Anxieties of being a developer

[Fergus Flanagan]

Saw this video yesterday and it really helped me to realise there are a lot of people in the same boat especially when it comes to being a new developer. I think for new budding developers it's important to watch this as for most of use this is a solo journey and we don't have mentors on hand. I am finding learning to code in Java a very real and often difficult challenge and I'm so angry at the people out there who I'd read on the web previously saying Java was an easy language to learn. It most certainly isn't and I don't believe there are any easy languages especially if you want to be a good developer. Let's dispel this myth of the easy language it doesn't do anyone any favours and will just heighten peoples insecurities when they hit the many brick walls one encounters when learning to program in that first language. But I know from experience if I stick at it, it will reward, so hanging on in there is the game plan

Anyway here is the link...Becoming a developer, the good, the bad and the ugly

Hope you find it as helpful as I did.


PS. due to a technical issue they had during recording you will have to turn up the volume to max for the first 5 minutes.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Useful talk: it lasts about 27′. It would fit better in a different place: moving.

[Ganesh Patekar]

Indeed It was really helpful. Thank you for sharing with us

[William Barnes]

Everyone is different.  If someone finds Java easy, and they post that, that is their opinion.  How many different languages have you used?  

> I don't believe there are any easy languages especially if you want to be a good developer.
That is a bit of a strange statement.

[Paul Clements]

My experience of a few weeks on this forum as that there are essentially two distinct groups of "newbies" on here:

Experienced IT professionals (i.e. multiyear experience of the entire project life-cycle, including coding/development, testing, deployment, maintenance etc)

People new not only to Java but new to programming and a formal IT career

I count myself in the first group. As such I have zero anxieties about actually learning Java. My underlying worry is getting taken seriously due to age and lack of commercial Java experience. However, I am determined to give it a year and see what happens.

Personally I think to be part of the second group must be difficult. IT is a trade/skill - I'm not sure some people realise that. You don't just become a programmer. You need to have a logical, problem-solving mind which is capable of breaking things down into component parts. You also need patience and determination. Giving up on a problem isn't an option if you want to succeed in IT. People will be relying on you to come up with a fix. In short, it's not a job for either the faint or half-hearted.

All the best,

PaulC.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Paul Clements wrote:. . . I count myself in the first group. . . . to be part of the second group must be difficult. IT is a trade/skill . . .

Group is the operative wor‍d. All trades have their beginners. Every trainee plumber has to change their first tap washer or connect their first capillary joint with a blowlamp. Every electrician has to wire in their first fusebox. And each of them is one of a group, or maybe better cohort. There are lots of people in that same position, and potential employers know that. That is why they have training jobs (called entry level), and if you are any good you will progress rapidly to double the salary and double the responsibility. If I remember correctly, the film shows the programmer describing how she went from beginner to craftswoman.

[Fergus Flanagan]

William Barnes wrote:Everyone is different.  If someone finds Java easy, and they post that, that is their opinion.  How many different languages have you used?  

> I don't believe there are any easy languages especially if you want to be a good developer.
That is a bit of a strange statement.

I done a bit of Assembly, Pascal, C, C++, PL/SQL, SQL, HTML. None were taken to a level where I would consider myself skilled (novice level). I've never used OO languages at the coal face and TBH never had a proper understanding of the methodologies around OO. Which is why I'm now finding Java a tough challenge. If you are a skilled developer esp in other OO languages then sure yes Java is going to be so much easier. But I think for any newbie to OO or just programming it's no cake walk and will be very tough unless you are a fast learner.

[Paul Clements]

Fergus Flanagan wrote:I've never used OO languages at the coal face and TBH never had a proper understanding of the methodologies around OO. Which is why I'm now finding Java a tough challenge.

If you spend time hammering home the basic constructs i.e. Classes, Objects, Inheritance, Polymorphism etc with loads of clear/fuss free examples then you should get it eventually. The worst thing you can do is plough on without a sound grasp of a language's building blocks i.e. focus on semantics not the minutiae of syntax.

Even though it's far from perfect, I would thoroughly recommend Head First Java as a great intro. Explains the basics very well.

[Fergus Flanagan]

Paul Clements wrote:My experience of a few weeks on this forum as that there are essentially two distinct groups of "newbies" on here:

Experienced IT professionals (i.e. multiyear experience of the entire project life-cycle, including coding/development, testing, deployment, maintenance etc)

People new not only to Java but new to programming and a formal IT career

I count myself in the first group. As such I have zero anxieties about actually learning Java. My underlying worry is getting taken seriously due to age and lack of commercial Java experience. However, I am determined to give it a year and see what happens.

Personally I think to be part of the second group must be difficult. IT is a trade/skill - I'm not sure some people realise that. You don't just become a programmer. You need to have a logical, problem-solving mind which is capable of breaking things down into component parts. You also need patience and determination. Giving up on a problem isn't an option if you want to succeed in IT. People will be relying on you to come up with a fix. In short, it's not a job for either the faint or half-hearted.

All the best,

PaulC.

Excellent post Paul

My underlying worry is getting taken seriously due to age and lack of commercial Java experience.

Same here I'm 51 and hoping to re-enter the IT sector after many years doing non-IT work. I'll be starting at the bottom, that's if someone will give me a chance. IT teams are generally made up of developers in their 20s & 30s so trying to fit in will be another challenge. One wonders where do all the twenty something developers from the eighties go, they can't all be or even want to be promoted up the management ladder. Is the IT sector ageist?

You also need patience and determination. Giving up on a problem isn't an option if you want to succeed in IT. People will be relying on you to come up with a fix. In short, it's not a job for either the faint or half-hearted

That is so true, many late nights eating crap food and drinking coffee to stay awake!! My only saving grace is the fact I'm genuinely interested in technology and unlike others who are in the sector one comes across I'm developing my skills not just to get a pay cheque but because I like technology and making things work well for users. Though with the financial pressures and time constraints imposed on projects the idea of quality being a factor in the end product is rare. Either that or the developers are not skilled enough.

[Fergus Flanagan]

Paul Clements wrote:

Fergus Flanagan wrote:I've never used OO languages at the coal face and TBH never had a proper understanding of the methodologies around OO. Which is why I'm now finding Java a tough challenge.

If you spend time hammering home the basic constructs i.e. Classes, Objects, Inheritance, Polymorphism etc with loads of clear/fuss free examples then you should get it eventually. The worst thing you can do is plough on without a sound grasp of a language's building blocks i.e. focus on semantics not the minutiae of syntax.

Even though it's far from perfect, I would thoroughly recommend Head First Java as a great intro. Explains the basics very well.

I'm using a combination of HFJ and the Oracle Java resource.

I did start out with a video tutorial course on Udemy by Tim Buchalka but was put off by the challenges being obtuse, I don't mind challenging but when you don't even understand the question!!

Also tried Thinking In Java but found myself getting bogged down in minutiae. Excellent resource though and very insightful but maybe something I could come back to a year down the line.

[William Barnes]

(Most likely not a helpful comment.)  C++ is OO.  But can be used to write code which is not OO.  If you like C++ better, you can learn OO using that first.