From the first lines of code to the professional: my story
Programming is not just a profession, it is a way of life that requires time, perseverance and a desire to learn. This article is a story about my journey: how I became a programmer, what difficulties I went through, and what helped me achieve success. If you are just thinking about programming, here you will find answers to the following questions: why study programming, how to get started and for whom it is suitable.
Chapter 1. Why study programming?
Let's start with the most important question: why study programming? There are many answers here, but the main ones sound like this: it is a prestigious and highly paid profession that gives freedom. You can work remotely, turn your ideas into reality, and also hear admiring voices from others: "Wow, you're a programmer!"
When I was a teenager, I could not even imagine that programming would become my profession. In my family, everyone was related to mathematics in one way or another: my mother, my aunt, my brother. I've been told since I was 10 years old, "You're going to study programming with us." But I didn't understand "What is it?"; "How is it?"; "Why am I???", because no one in my family started working in this field. Then I thought: "Mathematicians are smart grandfathers with glasses at universities, programmers are something about hairy types with glasses."
Now, from the perspective of experience, I can say that programming is an opportunity. This is a chance to create, earn, work from anywhere in the world and come up with your own projects. And no less important is to communicate with successful people, and not only from the IT world.
Chapter 2. How to start learning?
Over the years, I have often heard such questions: "Is it difficult to become a programmer?", "Where can I learn this?", "Can you teach me?". These questions always made me smile.
Programming is not a profession where you are shown in practice once or given a tutorial, after which you are ready to work. Everything is much more complicated. This is a long process that requires attention to many details. Technology is constantly evolving, and in order to remain in demand, you need to regularly learn new things, be on trend and be appreciated in the labor market.
But if you're serious, here are some tips.:
Decide on the direction. Think about what exactly you want to develop. There are plenty of possibilities: websites, servers, mobile apps, and more. I recommend starting with universal languages such as Java, C# or Kotlin. They allow you to learn the basics of programming through console applications, and then move on to more specialized tasks.
Do some research. Figure out which programming language is suitable for creating what you are interested in. For example, if you want to make mobile apps, learn Kotlin or Swift; if websites use JavaScript and HTML/CSS.
Ask for advice. If you have friends who are programmers, ask them to explain in a nutshell using real‑life examples: "What is programming?" This will help you to better understand the essence of the profession.
Find educational materials. Look for books for beginners, for example, "Java for dummies"
. Install free code writing software such as IntelliJ IDEA, Visual Studio Code, or Eclipse. Read the textbook and complete practical tasks to consolidate the material.
If you successfully complete these steps and don't give up, you have every chance to continue your studies and eventually become a Junior Developer. Good luck along the way!
Chapter 3. My first experience: Programming, but unconsciously
My first step into programming happened in computer science classes at school. We studied the Basic language. It was a black screen, far from our usual interface, where commands had to be entered. I had no idea what was going on. The teacher was checking the assignments, the classmates didn't understand anything.
One day a new student came to us, and she was doing something herself, tapping on the keyboard and getting a grade of 5 — we thought she was a nerd and generally strange
I didn't realize then that these strange lines of code were my first programming experience.
Chapter 4. New school — new challenges
In high school, I was sent to study in another city, where there was one of the best schools in the region with an emphasis on mathematics. I was accepted after the tests, and I found myself in a new place, without family and friends.
Computer science lessons were even more difficult here. I failed the tests one after the other, getting only twos. The teacher approached me with an offer: to stay in extra classes.
At first, I was skeptical, but I soon realized that without help, things wouldn't work out.
In the additional classes, the teacher explained to me the basic principles: programming is a conversation with a computer. We give him commands, use the data, and build a sequence of actions in our head.
What was my reaction? I asked myself, is that all?! Is it that simple?!
After that lesson, my grades didn't drop below 4, and 4 was already a fail.
Chapter 5. University: expanding horizons
When I entered the university, I did not think that I would become an expert, my studies covered too wide a range of topics: dozens of programming languages, different directions.
But the fact is, damn it, I was interested! I stayed up at night reading textbooks, writing code, trying to complete practical tasks. And not just trying, I had a sporting interest in doing it efficiently and standing out from the rest of the students. The university gave me the foundation and skills to find solutions on my own.
I want to note here that I have never been an excellent student, my goal was not to get good grades (In the 1st semester I had 3! twos in math). I just loved writing code and it was my "driver".
Chapter 6. The first job: a difficult start
In my 4th year, I started looking for a job. The first two places turned out to be failures: I was given assignments, the field of development was completely unknown to me, and my colleagues did not help. I left, realizing that this was not my way.
The third attempt was successful. At that time, I had just purchased an HTC phone running on Android OS. At that time, it was something — phones with Touch displays had just begun to appear on the market. Offtop — I earned it by moonlighting as a loader in the summer :‑)
I found a job for an Android developer, completed a test assignment, and received approval. That's how my career began, which has been going on for 12 years.
Conclusion
My story is an example of how perseverance and the desire to learn help you succeed. The main thing is to love this process, to devote all your time and focus to it.
Programming can be your door to a new life. Start small, find like-minded people, and one day you too will be able to say, "Hi, I'm a programmer!"
Thank you for reading to the end!
History from our reader, Thank you
Programming is not just a profession, it is a way of life that requires time, perseverance and a desire to learn. This article is a story about my journey: how I became a programmer, what difficulties I went through, and what helped me achieve success. If you are just thinking about programming, here you will find answers to the following questions: why study programming, how to get started and for whom it is suitable.
Chapter 1. Why study programming?
Let's start with the most important question: why study programming? There are many answers here, but the main ones sound like this: it is a prestigious and highly paid profession that gives freedom. You can work remotely, turn your ideas into reality, and also hear admiring voices from others: "Wow, you're a programmer!"
When I was a teenager, I could not even imagine that programming would become my profession. In my family, everyone was related to mathematics in one way or another: my mother, my aunt, my brother. I've been told since I was 10 years old, "You're going to study programming with us." But I didn't understand "What is it?"; "How is it?"; "Why am I???", because no one in my family started working in this field. Then I thought: "Mathematicians are smart grandfathers with glasses at universities, programmers are something about hairy types with glasses."
Now, from the perspective of experience, I can say that programming is an opportunity. This is a chance to create, earn, work from anywhere in the world and come up with your own projects. And no less important is to communicate with successful people, and not only from the IT world.
Chapter 2. How to start learning?
Over the years, I have often heard such questions: "Is it difficult to become a programmer?", "Where can I learn this?", "Can you teach me?". These questions always made me smile.
Programming is not a profession where you are shown in practice once or given a tutorial, after which you are ready to work. Everything is much more complicated. This is a long process that requires attention to many details. Technology is constantly evolving, and in order to remain in demand, you need to regularly learn new things, be on trend and be appreciated in the labor market.
But if you're serious, here are some tips.:
Decide on the direction. Think about what exactly you want to develop. There are plenty of possibilities: websites, servers, mobile apps, and more. I recommend starting with universal languages such as Java, C# or Kotlin. They allow you to learn the basics of programming through console applications, and then move on to more specialized tasks.
Do some research. Figure out which programming language is suitable for creating what you are interested in. For example, if you want to make mobile apps, learn Kotlin or Swift; if websites use JavaScript and HTML/CSS.
Ask for advice. If you have friends who are programmers, ask them to explain in a nutshell using real‑life examples: "What is programming?" This will help you to better understand the essence of the profession.
Find educational materials. Look for books for beginners, for example, "Java for dummies"
. Install free code writing software such as IntelliJ IDEA, Visual Studio Code, or Eclipse. Read the textbook and complete practical tasks to consolidate the material.If you successfully complete these steps and don't give up, you have every chance to continue your studies and eventually become a Junior Developer. Good luck along the way!
Chapter 3. My first experience: Programming, but unconsciously
My first step into programming happened in computer science classes at school. We studied the Basic language. It was a black screen, far from our usual interface, where commands had to be entered. I had no idea what was going on. The teacher was checking the assignments, the classmates didn't understand anything.
One day a new student came to us, and she was doing something herself, tapping on the keyboard and getting a grade of 5 — we thought she was a nerd and generally strange
I didn't realize then that these strange lines of code were my first programming experience.
Chapter 4. New school — new challenges
In high school, I was sent to study in another city, where there was one of the best schools in the region with an emphasis on mathematics. I was accepted after the tests, and I found myself in a new place, without family and friends.
Computer science lessons were even more difficult here. I failed the tests one after the other, getting only twos. The teacher approached me with an offer: to stay in extra classes.
At first, I was skeptical, but I soon realized that without help, things wouldn't work out.
In the additional classes, the teacher explained to me the basic principles: programming is a conversation with a computer. We give him commands, use the data, and build a sequence of actions in our head.
What was my reaction? I asked myself, is that all?! Is it that simple?!
After that lesson, my grades didn't drop below 4, and 4 was already a fail.
Chapter 5. University: expanding horizons
When I entered the university, I did not think that I would become an expert, my studies covered too wide a range of topics: dozens of programming languages, different directions.
But the fact is, damn it, I was interested! I stayed up at night reading textbooks, writing code, trying to complete practical tasks. And not just trying, I had a sporting interest in doing it efficiently and standing out from the rest of the students. The university gave me the foundation and skills to find solutions on my own.
I want to note here that I have never been an excellent student, my goal was not to get good grades (In the 1st semester I had 3! twos in math). I just loved writing code and it was my "driver".
Chapter 6. The first job: a difficult start
In my 4th year, I started looking for a job. The first two places turned out to be failures: I was given assignments, the field of development was completely unknown to me, and my colleagues did not help. I left, realizing that this was not my way.
The third attempt was successful. At that time, I had just purchased an HTC phone running on Android OS. At that time, it was something — phones with Touch displays had just begun to appear on the market. Offtop — I earned it by moonlighting as a loader in the summer :‑)
I found a job for an Android developer, completed a test assignment, and received approval. That's how my career began, which has been going on for 12 years.
Conclusion
My story is an example of how perseverance and the desire to learn help you succeed. The main thing is to love this process, to devote all your time and focus to it.
Programming can be your door to a new life. Start small, find like-minded people, and one day you too will be able to say, "Hi, I'm a programmer!"
Thank you for reading to the end!
History from our reader, Thank you
