Is programming for everybody?

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#1

I wrote it on my bio, this is perhaps the 5th or 6th attempt to learn to program. I’ve had a go on C, C++, Python etc. Always there was a problem and when I failed to crack it, I just gave up. Mindset wise I guess I am not a fighter, I give up easily.

So now in my final attempt I’ve been working on the web development path. Html and CSS is all fine, I completed them. JavaScript is where the struggle begins. I’ve passed through various subjects, and started to falter slightly when I started functions.

Now functions at first wasn’t hard, but apparently after E6 the functions had a new and easier way of being written, which is with the arrows and it confused me. The study program stopped being easy, which wasn’t enough for me to quit yet. I made a coffee, opened classical music on spotify and started to concentrate, at which rate I also started to take notes and actually write them down on my physical notepad. And guess what? I figured it out and moved on.

Arrays weren’t too tough except for the bits of iterators I did not know yet. After reading them up I got those. When it got to loops, I understood the for loops after contemplating on the code for a while. (It was the backwards loop that made me struggle, I was making a theoretical mistake and after concentrating I also found that out. Though when it got to inner and outer loops I got lost again, had to concentrate and evidentially I figured it out.

Now I am at the iterator phase, actually in the final assignment. It is a tad bit challenging because I am trying to learn this program by truly understanding what each and every single line of command does. If I do not understand the theory behind it, I stop and try to understand it. Next subject’s title is objects and I’m extremely eager to begin, but in an attempt to only continue once I understand the subject, I am not passing over to the next one.

My question is this, could it be that perhaps programming is not for me? Is it always going to be this hard to understand the lessons? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’d love to stare at a code in a programming language that I know and figure out what the problem is. Some of you might find this weird but I actually love puzzles and mysteries and solving them is tons of fun for me.

So what do you think? Think I can learn JavaScript? Or am I going to always struggle?

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#2

You need to first ask yourself why you are doing programming. Programming is definitely not for everyone, but absolutely anyone can do it and become great at it. If it seems like a chore when you do it, it’ll only get more tedious the deeper you get into it. But if you enjoy doing it then regardless of how challenging it’ll get you’ll still love it because at the end of the day you want the thing you spend most of your time doing be your passion before it’s your career. Not all problem-solvers are programmers, not all programmers are problem-solvers. The second one may sound confusing or contradictive but they are fields in programming that are not necessarily problem-solving-oriented but still have an abstraction to the concept of ‘solving a problem’.

With all that said, I reiterate my first statement, Programming is definitely not for everyone, but absolutely anyone can do it and become great at it. :grinning::slightly_smiling_face:

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#3

Ever since I was a kid I have always been into computers. I live in İstanbul Turkey, I am 34 years old. By the time I was 14 years old I bought a Borland book and tried to learn C++ programming, that did not go well. Basically I do not wish to learn programming because I can make money off of it, I see it as a hobby. I mean it will give me the tools to create whatever I desire as long as I can imagine it. Just the endless possibilities and the activity itself being fun is what drives me. I am a copywriter and account manager at an advertisement agency so what I learn here will not be for work, still I can’t stop trying to learn it.

Only downfall is I’ve never been a great student lol, I get distracted way too easily. I understand things fast if I understand the logic behind it but when a struggle comes along I may start to have some problems.

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#4

If it doesn’t matter what language to learn, learn HTML. HTML is simplistic (though its web developement). If you really can’t focus much, do a lesson a or two a day. Its small progress, but it’ll get you there.

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#5

I don’t mean to be overly negative, because I broadly agree with @dave.n when they say:

However, that being said… It’s inevitable that, whilst you’re learning from scratch, there will be things that you don’t get the first time round. There may be things that don’t make sense the second, or third, time that you look at them. Even after you’ve been tinkering with a language for years, you might come across a bug in a program somewhere that stumps you for days and you just can’t seem to figure it out.

Part of learning how to do anything is repetition, and sticking with it when it’s not making sense and you just want to tear your hair out and throw the computer out of the window.

On one hand, the fact that as you say this is your “5th or 6th” attempt at learning how to code suggests you’re willing to stick with it. On the other, you freely admit that you’re happy to cut and run if the material gets a bit difficult.

Even if all you want to do is learn enough of a language to mess about with it, create the odd hobby project for fun or for the challenge of it, you will need to be able to stick it out. I think the question you need to be asking yourself is, after your 5 or 6 attempts to get stuck in - is this definitely a hobby you want to pursue? It is, after all, easy to dismiss things we don’t really want to do if it turns out that they’re difficult - “I just can’t do it!” is a convenient excuse.

Again, I don’t mean this post to come across as me telling you to give up. What I’m trying to get across is, in essence, that only you really know whether you genuinely want to learn how to code in JavaScript, or Python, or Ruby, or whatever.

@dave.n is right that anyone can, with enough time and effort, learn how to write code. Sure, for some people it’s more intuitive than others - but intuition can be trained, and complete understanding of anything is never immediate. If learning JavaScript, or any language for that matter, is something you genuinely want to do then you absolutely can achieve that. The courses here are a great starting point, and there’s plenty of people here on the forums (myself included) that’ll cheer you on and nudge you in the right direction when you get stuck for what you’ll think is the millionth time - when it’s really only the 4th.

What we can’t do is make you learn if it’s something you’re just not interested in, but if you bring the effort and realise that there’s nothing wrong with getting stuck and asking for help - StackOverflow is, after all, just a LOAD of developers doing exactly that! - then we’ve got your back. :+1:

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