Too Much to Learn to Be a Software Developer? My Honest Thoughts...

Is there too much to learn to realistically learn the skills to become a software developer? In today's video I give my thoughts on the topic.

*** JOIN MY GROUP ***

[AndySterkowitz]

How much does the "information overwhelm" affect you? Did this video help clarify things?

[ashwinarora]

When you are feeling overwhelmed like this, it is very easy to open another tab to distract yourself with youtube or Netflix. Word of advice- Don't. Distracting yourself will lead you nowhere, it will only take you further away from your goal. The more you distract yourself the more this overwhelming feeling will grow and you'll distract yourself even more. Don't start this cycle, if you are already in the cycle, do everything in your power to end it as soon as you can. I truly wish you well on your journey.

[wwflyingace]

I've been a professional programmer for the last 30 years, and I'm still overwhelmed by all the stuff I need to learn.

[codesader]

I am currently going through this overwhelming thoughts at the moment. There are just so many parts to cover. I appreciate what you do. Thank you.

[briandesign]

I've been focusing on learning specific things I wanna build and it's helped me learn easier. Courses def overload you with so much info that you're prob never gonna remember or use

[ryanleemartin]

I really liked your advice and input. I am a self taught programmer. 20 years now. It took me 15 years of flailing about to figure out what I think are the 2 most important things. 1. "Master the fundamentals" 2. write more code than you read but also read".

[Luckyydee]

THANK YOU! This was motivational. I just graduated with my BSCS and STILL feel like I am right here, just with a bit more insight/head start, etc. I was in school as a mother of 3 and working full time - so now I am trying to build a portfolio to really prove what I can do. and BOY, I realized how much more there is to learn. I need to take a step back, breathe, and take it slow so I can still enjoy my kids and get some sleep so I'm productive at my current job :). I need to stop getting ahead of myself because I do exactly what you said not to do - worry about what's next. Thanks again Andy! :)

[codybishop]

It just feels like there are so many tools these days. There are tools for tools haha.

[MrKay]

Let’s go! These are just challenges⏳ one step at a time

[LongJourneys]

"I taught myself to code back in 2014" .... that moment you feel really old cause 2014 is now "back then"

[octopusfly]

Thanks Andy.
Managing overwhelm here in Korea 🇰🇷. Your voice of calm and reason resonates.

[sharg]

Coming from a non technical background it's been a huge challenge learning how to code. I feel overwhelmed everyday but the key is keep reading, applying what you read by coding and keep doing small projects. Most importantly, take a mental break! Don't exhaust yourself trying to learn everything at one time.

[JamesKing-jcuy]

Nice video. I'm a graphic designer in my 50s and been learning front end code building my own portfolio sites and friends sites. Been doing this 3 or 4 years now and I love it, wish I didn't need to do design jobs so I could spend more time coding.
There's one thing I think you missed that might inspire those thinking of starting in code. I find coding addictive, I love the puzzle solving factor, it's a genuine buzz and a great feeling of accomplishment every time I get stuck and then solve it. That's why I write code at every opportunity, the feel good factor is really something!
Sure, you need to get over the first 20-30 hours of solid learning but then...it's truly enjoyable at times.

[davidsommers]

I wrote my first piece of software in 1975. It was for a keyboard driver on an HP 1000 minicomputer. I was amazed when it worked. When I retired five years ago, I was programming in C# in a .NET environment building a relatively complex automated test system for circuit cards in a missile system. Each language and operating system was a learning experience that seemed overwhelming at first, and then it wasn't. That challenge is what kept me going. I loved learning and doing new stuff. Yes, boss, I made it harder than necessary so I could learn new things on your nickel.

[nirvana]

If you learn alone, then yes, it is a lot to learn, but if you have a mentor who helps you understanding more complicated stuff, then it is quite enjoyable. i managed to find a full-time job after 4 months of self-teaching. had to move from Kotlin/Android development to AngularTS. The first week was incredibly hard, because of my low self-esteem next to experienced developers, and because of a new Framework of course . But one month passed now and the team managed to make me 5 times better then I was before :) also I am doing most of the front-End job for now . It is past midnight here in Germany and all I want is to wake up and improve our app tomorrow :). Good times

[A_Mindful_Journey]

Thanks Andy. I needed to get reminded of this. When I started the journey, this is the mind-set that I had, that I'll consistently put in a minimum of one hour a day, every single day. I knew that the knowledge would add up like compound interest. As of today it's day 48 since I started and I am decent in HTML, css, Js, and j-query. Still a long way to go, one step at a time.

[mahodarmajgaonkar]

Thank you sooo much, I mean in this pandemic every is busy in collecting certifications as much as they can but we should focus on skills and as an engineering student I'm also trying to learn many things simultaneously and getting overwhelmed sometimes

But as we get success in something we code we get a boost to do next

Thanks for your guidance

[guitarman]

The truth is this - it's impossible to learn everything in programming. Learn the most valuable and important skills, techniques and technologies. In other words, what is most active in the job market. For example, Java and especially Javascript and their associated frameworks.

If one focuses on what's hot in the job market, focusing on what you learn will be much easier. And more effective in terms of use of time.

[nick_jacob]

Been programming 10 years and recently went back to the basics just to feel like I learned something. I decided to do a 100 project JS challenge, I am stuck on number 3. lol. I'm like JEEZ dude how did I even get by as a developer for these last 10 years. It's funny because the first two I did, I really dove deep into what I was doing. What felt like an easy task turned out to give me more knowledge in the long run. One of the projects is actually on my channel. It's a hexadecimal background color code changer (click button to change background color). I realized I didn't know how to do this because I didn't really get hexadecimal numbering until I looked it up. But this is the cool thing about going backwards sometimes you pick up the things you missed.

[arrowrod]

Good luck. I was a programmer for 30 years. I knew a lot. Last 8 years, I was a contractor. The typical job requirement from HR was loaded with nonsense. I would always say, "You've listed the entire data center job requirements. Do you really want me to be the sole programmer?" However, that was before the new hiring requirement of writing a program in a few minutes in a language of their choice. Let's face it, every program is the same. Open a data set (file), Read (move) data to memory. Manipulate the data. Write (move) the data back. Close the data set(file).
The hard part is constantly updating your system with current software maintenance (in my travels was rarely done, because maintenance broke applications, which had to be fixed.) Not doing maintenance is long story of disaster.

Being a successful programmer is way too much work. Most of your co-workers will come in late, leave early, not complete their part of the project. I suggest HVAC repair. Global warming, hot sweaty people begging for service.

Again Good Luck.