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Anastasia 🏄🏻‍♀️
Anastasia 🏄🏻‍♀️

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What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?

*header pic by Shen Comix

Imagine that you traveled back in time and met your younger self, taking the first steps towards a dev career. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Top comments (31)

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__manucodes profile image
manu

Well, I am 13 yrs old, so technically I'm still young.

One of the things I tell myself is that anyone can code anything. It's not impossible to code. Even if you fail multiple times, and get many bugs in your code, eventually, you will find a solution, no matter what.

Another tip is to be open in trying out new languages. 4 years ago, I was afraid of coding anything other than scratch. (Scratch is not a language, lol) I just didn't want to do anything other than scratch. I was afraid to try other programming languages. I eventually discovered web dev, and now it's one of my favorite things to do.

And my last tip is to join developer forums if you haven't already. Forums like this help me grow.

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samuelroland profile image
Samuel Roland

Your age is quite impressive! (Happy for you that you will not be blocked you entire life on Scratch...)
Totally agree with the advice to try new languages. At the start, I was afraid of some words like Javascript, algorithms, and PHP, I imagined a lot of complexity and things to learn before being able to understand a bit. And finally, when you start and discover some basics and some first functions and possibilities, all the complexity you could imagine is gone away.
My advice would be to have side projects because you will learn a lot by trying to build new things and the motivation can be higher because you have full control over how you drive your projects, ideas, and choices.
Second advice is to be curious and always search further than other teach you or further their explanations. You learnt by heart some CLI commands ? Why not go deeper to understand what they really do instead of just applying your knowledge ?
...

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__manucodes profile image
manu

Yep - I have side projects too! Check out --> smartlist.ga

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aarone4 profile image
Aaron Reese

Codemasters was two teenage brothers writing games for the ZX Spectrum in their bedroom in the 1980s. Last year they sold the company to EA Games for 1 Billion dollars

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0x7466 profile image
Tobias

Respect 😀

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clsource profile image
Camilo
  • Do not study with student loans.
  • Companies are not your family. Do not work more hours than strictly necessary.
  • Go learn yoga and kenpo
  • Be an expert on a core set of technologies. Do not wander and look for shiny things.
  • Do not accept low compensations. You are worth more.
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theowlsden profile image
Shaquil Maria

I would tell myself to finish my projects and out them out there. There is no point in hoarding projects.😅 Also, experiment with different things. Even if it's just the basics, it will give you exposure to new experiences and interesting opportunities. Lasty, don't be afraid to share what you know. Comment in forums, join communities and posts about what you know and like.

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aarone4 profile image
Aaron Reese

There is a fundamental difference between knowing how to code and knowing a specific language or framework. Being able to construct the logic flow is the real skill; you can always Google syntax

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danstockham profile image
Dan Stockham

If I could go back to a time when I first started with programming and also going to developer meetups, then it would be don't trust people who seemly have good intentions. And when they are about to pull off their con game, call them out. And make sure you're in a position where they can't bring you down with them.

Also, I would tell me myself to trust the people who's self-interest are completely transparent even if it is selfish. And it's for two reasons: 1.) I can see their ill-intent a mile away and can plan for it and 2.) They're goals can be easily steered into serving the greater good (the group as a whole or the community at large)

This could of saved me from a lot of broken hearts and would've put a lot of good people I've known in better situations.

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tiina profile image
Tiina

I wish I would have had the courage to put myself out there and start the developer career earlier. I was too worried about being in a certain state and felt that I had to master many things before applying to the field.
For a long time, I felt like I wasn't a "real developer" and now know how broad the term "software developer" even is!

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0x7466 profile image
Tobias

I feel you. Imposter syndrome. But the good thing about it is that it mostly affects people who have real knowledge in their area. :)

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beitist profile image
Sebastian Stüwe

Interesting question! To whomever this is helpful, you are most likely already young and eager, and wanting to be a super-coder. Well, I can't help you with that. :-)
Here are some other recommendations to think about!

  • Sit down and think who you really are. Free yourself from expectations of others. I mean it!
  • Understand what really matters to you in work and life - not what is an easy or a fun option at the moment.
  • Don't waste your precious time with meaningless activities - choose careful where to invest your time. It is the only commodity you really have, and it is quite limited.
  • Buy a tiny apartment as soon as you have your first regular income.
  • Be aware of your environmental footprint. Foster an attitude that is respectful.
  • Ask loads of questions about jobs and life - especially ask people that do things you've never heard about. (The average high school graduate knows - I guess - about 25 different professions, when there are hundreds out there!)

Good luck and health to you all!
Best,
Sebastian.

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kavunkaua profile image
kavunkaua

I would tell myself.
Listen to me!

  1. Don't learn programming
  2. Read a lot
  3. As soon as you read the word "bitcoin" ...
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danitfk profile image
Daniel

🤣🤣

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docsbydesign profile image
Bob Watson

When you get to the point where you’re deciding between getting some sleep or working some more, pick sleep.
Choosing to keep working at that point always seemed like a good idea at the time, but it never was.

Not getting enough sleep has probably cost me over a million dollars over the course of my career. (No joke)

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pavelee profile image
Paweł Ciosek

Do you mean health issues has costed you so much?

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docsbydesign profile image
Bob Watson

Not really, but making poor decisions due to being sleep deprived certainly has. For example, quitting and leaving a bunch of options behind for reasons that seemed reasonable at the time, but in the clarity of hindsight, were probably the result of just being exhausted and needing a few weeks of R&R. That adds up over time in ways my younger self never appreciated.

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pavelee profile image
Paweł Ciosek

I would tell myself to just stop for a second and think what really make you happy. Take a look from a side on anything you doing in life and iterate through each thing and ask myself "why am I doing this?". Maybe it sound crazy (if someone expect some advice like "learn another language" etc.) but my advice is to just take your time and think what really matter for you (make you happy).

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yaugusto profile image
Yuri Augusto

Just listen to your mother.

I had my first contact with coding in my 20s and my teacher wasn't so good (basically just made us copy and past code). In that time I just could think "I suck as a developer", so I changed my career (biology).

Now, 12 years later, I'm backing to coding and IT. And I'm loving it (just like I used to love technology times ago).

My mother always said to continue the IT area. Learning from mistakes.

Sorry my English.