Why 95% of Self-Taught Programmers Fail (Honest Advice)

Learning to code isn't easy. It's even harder when you're actively doing things that make the process harder. In this video I talk about the 4 signs you're learning to code wrong (and how to fix it).
📄 ** DOWNLOAD MY FREE STUDY MANUAL **
To download my FREE Self-Taught Programmer Study Manual PDF go to: andysterkowitz.com/study-manual/
My video on 5 Javascript Projects to Build: • 5 Javascript Projects ...

[@AndySterkowitz]

📄 *** DOWNLOAD MY FREE STUDY MANUAL *** To download my FREE Self-Taught Programmer Study Manual PDF go to: andysterkowitz.com/study-manual/

[@AmberRathour366]

Thanks so much

[@manuelgonzales6483]

I really get great inspiration from you🔥

[@NotHalfBadNomad]

Just did. Thanks so much!

[@TheMentalHealthToolbox]

Yeah buddy! Thanks😁

[@prassanna6521]

I downloaded the manual but unable to open ,getting can't open file..can anyone know why?

[@Zircuitz]

As a self-taught programmer with a professional job for 5 years now: I can tell you that programming is not about remembering syntax (I still Google basic syntax now and then). It's all about your ability to solve a problem.

[@anthonyf9292]

In my compsci class in school our teacher give us paper tests and takes points off if we miss syntax or mess up initializing one variable. I breeze through the class when it comes to projects but for some reason she expects us to know how to write 50 lines without any errors. I try to bring up how in the real world we wouldn't be tested on paper and how most devs use google if they forget something or how the god damn ide is gonna show us we missed a semi-colon but she persistent on her way of teaching.

[@Zircuitz]

@@anthonyf9292 That sounds like a very unhealthy way to learn it. It's like forcing you to use pen and paper instead of a calculator in advanced mathematics, despite the world having universally access to at least a basic calculator these days. It sounds like your teacher has the wrong idea of modern software development. If I taught a class of students programming: I would just give them a problem to solve. I wouldn't care about what programming language you choose, and how you write the code. As long as you provide a reliable solution within a reasonable timeframe. Because at the end of the day: This is what an employer or customer cares about. I'd give bonus points for efficient code, but never take away points for inefficient code. This is how the real world works. Myself and my colleagues use Google multiple times a day, and there is no shame in that. We miss multiple semi-colons and mess up syntax multiple times a day, but the compiler is just one of the tools that helps us iron out these mistakes quickly. So in the end, it's not a big deal.

[@BobDarlington]

@@anthonyf9292 do it her way and you'll get credit and get out. Fight her and repeat the class for a better grade. Seriously, school is a game. Just play to win.

[@geomorillo]

yes dont learn the syntax learn to solve the problem, let google worry about syntax.

[@evolgenius1150]

@@Zircuitz thats sucks, imagine living in a world where manual transmission didnt exist anymore, nor gas cars or something, but the teacher tries to make you learn how to drive a stick and fix an engine. 🤔 ur teacher is teaching u nothing. Youd do better with a program methodology or fundementals course and them move on to building a thing and learning what pieces you need to build it.

[@kebien6020]

My advice as a self-taught is: Tutorials are fine but you HAVE to apply your own twist to it. It'll likely break things and change some of the following steps, but that is what will actually allow you to learn stuff.

[@cowl6867]

Yeah that makes sense. If not you're just copying which might be the problem I'm having

[@jamespower5165]

That's why I still recommend learning Pascal as a first language. Because basic Pascal has limited syntax and the older books that teach it lean into hard problem-solving skills, you get good at actually solving problems and writing clean code. Plenty of time later to learn other programming languages. First learn to solve problems and structure code right. And it's satisfying that at the end of six months, you have reached a definite milestone - you know all the Pascal you'll ever need and you've actually learnt to code. You haven't distracted yourself with clever syntax and such which new programmers get excited by

[@musaratjahan7954]

On point. As someone with a whole 2 days of programming experience on Python, I always try to apply my own twists to the exercises given to practice the code. Weight converter program? Screw that, I'll build a quadratic equation solver. Guessing game? I'll add more functionality to it, such as a hint that tells you what number the answer is a multiple of. Sure, it definitely broke my code and gave me some errors, particularly on the second exercise where I had to actually think about how my code would get executed step by step so I could figure out the best place within the WHILE loop to add that functionality in and it took me about half an hour with all the errors, but I did do it and it worked. Personally, because I am a mathematics student, I think the drive that I built in those classes to "do my own thing" is what helped me here. I always hated sticking to solving problems the "usual" way so I would always try to find my own solutions, and that's what I did here as well, and it was fun.

[@ghostcatcher1279]

This is what landed me my first interview. I don't see anything against following tutorials especially for portfolio projects, but you need to add to it. Ex. Front End blog with a mock database, add a real database, login system, add your own styling etc

[@kigamezero8636]

And no, changing the name of a variable does not count as a twist.

[@bojidarboradjiev7533]

i am a self tought developer, studying for 2 years now and I just landed my first Dev Role!! Really agree with this video: - I study out of habit every day little by little, - Things finally started comming along once i started developing my own projects (a big help was that i recieved assigments from companies as part of the interview process which really pushed me) - Even now when i accepted my offer i dont feel prepared and out of my element, but i understand that thats part of the process. For everyone out there just keep grinding and find your own paste in order to achieve your goal!

[@MAYOWA.007]

good luck!

[@JoeNopos]

I have 20 years now. After some stages - Self taught (5 years). Learned how not to do things (very important) - Employed (3). How devs in a company think it should be done - University (5). How professors think it should be done - Employed (2) - Freelancer (5). How to be a daughter of joy (very important) When I got my first job after 5 years I thought they will fire me immediately. It was really a long hard road but I never regretted my decision. Congratulations for your first role. After 1 year of employment I began to feel to know what I was doing. It really takes a lot of time, so don't stop. 2 years is just the beginning. Don't let somebody tell you that you are stupid, or not good enough. Sometimes it is their fault. But don't be arrogant either. After all that time I would say that the soft skills of people (being a team player) are more and more important to me.

[@Warhamster55]

I started being as a self taught programmer (hobby style 40 years ago). I have been making a living at it for over 30 years now. I still feel like a poser on some days. New technologies are always coming and you have to keep learning. If you are not comfortable learning then this is not the field for you. It is impossible to learn everything you will every need.

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

I'm not the little by little kind of person. I tend to learn things most things I'm interested in pretty fast. I had the fundamentals mastered fairy quickly (a few months).

[@digiornopizza1918]

Has it been worth it?

[@antonvoltchok7794]

If this helps anyone, the way I got started being self taught was, personal projects, 6-7 free websites for friends businesses, creating an ionic android app for super super cheap for a company just to get it on my resume, also did some design jobs that turned into coding those designs afterwards, all together this was plenty to easily land a junior developer role, just keep banging out projects, understand that even though you’re doing things for free for people, you’re still getting tons of value for yourself in what you learn and added resume experience, so look at things positively and keep building and building

[@technicalmaster-mind]

Why didn't you join any University.. getting CS/Software Engineering Degree

[@antonvoltchok7794]

@@technicalmaster-mind because I couldn’t afford to do that at the time, nor was it at all necessary, being an senior engineer today not once in all the companies has anyone given a shit that my degree wasn’t in computer science or that I even had a degree, what mattered was if I could do the job, which is something I love about this industry, discipline and hustle gets you to the same place if not further, wether you have thousands of dollars for a formal education or not

[@fi1689]

@@technicalmaster-mind I personally don't have a good relationship with academics in my country. It's all fun and games until I need to go through some bullshit political bureaucratical process, I face awful state college organization, I have to deal with subjects or teachers that have nothing to do with the career, and similar bullshit like that. So I always end up f*ing somthing, grabbing a book/subject I felt like studying, and dig that. I'll eventually (maybe) finish a BS. Maybe. But I don't know if in this country, every time I remember the process is so fucking stupid that feels like I'm wasting my time

[@technicalmaster-mind]

@@antonvoltchok7794 I'm sorry for making you read all of this but please please have a look through it (to this comment) and provide me a guide-ful reply as it's the matter of the career (mine) dependent upon some seniors' advices/recommendations like I'm seeking for your opinion this thing always hits me.. that even many have became successful in having a job in the IT Industry then why to get a degree specifically for CS/IT/SE/CE etcetera because maybe coding/programming is an art, like painting which does not necessarily require any school process except some months of boot camp a little online courses and those too aren't like a barrier that you have to do them unlike where we observe the careers like Civil Engineering, Doctor-ate which actually require a whole 4 years or more process to fit in for that.. So, I have put forward my views on this industry that how it isn't like other industries for to be applicable we really need a 4-year degree hence; considering you as a senior would like to be advised that what should I actually do.. have a full dedicated CS Degree to have complete expertise to it or should I get into any other field like Medical (MBBS, MD) while having a little grip on coding as a side-hobby having the doubt in the mind that all the great painters in our society do not necessarily look for Bachelors in Fine Arts but it as a side-hobby and then having recognition pf themselves related to it. If programming really is like a real art, then I may choose it as just as a side-hobby rather than waste my time running behind the degree if it's not that worth it (not talking about the worth of getting preference in job interviews bcz that's a different thing if you're very good at your field you might beat a degree-holder and land the job as self-taught so not going into that perspective.. wanna know if it's worth it for knowledge) and if it is actually worth it getting a dedicated education towards it rather than treating it as a side-field then everything's alright otherwise would just consider as an extra talent and go for other stuff and most probably Medical (Doctor-ate) Hoping for a satisfactory reply which may be helpful for my career choice.. so that I do not regret in future for not having a proper guidance by any-one.. would like to have little bit of your time please.. thanks!!!!

[@technicalmaster-mind]

@@fi1689 where are you from (county)

[@numberiforgot]

You should create programs as you learn. When I first started I wrote python scripts for everything and anything. I even had one that helped me calculate my budget in college. If you apply what you learn, right after you learn it, it will stick with you.

[@BboyKeny]

Very good, automating things useful to you is a good way to learn how to solve a real world problems while having a real interest in the project. Also start as small as possible and don't be scared to refactor code.

[@numberiforgot]

@@BboyKeny It is by far, in my opinion, the best way to absorb the endless information there is when it comes to programming & compsci

[@angeldude101]

@@BboyKeny "start as small as possible" Um... Define "small?" -hides my very old OS kernel project-

[@BboyKeny]

@@angeldude101 Hahaha **Laughs nervously while hiding an old C++ 3d game engine**

[@deang5622]

You need a formal education in data structures. Without that, you're never going to be any good.

[@matthewsjc1]

I completely agree with his assessments (not that this means much to anybody). I learned these lessons the hard way. I poured over book after book after book before I realized that the best way to learn is to DO. Start some projects, figure out as you go what you need to successfully complete them. You'll get into the nitty-gritty way faster and remember it far more doing it this way.

[@aathilaliyar2724]

👍🏻

[@dialup56k]

'start some projects ....' ah yes, definitely a programmer. 😂

[@humann5682]

Also people need to be clear what they want to do... Learn JEC (just enough code) to get a job or do a project, or get a deep learning of CS and CE. If its the former get cracking as Andy and others said. Learn the basics of your fav language then get building some cool stuff. You will learn "just enough code" to get it working reasonably well and many developers need JEC to do a job. In fact many CS grads find fancy things they learnt in university are never really needed in professional dev jobs. So, JEC has its merits. If you want to really understand CS, do as above sure, but read a lot too and study the theory, engerinng and mathematics of computing. That will take more time, especially if you are self taught. You don't need this to be a professional dev, but it can help. You will need this background if you ever wanted to go in more research based areas of CS though and contribute to those projects.

[@aliyanpops6424]

Thanks Andy, I made great improvements over my learning process now including your video guide this just boosted my confidence. The mistakes part was hard to swallow first, also improved there and again thanks for the video, it just gave me relief. Been watching your videos, and I appreciate your support for all of us.

[@EdCross]

Thanks man, followed your advice on a previous video about project building and have learned SO much just by making mistakes and figuring out what's going on and fixing it 👍

[@sinthorasalb5467]

I got here through KZbin auto play and was ready to skip because I'm not trying to learn software development, but I quickly realized that the concepts you talk about are helpful for learning any complex skill. I'm trying to get into music production and recently felt like I was struggling to advance my skills. I can identify the problems you talk about in my learning methods, and I believe that addressing them can certainly help me improve. And even if for some reason I don't see right now these concepts don't apply to my struggles your video at least got me motivated to sit down and plan out a learning schedule. Thanks!

[@jordantempleman5985]

Thank you so Much this was super helpful, I just landed my first job and I start in January and I’ve been struggling lately with feeling like I’m Not ready and It’s super helpful knowing that most people also feel that way as well!

[@lofioto]

Amazing. Clean, fun to watch and SO educational. Great job! Thanks you so much!!!!

[@preciousezeoke7115]

Landing on your KZbin channel is a blessing honestly. I see a lot of things differently now. Thank you so much for this video. You keep building my confidence as a software developer 🤭

[@lucasfernandes9381]

I love your videos, Andy. Every time I end up falling into the tutorial hell cycle you help me get out of it a little bit.

[@AndySterkowitz]

Honored to be a part of the journey Lucas....best of luck to you!

[@Peterplayingguitar]

Thank you for helping my journey, Andy!!

[@Darkxellmc]

This resonates so much to me. I have been a dev for years now, but going back to uni for a year at the moment. Anything I learn there, I could've learned better, there's better tutorials online. But the reason I'm really doing this is to set myself in a context where I have to learn. Uni gives me deadlines, projects to work on, instead of me failing to set them up myself. As you said, the key is having a plan and sticking to it, not the tutorials or the code themselves.

[@asanyal296]

I love your videos. I already have a job coding but still find these very helpful to listen to.

[@dinnerengineered7550]

This is awesome!! This advice can be used outside of programming as well!! It's a great check in for anyone that is self taught in anything

[@markuspfeifer8473]

In my experience, the frequency of mistakes doesn’t really go down much, they just become more mysterious as you do more and more exotic and deep stuff. Rookie mistakes can often easily be googled, but if you go deep enough, you’re gonna encounter problems that will make you lose sleep because you keep wondering how the IT industry manages to keep balance while dancing one’s razor blade next to a volcano

[@ProfQED]

thanks, dear andy, you are the first one who thought me how to code really love you man

[@LilyMyLolita]

I love this video. It's fast-paced, helpful and OP is presenting it with a good voice.

[@jamesbell8148]

Thanks a lot for the nudge in the right direction lost my way at the moment really helped get back on track

[@chriscruz429]

Very clear and straightforward. Thanks Andy.

[@xiongbenjamin]

Thank you for this! This is very encouraging for me to start my path to software development

[@BeeStone-op1nc]

You've just explained the key to life in an amazingly clear and concise way

[@ritchiepetithomme7546]

Thank you man for this amazing video, I just realize I am on the right path. Keep the work going Andy Sterkowitz

[@JasonSmith-ir8zz]

U got a new subscriber sir. Love ur content! Keep it coming! I’m 41 but I won’t let that stop me from becoming a web dev.

[@albertbyiringiro6799]

I really needed to hear this after failing on many attempts of becoming a software developer. I think this time I know better so I should make a change. Thanks Andy.

[@sunnycriti9809]

Thank you Buddy for your wise advice. You hit the nail on the head

[@r-type4945]

I listened to Andrew Hubermans podcast and this video goes so well with what he said about learning. Mistakes should be embraced as part of the learning process, though they might feel uncomfortable they do trigger the brains adaptation ie learning. This is the second video I've seen of yours and already like the way you present things a lot. Subbed 👍

[@RexZShadow]

Number 2 is so true for everything not just programming. I done some writing for fun in the past and it's insane how many people just plan but never write.

[@inthecode618]

I Absolutely Agreed! "CLARITY IS POWER" Nice One Sir.

[@fact5832]

You are to the point.... Exactly what I'm going through after a year of preparation....

[@IMCYT]

Wow! Can't believe I did everything correctly for once! Thanks for the final warning and the Impostor syndrome. It really makes me rethink a bit on how should I see myself and the future!

[@StayFocused88]

Thanks, for sharing the free pdf!

[@Kilopillz]

Your advise has helped me soo much. And it continues to help me.

[@lynic-0091]

As someone who's been a junior developer for almost 2 years now, I've only had assistance from senior devs until like a few months ago because of my new job. This video is 100% accurate. Making projects, learning from your mistakes is KEY to growing when you're self taught.

[@nox5282]

Stop thinking yourself in terms of junior or senior. Starting doing allot of projects, fail allot and learn why. This is how you learn how to solve problems. You want to solve problems so that your code is easy to understand and easy to maintain. Think of every hour as money and evaluate the cost to solve different requirements and how to do it without getting distracted.

[@OrincyWhyteDesigns]

Thank you for the encouragement. I’m at the stick figure drawing phase and it’s been overwhelming.

[@chrishayes5755]

you could create simple bots in python to promote your youtube channel. that's the key for beginners, creating very simple but functional and powerful tools you actually want to use. break the program down into sections then tackle it systematically. don't try to learn all the basics of programming, just learn the bare minimum to create functional scripts.

[@OrincyWhyteDesigns]

@@chrishayes5755 Wow, thanks for the feedback. I’m actually currently learning Javascript and improving my css skills. This would be absolutely awesome to learn after

[@angeldude101]

The drawing analogy is particularly fitting since programming, at its core, is an art itself. The difference is that people have much more strict requirements when they pay you to do it.

[@raptoress6131]

Getting a good instructional book and taking notes on paper is a good strategy. A book has all the information arranged in a big context, and writing by hand helps with memorization. It's also important to use note marks so you can easily find any topics if you can't remember smth. Book + tutorials + taking notes + creating personal projects = win

[@Erliortmejurur]

Great video. Heads up andy, from a guy that works a lot with images- if you add a noise overlay on your video with some gaussian blur, that banding won't happen in dark colors. But beyond that, this is really helping my self learning mindset. Thank you.

[@Seadg]

Agree and this holds true to much more than just programming. The most valuable learning tool is "real and useful" practical projects and applications. Which is also the hardest thing to come up with.

[@Luiz-rt8eo]

The only one that actually helped me. Thanks, mate

[@SamiUllah-qq9yp]

I am a self taught software developer. I started off my journey on 25 March 2019 during start of the quarantine and today I am doing my second job. I just feel left out sometimes as in people might give a person with a degree more value than they would give me and i get it! Drives me to do even better! If you are stuck keep pushing you only think you are stuck solve the bug and move on!

[@anton8964]

hey Andy, this video really help me to have motivation. I was planning to quit my hated job for years. I learn coding so I can get job that I love. since I never make progress, I never quit the job. In this video, I seen what I have done wrong all this times. now I have new courage to believe my self again. I will relearn again from the start with good motivation I will quit this job that I don't like, wish me luck.

[@herbertarcher4785]

I always download your videos to get myself motivated in the journey

[@srinureddy9521]

I have been trying to become a Developer from the past year.i have inspired,after watching this video.Thanks Andy for your support

[@MrReznov47]

Some really good advice, thank you!

[@ZenoTasedro]

I'm a self taught, professional developer. I often think a large factor in my success was developing on and for Linux. I had tried to self and formally learn various languages on Windows or OSX but it just never clicked for me.

[@jbarx5435]

Thank you for all your videos! Just real, straight foward advice. No exaggerations, no grandiose crap of making 100,000 in 3 months, just great honest advice. Very much appreciated! Still chipping away on my own journey about 10 months in. Awesome journey!

[@1zo514]

How is it going now?

[@trevferg12]

Great video, thank you for this!

[@TheSoulCrisis]

Great video bloke.......down and dirty tips to break into the industry!

[@majidmenouar2444]

Quality! full of insights thank you!

[@g3org3210]

kinda needed this vid today! thanks ☺️

[@ipeteagles]

Love the value you add with your approaches! Taking these with me!

[@AndySterkowitz]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@ikkkk390]

That last tip helped me alot.. thanks Andy 🙂

[@AndySterkowitz]

Glad to help!

[@lienmeat]

I'm not self taught, but my schooling taught theory way more than practical programming for work-like scenarios, and I learned more about actual programming for real projects the year after college than I did the years I spent in college. I'm a Sr. Software Engineer now, and for me at least, working on a project from scratch is the best way to learn. The most important thing you can do is think of something to try to build, do whatever you can from scratch, and when you get stuck (meaning, you tried and failed a few times to make it work the ways you could think of), look at how other projects solved the same issue. This is the best way to learn programming for actual work scenarios. Yes, it's very hard, and it doesn't represent exactly what you will do at work, because you'll probably be leveraging a framework or libraries that have lots of things figured out for you, but you cannot understand the pitfalls of different approaches to problems, or how to solve hard problems without this foundation. You should also build the thing again later with a different technology, or this time using whatever frameworks and libs you can and see how it comes together that way. This will give you experience with different tech, but it will also help you get better at vetting the tools you use to accomplish your goals, which is another critical skill. When trying to learn programming as a skill, rely on stackoverflow or google only when completely stumped, or for your 2nd iteration to try to solve some of the things you know would keep the project from being considered truly complete. As a professional developer, you can expect to be wrong, make a mistake, or need help from someone else at least once a day. Even great, experienced developers expect to mess up and have to re-do something occasionally, and ask others for input to come up with the right solutions. Get used to being wrong, and admitting it. It's a skill.

[@mumbakayoba3082]

Thanks man. Much needed

[@jawadebrahmi1220]

Dear Andy, thank you so much for all your videos they are so motivating for me, especially as I have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to be a software developer or anything to do with computers other than just booting up and checking and replying to emails and that sort of thing. but thank you again! that you explain it so clearly and that it seems so motivating to me!

[@n2datasolutions443]

One of the most realistic solid advice for software developers, subscribe button got hit

[@santo.pro-show]

That was Awesome, Thanks a lot Andy.

[@AndySterkowitz]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thenewkgb]

Hello Andy. Very reassuring video. So impressed, I entered Kevin Kevin and my email to download your book. I'll take my time reading it... And, oh yes, frustration. But I'll continue.

[@FredrickGichuhihawaii]

No thank you, my thoughts exactly and how I feel... Its good to see that am not alone in the chaos of coding.

[@RonnyJakobsson]

I started to learn to program on the Sinclair ZX48K at the age of 7. I am now 49 year's old and have been working as software developer for 24 years for the same company. I learn new things every week and still love getting paid doing my hobby.

[@hipxel8918]

Wow. A veteran!

[@bashirshah6690]

Andy you do not know how much this helped me. Thank you for your constant effort

[@AndySterkowitz]

Happy to help!

[@surfewa]

Good stuff Andy!

[@nnaemekaodedo8992]

"I would never hire somebody because they've read a hundred books on programming or done a hundred tutorials." My computer science teacher takes this personal.

[@redeagle9312]

Andy, you are my teacher. Thanks.

[@jeffreybella4521]

Always love the vids

[@Xarzith]

Thank you Andy for yet another great set of points of interest. I've been climbing up the rabbit hole for a couple of years and you gave me one of the last pushes to reach the top with this video. I already have the courage and I have set my "dead-drop-date" a month ago - Hearing the same thoughts from you have strengthen the path I've chosen. The one big thing I got from your video is that while the employees do wish to get seniors, it's never impossible to ask them for junior jobs for they are the ones looking for - where we only look for if we can step up. It never hurts to ask, I know a few people who have been lucky by simply asking the right people at the right time - It's time for me to find those people and my time to make that question to them. Ask, ask, ask...You'll get nothing if you don't find it from yourself to ask. Heads up for the future topics, I'm sure to keep following...Far beyond the day I do get a job

[@Marigo1ds]

How’s it going?

[@Xarzith]

@@Marigo1ds If your not mistakenly commenting and simply asking from me alone...It's going great! I hit my goals with my dead-drop-date. Now, as I could suspect you being a bot for your out of subject comment, I did add you to my ignore list...The real answer previously was to Andy and the real people following the comments for this video. On the other hand...If you truly replied to my response that does not tell you anything beyond my resolve into the software development, I can tell you only one thing here in public: I won't let you down, if and only if, you are hiring 😼 In short, I got a job...I grew out of it in two weeks...They love me there, but...I don't know...

[@Marigo1ds]

@@Xarzith I was simply asking how it was going with your programming career since you commented that four months ago. Especially as you set the "drop-dead-date". I'm glad it's working out for you. As a beginner programmer, it's motivational to hear that.

[@Xarzith]

@@Marigo1ds My apologies for the tone of my reply. I wasn't sure about your reason and I have faced the bots and those who I have misinterpreted before...I apologize my tone and try to provide my honest reply below as my atonement. Yeah, it's working great for me. I was overly shy for way too long, these videos were one of the many things that pushed me to push forward. I didn't value my knowledge much...I also didn't value my goals until I saw this video from Andy and few other personal motivators....And all I can say is that you can never fail if you try! Just set your own goals and make up your mind - set that deadline for yourself once you feel that you're ready for the real thing - the "drop-dead-date"...Can't describe it better myself ...And just go for it! My friend got an administrator job for applying for a minor job for being there at the right time. I personally scored an option for head developer for asking the right people at the right time...While applying for a junior job. As Andy tried to bring up with this publish: "You should always push forwards" and the only thing I would add to his words, would be to "Remember where you came from". The things you've done do shape what you are, but also the things you did right as well as your mistakes in the past will guide you to become what you wish to be. For me, it were the mistakes that let me to the job, actually... I had nothing to really show them, but my ideas and my mistakes - And how I knew of my mistakes, how I'd do things differently.... Long post cut short before I go miles off topic: The employers are not looking for miracle makers, they are more than often after real persons who share their values, their vision for the future and their enthusiasm.

[@Marigo1ds]

@@Xarzith Awesome! Thank you for that. Are you self-taught?

[@mayur16]

Thank you so much great content.. its been year and half as mobile app developer

[@kruksog]

I've come to realize a lot of what you say. I also have a BS in mathematics and computer science, but my CS degree is really, if I'm honest with myself, a degree in discrete and combinatorial mathematics. I really stuck to the theoretical underpinnings of CS and not actually learning to code. Don't get me wrong, I can code, just not at the level I need it to be at. One thing that really does kill me though is when something isn't working and I truly cannot figure out where the problem issues from (despite logging, stack traces, debuggers, etc). I had a memory leak I introduced at an internship and at the end of the summer, I still hadn't figured out why the issue was happening, despite doing a bunch of other things perfectly well. That just... hurt me deeply and I'm so afraid of it happening again.

[@darrennew8211]

I have worked with lots of self-taught programmer who were missing entirely basic concepts, because nobody pointed them to it. Like, someone trying to implement the client for a complex network protocol who had never heard of a state machine. People reinventing NTP or ASN.1 without realizing that synchronizing clocks and transferring data between disparate systems was already a solved problem. Knowing what you don't know and has already been solved is important.

[@alejandromachacanavia]

Really good videos, congrats!!!

[@wizzl8513]

For me, the biggest factor in learning how to code is having your own project that you are passionate about. I haven't done much studying(like sitting down for x hours and read about theory) but I always had a goal to finish my project and learned what was necessary to achieve this goal.

[@nico7674]

well, when you learn programming at school, u don't do very much theory, it's a lot of projects (at least in my country but i guess it's the same all around the world)

[@farima4_legacy]

I started playing with qbasic when I was 12. It was pretty anoying when I got errors, but after some time I was able to start writing almost any program I tought of with only mistakes small mistakes like not spelling the variable correctly. I also watched like a 12 ep long tutorial on youtube before writing anything. After that I relised how to learn it effectivly, I just need to test everything after learning about it. Now 2 years later I managed to make a full space shooter game after learning python for like 2-3 weeks (using pygame). Since I have 4 years till even having to consider having a job Interview, im fine

[@AlejandroRodriguez-sf1wf]

6:56 literally how I feel. Thanks for the info. I have to keep stop watching and doing more projects

[@lilliankunu3658]

I started my self-taught journey late last year, hoping I would be proficient in my chosen languages by now, but far from it, due to my regular job and other activities. But since two months now I've been dedicated to it but it seems like I'm not getting anywhere and so I was discouraged again. But watching this video, I realized that it's part of the process to make mistakes especially when I want to play around the project I'm working on, and it often takes time to figure it out. And also, to be afraid of never being able to create projects on my own and getting discouraged and telling myself that I'm probably wasting my time. Thank you so much for these wonderful tips. Now I'm encouraged. 🙏🏽

[@Scragg-]

When I was learning, I worked 12 hour days in a Teflon plant working industrial ovens, then I would go home and study for 5-6 hours. You just need to want it bad enough to sacrifice everything else for a while

[@lilliankunu3658]

Thank you so much Scragg 🙏🏽 I'm now more dedicated to it and your comment will further encourage me to stay in line whenever I want to farther.

[@chelsearoberts7688]

@@Scragg- how long did it take you?

[@Scragg-]

@@chelsearoberts7688 I think about 6 months total from deciding to first Job Edit: but I might be an exception from the norm as I grew up building computers and doing networking and it at other jobs on the side

[@donald4nola]

Andy, I just found your channel and the couple of videos I watched were spot on! You're doing great, keep it up. I've been programming for more than 40 years, and I want to let everyone in on something: After that first year, we are all self taught programmers. To be a good programmer is to dedicate yourself to a lifetime of learning and growing. Otherwise you become the old Cobol programmer maintaining legacy code on the ancient AS400 in the basement.

[@Cermix14]

My Story. I worked as technician repairing medical devices. In the meantime I started to learn programming. It started with MS Excel formulas, then I switched to VBA language (in Excel) and finally C#. This whole process took 1 year (dont count excel formulas). Then I was able to write some small winform applications (also, I made a 2D raytracing game prototype in Excel). After more practicing my code skills our company decided to stop businees and I lost my job. This I think was really crucial, because I had to decide whan I was going to do next so I went for applying to some SW development job.. In the end I was succesful and now I work as internal system developer and to be honest, this practical experience has tought me really much. Conclusion: Artifical problems can teach you how to think, but practical problems teaches you how to overcome different obstacles.

[@7Beso9]

Great content! I would advise using a 3 point lighting setup

[@AndySterkowitz]

Thank you! Ill look into the 3 point setup…currently using two at the moment.

[@francisjacquart9618]

ONE MORE OF OUR VIDEOS RIGHT TO THE POINT AND I ONLY WISHED I HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO TAKE YOU AS MY COACH TO LEARN WITH YOU, BUT, UNFORTUNATELY AT THE MOMENT I HAVE TO LIVE ON MY OWN SAVINGS AND I HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THEM, SO I CAN NOT INVEST IN ANY COURSE, OTHERWISE, BELIEVE ME, I WOULD! I FEEL, THAT YOU REALLY KNWOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! THANKS A LOT. AT LEAST I WILL DOWNLOAD YOUR PDF AND I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR THAT INVALUABLE GIFT!

[@pfg222]

Hey your videos really saved my life. I have been really depressed and anxious with school and learning code. Your videos really helped me to just relax and take my time to study everything and just keep practicing. Just want to say thank you for your videos because I was ready to drop out of school, I just need to keep pushing.

[@DevSecOpsAI]

You are 100% right with everything I personally read books in spare time for fun but actually I learned doing hands on tutorials where you get the logic but you have to write the code in your own way. And man that helps you to understand what tf you are writing why what it does and how you could improve it. I can't stres this enough guys he is 1000% right get your hands dirty and try to actually understand what you are writing

[@scottym50]

Great video, thank you.

[@John5ive]

This guy had obviously been there. He basically described my world right now!

[@bryankrauss6334]

Great video, Andy! Can definitely see that you put some good work into this one!

[@AndySterkowitz]

Thanks a ton Bryan! I may have spent a lot of time on this ;-)

[@nevanks]

I'm so glad I ran across your channel. Your advice is both informative and motivational. 👏 👍

[@AndySterkowitz]

Thank you! Glad to help 😊

[@sergiomendoza6833]

thanks for the free pdf

[@DakotaAbroad]

I've been teaching myself to code for about a month and a half now. I've slowly been working a few projects when I come across the information I needed to do what I wanted. The last few weeks I've been starting to spend my time looking specifically for the things I need to build what I want instead for general basic skills. It's slow going, about 2.5 hours a day. But we're getting there.

[@melodiewooten5863]

Thank you Andy

[@itsAJ819]

I've been studying for 6 hours a day for 5 months and I didn't grasp much. I started chipping away. 1-2 hours a day and I find it to be extremely helpful. Things are starting to stick more using this method. Also, when I learn something new, I apply it to a few test projects until I fully understand what its doing.

[@kaderoazmach321]

Hey are you employed yet? And im starting out by learning 5 hours a day, would you recommend that?

[@itsAJ819]

@@kaderoazmach321 I work outside of development. I studied 5 hours a day when possible. The days that I can’t I try for 15 minutes. I try something new everyday.

[@itsAJ819]

@@kaderoazmach321 don’t get stuck in a tutorial trap. I did for a long time. It’s when I stopped that things started to click

[@kaderoazmach321]

@@itsAJ819 thanks so much! Sorry to bother you but just to add how would I prevent myself from getting stuck in tutorial hell?

[@itsAJ819]

@@kaderoazmach321 no bother. I watched swiftul thinking on KZbin and watched those tutorials, he has a beginners course there. I applied each topic to an app and just kept doing it. Repetition is key. Are you ok with building the interface? Are you having issues with data?

[@MephiticMiasma]

"no matter how careful you are, you are going to make mistakes" And there's the corollary... any time I'm testing changes, and everything works perfectly the first time, I'm always left wondering what I missed.... it _had_ to be harder than that!

[@abas5471]

So as I see I’m doing everything all right, I started with learning C++ with youtube tutorials and when video creator (or tutor? i’m not sure) told that “we will make a program that do…” I was pausing video, and solving problem myself and then just checking the tutor code. I think it works cause today I’ve just finished my first C# desktop app and I did it all by myself with help of google, because it was also my first program in C# haha

[@solvision2926]

Very helpful!!!! 👏🏼

[@bcs123sherwood]

nothing more true than "not feeling like a real developer". It's exactly how I feel right now.

[@edwinwagha]

My mindset really changed after watching this video, thanks for the advice, really appreciate what you do here! 💯

[@AndySterkowitz]

Thank you Ed!

[@jpaul4761]

As of this week i have been learning programming and its about i think 4 days now and iam working my ass off and hard if i can do things until 5am ill do it if only im not anemic. Anyways I feel exactly the same way about the positives with that being said but i never do lazy things. THANKS MAN!!!!

[@tuazulyrojoeljean]

7:35 Thanks for this. I was legit worried about the time I was spending fixing errors instead of just coding

[@mandolinic]

I've been programming for over 50 years. I've worked as a professional developer, and then as a programming lecturer. And you're 100% correct about making mistakes when programming. A good developer never stops making mistakes, and a good developer isn't afraid of making mistakes.

[@woodedvibes1292]

thanks sir for motivating me i was so demotivated