Advice from an Old Programmer
You've finished this book and have decided to
continue with programming. Maybe it will be a career for you, or maybe
it will be a hobby. You'll need some advice to make sure you continue
on the right path and get the most enjoyment out of your newly chosen
activity.
I've been programming for a very long time. So long that
it's incredibly boring to me. At the time that I wrote this book, I
knew about 20 programming languages and could learn new ones in about a
day to a week depending on how weird they were. Eventually though this
just became boring and couldn't hold my interest anymore. This doesn't
mean I think programming is boring, or that you will think it's boring, only that I find it uninteresting at this point in my journey.
What I discovered after this journey of learning is that it's
not the languages that matter but what you do with them. Actually, I
always knew that, but I'd get distracted by the languages and forget it
periodically. Now I never forget it, and neither should you.
Which programming language you learn and use doesn't matter. Do not
get sucked into the religion surrounding programming languages as that
will only blind you to their true purpose of being your tool for doing
interesting things.
Programming as an intellectual activity is the only
art form that allows you to create interactive art. You can create
projects that other people can play with, and you can talk to them
indirectly. No other art form is quite this interactive. Movies flow
to the audience in one direction. Paintings do not move. Code goes
both ways.
Programming as a profession is only moderately interesting.
It can be a good job, but you could make about the same money and be
happier running a fast food joint. You're much better off using code as
your secret weapon in another profession.
People who can code in the world of technology companies are a
dime a dozen and get no respect. People who can code in biology,
medicine, government, sociology, physics, history, and mathematics are
respected and can do amazing things to advance those disciplines.
Of course, all of this advice is pointless. If you liked
learning to write software with this book, you should try to use it to
improve your life any way you can. Go out and explore this weird,
wonderful, new intellectual pursuit that barely anyone in the last 50
years has been able to explore. Might as well enjoy it while you can.
Finally, I'll say that learning to create software changes
you and makes you different. Not better or worse, just different. You
may find that people treat you harshly because you can create software,
maybe using words like "nerd." Maybe you'll find that because you can
dissect their logic that they hate arguing with you. You may even find
that simply knowing how a computer works makes you annoying and weird to
them.
To this I have just one piece of advice: they can go to
hell. The world needs more weird people who know how things work and
who love to figure it all out. When they treat you like this, just
remember that this is your journey, not theirs. Being
different is not a crime, and people who tell you it is are just jealous
that you've picked up a skill they never in their wildest dreams could
acquire.
You can code. They cannot. That is pretty damn cool.
[Total credit is of www.learncodethehardway.org]
