of a building, you don't see what's behind it. Different perspectives are true, just depends where you're coming from. If you want to be a good developer focus on learning what you can do with what you're learning, instead of focusing so hard on the how, only to end up later realizing you have no idea when and where to use that how.
Thank you!
Thanks Catherine. Always nice to hear from someone actively working in the field and sharing their experiences. Sounds so intimidating at times 😢😢
It’s a demanding industry for sure that’s seeing big changes all the time but it’s overall a really rewarding industry!
Very good advice. It has been my experience that learning basic programming concepts and understanding the philosophy of software design is more valuable than learning a particular language. The thought processes and methodologies that I used coding assembly are the same that I use today to create web applications. And you definitely learn more from code with errors, than code that works perfectly the first time.
Really good video. I am new to coding but a lot of this advice applies to nearly anything you want to learn. In my case I often learn new skills best by doing things, having a goal, and being rewarded with tangible steps toward that goal. As such tutorials in general aren’t useful to me because they might not directly relate to what I am trying to accomplish. Instead with everything that I’ve learned really well outside of a degree program I’ve started with specific very advanced goals, and moved forward with the attitude of “Everything is possible, it’s just a matter of figuring out how.” And then proceed to learn whatever compartmentalized piece of information I need to know to complete the next step in the process. I also agree that adaptability is key and good sleep should NOT be underrated though as a night owl I disagree with the morning assessment.
I just discovered your channel with this video and you have a new subscriber.
I started to watch this for the tips but it turned out into a motivational video, and helpful all the same. I struggle with a lot of the things you mentioned. Imposter syndrome obviously, it’s so common in this industry. Emotional regulation is one thing I don’t hear enough people talk about. I’ve been in IT for about 7 months now, and one thing that upsets me is how upset I can get. Not only do I give myself a hard time for not knowing things, I also give myself a hard time for getting upset at times, and it makes me question if I’m cut out for this world.
So true. My frustration tolerance is tremendous. I no longer cry or close my pc. I litterally say i am not moving or going home till i figure this out. Lol. Almost wet my pants a few times because of this and my husband must think i am coming home late on purpose. The truth is i literally am working on different projects as a larger project and when thing come up, i figure it out. You are so correct ... I do 14 hours a day every day coding and accomplished what would take a team of ten programmers three years to code, i did in months. Tolerance building works
That’s next level dedication! It’s an amazing feeling when you figure something out on your own, it's such a rush!
It's funny how our egos make us hide from failing, but failing helps us become what we want to be.
🤯
Great video, talking about real-world scenarios!
Thanks, glad you found it relatable!
Hey girl!! Thank you for this. I’m juuust beginning. I could watch you all day!
Thank you so much! If you haven't done so already, have a look at my coding life playlist for more of this type of content, or my javascript tutorial one if you're just starting learning!
Thanks Catherin for a good reminder. Great content.
You are so welcome!
"High frustration tolerance" 🎯
"High Frustration Tolerance", I needed to learn this. Should help me approach the very difficult problems.
Good video, very down to earth and humble! Keep it up 🐼
Thanks so much!!
Sometimes taking a break in the middle of a complicated task is not so easy. Sometimes you go out and you are not able to disconnect. You just want to solve the problem as soon as possible and move on.
For me, I learn by doing. Spending more time in an editor. Studying in my off time to further my knowledge and understanding of a language. One thing I love about web development is there is always new things to learn because technology is constantly changing/being updated.
Coding for longer periods of time is more of a struggle for beginning or getting back to writing a document. Start with what you know and go from there while building your skills.
That's awesome to hear that you embrace continuous learning in web development. Starting with what you know and gradually expanding your skills is a fantastic approach to mastering coding.
Hi, 15 years in development. You are absolutely right.
Thanks a lot for such an inspiring video - particularly om how to handle frustration & deep work !!!
Thank you so much for watching! I'm really glad parts of the video helped you directly!
Great content. Very helpful.
The sooner you escape tutorial hell the sooner you can enter job market hell!
Haha! It’s all part of the journey.
Thank you! Very helpful take!
I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, ty for your insight.
Thank you for this. I'm definitely going to share this one with my students.
Thank you for doing that! Let me know what they think I’m interested to hear their thoughts
1:04 "THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE"
That's fascinating to learn! It reminds me of a thought-provoking verse by the renowned poet Sir Muhammad Iqbal, who is celebrated as the "National Poet" of Pakistan. He expressed a similar idea in one of his Urdu poems:
سکوں محال ہے قدرت کے کارخانے میں
ثبات ایک تغیّر کو ہے زمانے میں
This translates to:
"Quiescence is impossible in the universe;
Only 'change' is permanent in the universe."
I migrated from aspiring dev to cybersecurity 3 years ago. Never been a dev, just programmed some small front end projects. Now I’m in the blue team because it was easier to break in. I miss programming and after learning network, I feel more prepared to program and the communication between front and backend now makes sense.
nice! how is coding for network coming along so far?
@@adam-nw5cn I meant the understanding of the network and communication of systems somehow opened my mind to programming and I think I'll look at it through different eyes. But I have not programmed for network and or automation yet.
@@FaLkraydz I see! thanks for class 😀
Thank you for the video!
Thank you for watching!
Great INFO and SO TRUE !!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching!
As long as you put a good amount of effort into it you should be able to learn anything.
I'm determined to learn for me, so I can bring my ideas to life, and not have to keep watching other people beat me to it.
Thank you soo much ❤
You're welcome 😊
Great video Catherine, the problem became on HR perspective, HR have checklist for libraries and frameworks, they do not know anything on behind and only looking checklist. As engineer, I am not accept the behavior they are using this method for reducing the offer salary. As an example if you have knowledge about MQTT, RabbitMQ but you did not use Kafka, they will reject your resume. This is the same thing dear HR.
i like to learn vanilla languages and runtimes since, because it is the source of frameworks, it has a way longer lifespan. and if i ever need a framework, i will learn it then. also the less i rely on fws, the more i have to understand the language itself and what it can do. it is a hard path, but definitely not a bad path.
3:59 Yes, so many technical document writers are _terrible_ at plain English. They could definitely benefit from a class or two on how to simplify their writing.
I know I have done a good job on an application when I start getting sick of looking at it and working on it.
That's how you know you're truly making progress! 😎
My old Spanish teacher had a saying that I use, "practica, practica, practica". It means practice 3x, it's all well and good to read or watch something being done but until you practice or apply it you won't internalize the process. That is one of the main reasons I was so much better at OChem than Biology.
The only constant is change...I learned that working at a call center. You either went with the changes (no matter how dumb management and their new rule was) or you failed and found a different likely better job.
Really really helpful kid thanks :)
You're welcome! Glad it helped.
@catherinelijs hey you wouldn't happen to have an email or linked in that I could reach you at? 😀
Thinking about your comments at about 11:00 that you have to be tolerant of things going wrong: Yes, it can be a struggle. Tony Hawk once said that every trick he learned had some number of failures required before he could master it. And writing a piece of code is like that: It has some unknown number of failures. If your fixes have failed 10 times, it just means that the fail number is 11 or higher. You just remember that and keep going till you beat the count.
As a corollary: When senior devs see something complicated work right the first time, we grow very suspicious. Because something is always wrong in the code, and the apparent success is hiding whatever that is!
Excellent tutorial , video - Yeah , my goal to commit to do the a few hours of straight coding, which - you will get something done.
Thanks so much for watching, I hope you're getting into a good flow!
So I'm trying to learn this. I'm older (32) with a full time job. What you said about an hour in the morning is worth 2 at night really peaked my curiosity. I think I may give that a try for a bit while learning my own coding. Thanks!
I tried it too and it really improved my retention of facts and helped my studying! Careful though, it might make you into a morning person lol
I like the fact that you're a reader.
Mentioning those books!
Thank you! I love reading and love non-fiction books that always help expand your knowledge!
@catherinelijs
I loveeee non-fiction too🤭.
It most definitely does that.
PHP can still be a useful skill if you work with frameworks like Laravel, CMS systems written in PHP, etc.
Thank you.
You're welcome! Glad you found it helpful.
And in conclusion: Good video. Keep on keeping on.
Thanks!
I think that a large part of the problem is that the old KISS (keep it simple stupid) rule has gone out the window.
That, and real coding world examples, are few and far between. Stuff that is broken down and dissected line by line and jargon demystified.
In short, just like any other good 'how to' manual.
+1 for the book Mindset. It’s so transformative and absolutely helped me in reframing my beliefs and perspective of the experiences I had in my life. Welcome challenges and embrace failures because they are the sources for the fastest growth and improvement!
100% agree. That book was one of my best reads of this year!
Love this video and its the same for me.
Love my job but sometimes i feel thick - as i take in things alot slower, have to use AI to help explain things to me etc.
Bare in mind that i only started to learn code when i was in my 30s, and coding wasnt a thing at college where as it is now.
However something great happened to me and HTML and CSS is becoming more popular again for websites and this was a language i did when i was very young and literally everyone off today doesnt know anything about it or don't like it. So now i feel like the smart one when working with this language :)
Thanks for the tips
Thank you for watching!
@ you’re welcome
Thank you for reliving me that I am not dum
Hey Catherine, I'm gonna leave tutorial hell, but only with you on the back of my horse as we ride into the sunset, letting go of our worldly struggles and tasting the beauty of life as it truly is.
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.
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Lmk if you're down
thank you so much
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for putting this together. I am struggling with all the things you had discussed so greatly appreciate this video. May I suggest another video on how to use AI tools to help learn coding? Mistake I am seeing with my fellow beginners is that we are relying too much for AI to generate the code and at the end unable to code it without AI. Any suggestion how to leverage the AI but not become dependent on it?
That's a great observation! To leverage AI effectively, use it as a tool to speed up tasks or get guidance, but always make sure to understand the code it generates by breaking it down, experimenting with it, and writing your own code to reinforce your learning.
@@catherinelijs perfectly summarized
I’m 100% the same too reading docs doesn’t sync in as much. Love RUclips
So much easier to follow right?
There’s also the hell of watching tutorials that help you break free from "tutorial hell."
It's hard for me to study in the morning because of intermediate fasting. My first meal is at 12 pm, and it's pretty hard to study on an empty stomach.
especially that we work at one of the most evoluting jobs
thanks
Great video ✌️
Thanks 👍
I’m 18 years into my software engineering career working in games thru to aviation and weather forecasting. For once, in these kind of videos, I can say I largely agree with you.
I’ve noticed that with the AI hype it’s all about creating new code but what about existing code? Not even AI can read the mind of a past programmer who wrote some algorithm, as well as the requirements at the time. AI doesn’t communicate with SMEs and literally just relies on the intentions of what the current developer is working with.
I completed my CS degree in 1999 where I specialized in academic AI, anybody who understands the theoretical side of AI and algorithm complexity will be well aware that AI will not be taking our jobs anytime soon. I have said many times over that AI will not be replacing us until the late lifetimes of our grandchildren. There are many reasons why I say this that are too long to list here but I honestly believe that.
Insightful perspective! AI is a powerful tool, but understanding legacy code and collaborating with SMEs highlights the irreplaceable value of human expertise in software engineering.
You still be needing a programmer to make AI do the job the way you want to 😂
I think the best takeaways are practice and be patient with yourself.
Thank you a lot!
You're welcome! Have a look at my Coding Life playlist ruclips.net/video/GblRp9bvhh4/видео.html if you're interested in a few more of my videos on these topics
Your video popped up in my feed and I just want to say thanks. I'm not going for a SWE job but I'm learning Python for Linux SysAdmin and DevOps scripting. You've perfectly described the struggles I've had with learning to code and I'm going to put these tips into practice.
So glad to hear it’s helpful for your journey!
I started programming in 1982 (What's a graphics card?), but it's been on and off since due to time/money spirals. Now - solved. Python and BASIC are similar enough so that I can get the language down with little effort. World, see you in two years!
You’re wonderful 😍 I am enjoying your English accent and understood u well . Do u teach coding
It was very helpful
ill never leave tutorial hell free code camp all the way
I am learning python. I can't code. Your video motivates me to keep going! Thank you
I'm so thankful! Python is a great choice, and the benefit is once you get a hang of it, you'll know a language that's very much in demand.
@catherinelijs thank you! I will continue. It is damn hard!
I just wish people would separate "web development" and "software development." These phrases shouldn't be interchangeable.
if you build for web and later create an application from a web app - you built a pice of software... so the argument is invalid
Oh My Gosh Catherine even u don't know how damn great of a video is this, came here for the first time and i am really really impressed.This is exactly what i needed as a software engineer. Quite early in my career. By the way how do you handle the stress that you get on what do you report to the tech lead the next day in standup. We do a lot of things in the day (working from home currently) but when it comes to explaining in standups it seems weird to explain each and every detail and it gets tiresome also and at the same time the thought runs in head is that the tech lead might not think that i worked less although i did a lot of things.
And i also get a lot stressed out when i don't know something and the tech lead says you tell me, you tell me. Although it is not about understanding but just about knowing it and they know it that's it but i feel very bad when he does like that.
And Catherine as a fried would like to know your point on the managerial position. Like as we proceed in our careers we definitely are going to get to a managerial role and will code less or will not code at all. So is it good to get a managerial role early by doing an MBA or something? Because tech keeps changing and you have to always learn and everything becomes new again so it seems a lot stressing/challenging and plus we do not have job safety(would like to know how do you think about this).
Thanks a lot in advance and lots of love to you🤍
Thank you so much for the kind words, it really means a lot! Regarding your stress, try focusing on communicating your progress in terms of outcomes rather than details, and don't worry too much if you don't know everything-your willingness to learn and ask questions is what matters. As for managerial roles, it’s definitely a personal choice; some prefer to continue coding while others enjoy leading teams, but an MBA or managerial experience can offer new perspectives if you're looking for a change in career direction!