Is it worth to learn coding today?

sebacatalano

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Hello, everyone!

I'm currently in the process of finding a different path in my life, especially when it comes to my main source of income. I wouldn't consider myself as a skill-less person, but I'm sure there is much room to improve. I have a little SEO background as I had a pretty successful project 6-7 years ago with a blog site, but I understand this stuff moves fast and what I knew back then It's probably worth zero today. Also, I'm bilingual and I currently work in the customer support field and in the product translation/localization field. This is allowing me to live an okay life here where I live, but I'm completely aware of the fact that it's not the top of the line either.

To be clear, I'm not even looking for a 100k/year job, here where I live even half of that would be more than enough. Of course, the more the better, but I think you get my point. I always aim to work less and enjoy life more, so if a specific role can make 100k/year for a full-time position, I would be happy cutting it in half and getting it part-time.

Other than that, I'm a tech-savvy person, I do small jobs here and there locally. I don't advertise myself for those, it's just that I'm known in the area and people reach out. For instance, I fix phones, computers, and any kind of electronic device (even home appliances) on a board level. I'm not the best since I learned everything myself, but replacements are expensive so people are more than happy to reach out to me to trace a short and just replace a capacitor instead of the whole board.

Now, this is basically to give you some context about the fact that I'm someone who's willing to learn and put a lot of effort into it. Nothing stated above was learned in school. In fact, while in school I was actually studying programming languages and how to code with them. I know how computer and stuff works on both a logic and hardware level, but since I always hated the coding part itself, I never went much past the bare minimum during school and I basically forgot anything besides variables and cycles for the languages that I studied during that time. To be even more precise, I have most of the programming logic already, I would just need to put the time into learning the syntax of one or more languages.

Now, as I stated above, I don't love that. It's not something that I enjoy doing, but I always see friends and others pursue good careers in this field. They make the amount of money that I would like and they also work from home (which I do as well at the moment, and I'd like it to stay this way).

Now, the reason I created this thread: If you were in my position, would you start putting much time into learning coding on a strong enough level to work? I'm asking this because I also take very much into consideration the fact that AI might very soon kill this job. I'm kind of scared of this. However, if you would recommend it, which languages or specific coding fields would you recommend to have a higher chance of being hired, generally speaking?

This has been rolling in my head for months now, but I think it's the right time to pull the trigger if this is actually worth it. If there is someone here who actually took this career path (and I bet there are many), I would much love your opinion and your experience on the topic.

Thanks everyone in advance.
 
Hello, everyone!

I'm currently in the process of finding a different path in my life, especially when it comes to my main source of income. I wouldn't consider myself as a skill-less person, but I'm sure there is much room to improve. I have a little SEO background as I had a pretty successful project 6-7 years ago with a blog site, but I understand this stuff moves fast and what I knew back then It's probably worth zero today. Also, I'm bilingual and I currently work in the customer support field and in the product translation/localization field. This is allowing me to live an okay life here where I live, but I'm completely aware of the fact that it's not the top of the line either.

To be clear, I'm not even looking for a 100k/year job, here where I live even half of that would be more than enough. Of course, the more the better, but I think you get my point. I always aim to work less and enjoy life more, so if a specific role can make 100k/year for a full-time position, I would be happy cutting it in half and getting it part-time.

Other than that, I'm a tech-savvy person, I do small jobs here and there locally. I don't advertise myself for those, it's just that I'm known in the area and people reach out. For instance, I fix phones, computers, and any kind of electronic device (even home appliances) on a board level. I'm not the best since I learned everything myself, but replacements are expensive so people are more than happy to reach out to me to trace a short and just replace a capacitor instead of the whole board.

Now, this is basically to give you some context about the fact that I'm someone who's willing to learn and put a lot of effort into it. Nothing stated above was learned in school. In fact, while in school I was actually studying programming languages and how to code with them. I know how computer and stuff works on both a logic and hardware level, but since I always hated the coding part itself, I never went much past the bare minimum during school and I basically forgot anything besides variables and cycles for the languages that I studied during that time. To be even more precise, I have most of the programming logic already, I would just need to put the time into learning the syntax of one or more languages.

Now, as I stated above, I don't love that. It's not something that I enjoy doing, but I always see friends and others pursue good careers in this field. They make the amount of money that I would like and they also work from home (which I do as well at the moment, and I'd like it to stay this way).

Now, the reason I created this thread: If you were in my position, would you start putting much time into learning coding on a strong enough level to work? I'm asking this because I also take very much into consideration the fact that AI might very soon kill this job. I'm kind of scared of this. However, if you would recommend it, which languages or specific coding fields would you recommend to have a higher chance of being hired, generally speaking?

This has been rolling in my head for months now, but I think it's the right time to pull the trigger if this is actually worth it. If there is someone here who actually took this career path (and I bet there are many), I would much love your opinion and your experience on the topic.

Thanks everyone in advance.
It is not right time to start learning coding. Lot of that stuff can be automated with AI. You should use own skills to develop a business. If you need some good code, give him esops in your company and hire him.
 
Of course, it is worth it...

Despite the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, investing time in learning coding remains highly beneficial.

While AI technologies can aid developers in various tasks such as generating code, debugging, and testing, acquiring proficiency in both coding and AI offers developers the opportunity to leverage AI tools to augment their productivity and efficiency significantly.
 
It's absolutely worth to learn coding in 2024.

AI tools will never be able to e. g. generate code for hidden APIs of social media apps, reverse engineer encrypted routines or break security limitations.

You can test it: Say your AI tool to code a complete TikTok SaaS bot for you. It will fail 100 %.
 
You should better update seo skills only. A good seo seller will always make better money that a good coder in current times.
you can program SEO software haha


Think about it this way, you need to understand code to see if the AI made a mistake or if changes need to be made, in addition to being a custom software programmer, for example for the BHW community.
 
Yes, it is worth is to learn to code in 2024, 2025, 2026, etc...

AI will not make programmers obsolete, in the same way that computers did not make every job obsolete at the turn of the century (remember when people used to say that?)

AI is a resource for people that know how to use it, however it will not help a random person with a business idea that doesn't know anything about programming to build a website/program/app all on their own;
In much the same way that a car diagnostic scanner doesn't turn every car enthusiast into a mechanic.

Thus, people that actually know how to program will always be needed no matter how advanced AI gets.
 
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I don't know if you like to undetstand the world around you, but I do. I would learn it for that reason. You'll understand digital world better.

Don't touch frontend. Java, C++, node.js best options. Don't do c++ if you don't have much time. With limited time focus on node.js.

Learn object oriented programming. You can do it in any language but Java is good for it.

Learn 2 hours a day. No more. Don't make it hurt.

Btw. You won't make any money with code these days doing jobs. For that you need to at least know enterprise level stuff, which is backend frameworks these days. That will take 1 - 3 years to get into (depending on how lost you will get), then 2 years to get money and mid level experience.

About 5 years to get a career in this. Most successful people in this use code for business, not jobs.

It's much more fun in business. LA jobs aren't available to everyone around the world.

It pays as much money as any job in my country. And people are desperate for it idealizing coding jobs. They get greedy and abuse internships.

It won't get you more than a median in your country. You can't go from coder to coding agency making $100k profit just because you saw a YouTube video about $100k annual salary.

My friend got into it. He's stuck at $3k doing oop java enterprise sprng. Took him 3 years to get there and it doesn't seem his earnings will ever increase. He can do banking apps backend etc but... It's idealized. So much screen time and complex logic. Not worth the freedom and mental effort. He gets $3k because he is someone work is outsourced to. It's 2x median but he speaks fluent English and has a degree.
 
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I'm asking myself this question since I'm in the IT Sector IRL, but as a PM,
So, I know a bit of coding, but I'm far away from real developers.

I'm sometimes confused, mainly due to my passion for AI. What is kind of a REALISTIC learning path for someone who wants to start with it?
Just assume someone/me has no idea and has never used any coding tool, starting from scratch.

What is your answer as a Developer? How should I start? What is necessary in the beginning, and what is wasted time?

I aimI aim to get into the AI Section as a Developer since, even on the Business side, I'm very interested and passionate about this.

Best
z
 
Don't dedicate too many hours to this. It's really really not worth it. You will burn out before you get a job. Get job first with basic knowledge and don't do anything free. Only 3 simple free projects to showcase.
 
I'm asking myself this question since I'm in the IT Sector IRL, but as a PM,
So, I know a bit of coding, but I'm far away from real developers.

I'm sometimes confused, mainly due to my passion for AI. What is kind of a REALISTIC learning path for someone who wants to start with it?
Just assume someone/me has no idea and has never used any coding tool, starting from scratch.

What is your answer as a Developer? How should I start? What is necessary in the beginning, and what is wasted time?

I aimI aim to get into the AI Section as a Developer since, even on the Business side, I'm very interested and passionate about this.

Best
z
Don't start thinking the technical path but on the desired outcome and benefits for the customer. As a PM your focus is on getting the acceptance sheets signed, isn't it?

AI is a tool. And too often just a buzz word. AI can be included into applications, be it LLMs or images/videos. The users / buyers don't care on the technical implementation but on the results for their business needs.
 
Now, the reason I created this thread: If you were in my position, would you start putting much time into learning coding on a strong enough level to work? I'm asking this because I also take very much into consideration the fact that AI might very soon kill this job. I'm kind of scared of this. However, if you would recommend it, which languages or specific coding fields would you recommend to have a higher chance of being hired, generally speaking?
AI will not kill this job at all. That's just fearmongering. The winners of the Turing Award (the "Nobel Prize" of computer science) are out saying there's too much fearmongering.

With that said, you don't have to enjoy programming. Just having an understanding of programming on your resume while working in the marketing department or in product translation will make you stand out and benefit your career. It'll also help you get those remote work positions you want to keep.
 
First of all, I wanna thank each and every one of you for your replies. They truly mean a lot to me as any piece of advice or experience is extremely important. Let me answer a few questions/doubts raised above:

Starting a company/my own business:
That is very much out of the question. Not really because I wouldn't like it, but the main reason is taxes and requirements. I won't directly say where I live, but I'm sure some of you might guess it. Basically, it's not feasible to create your own company here where I live because they literally kill you with taxes, even if you are making very little money. Where I live, almost everyone is running away from this country as soon as they finish school. It's bad. For instance, I'm technically a freelancer at the moment because that is the kind of contract that I have so I have a "small-size, one-person company", but for that, it's just a bit less severe and I manage to do it. Just for this specific category. If I were, for example, to start something like a store to sell a product, I would need to pay LOTS of money even only to keep the business active with zero sales. I'm not joking when I say that no one around here even thinks of opening their business. They just seek public employment or they go for other paths, in a different country. Want an example? The first year I started doing my current job, I had to pay 2x the taxes because they wanted an advance from the next year, even if I could already be out of business the actual next year. This country doesn't give an f. Spoiler: I don't live in a 3rd world country.

About the AI stuff, I'm really happy to hear that it isn't really risking being killed. Again, I really want to point out that I've basically got most of the logic behind coding, I just found the syntax learning and the job itself to be really boring to me. But then, now that I'm actually working I always think: Does this really matter if I don't like what I'm currently doing either? I know that I can't seek a job around my electronics repair passion as I would be out of business in less than 6 months.

At this point, some of you might ask: "Why don't you just move elsewhere?"
Well. Yes, but also no. I would do it, but I really feel like this would be a really extreme thing to do, considering that I would need to move my whole family too. I don't like this country, at all, but after a whole life living with a rent, I purchased my own house 1 year ago and I already fully paid for it. This is mine and I would like to enjoy it.

I also understand that a coding career path would not be super quick, but I have several close friends who are way less tech-savvy than me and they had a quick course and got hired in the country for more than what I earn. This will probably be still doable for a few years here because this country, while still being a 1st world one, is made by really old people and we are only catching out now for tech stuff. There is a lot of demand here, but as stated before, I was mainly having doubts about the AI stuff and the fact that it might not be the best choice out there. You're really making me consider it. However, if you have further suggestions, keep them running. I just can't express how much I appreciate them.

Thanks!
 
As you've said, the situation varies from country to country. So it's best to do your own research.

I know people here get hired and it's abusive cause they get an internship then are let go. So they don't really make that much money.

Maybe in your country you can simply get hired if there is not enough developers for demand.

Here it's so saturated I could sell random shit at kiosk and make the same amount of money lol.

Unless I become an English speaking expert of some backend framework. But that's just not gonna happen in less than 2 - 4 years. I don't have much time. Not a student too.
 
Yes, it's still great career move to learn programming. The parts of programming that AI will take over will still need someone who understands coding to interact with, i.e a job.

There are certain areas of programming that will require human understanding. Things like debugging call stacks, subroutines, validating, and assembling some standard python boilerplate.

Some of that initial python boilerplate, chatgpt may be able to generate, but you'll need to interface with it to make it happen.

I also understand that a coding career path would not be super quick, but I have several close friends who are way less tech-savvy than me and they had a quick course and got hired in the country for more than what I earn.

You can do this inside of a year. You won't start out as some senior programming tech or anything, but you will get into your first career. Repetition (constantly writing code/new projects) and understanding why you're writing the code you're writing & why it's being written that way will go a long way. The latter part of that being the most important, in my opinion.
 
You can do this inside of a year. You won't start out as some senior programming tech or anything, but you will get into your first career. Repetition (constantly writing code/new projects) and understanding why you're writing the code you're writing & why it's being written that way will go a long way. The latter part of that being the most important, in my opinion.
I have refactoring books. It's interesting but I always prefer to focus on implementation and just getting more done. Just keep basic oop principles in mind. Don't overthink some patterns, especially in small projects.

If you have a house and savings, it's gonna be much easier and doable in 1 year to get entry level position. Definitely.

I did so many things when I started. I was doing SEO and thought Wordpress development knowledge was important. Turned out learning it first was a mistake. You should learn it by doing things without software like cms. Just pure code, libraries, coding API etc. No CMS. This is how you understand core building blocks.

For electronics enthusiast, there could be a problem with embedded programming and such. It can create inner conflicts and you will wonder what to focus one. The answer is... Hard to give. Maybe you could code some stuff for cars or phones. God knows.

You see, programming is crazy in some way. One day you're thinking about autonomous vehicles. Next day you're coding a template to advertise.

The key is to do one - two projects at the time and it's good if they're related to each other. Like in the same domain. And good thing is to stick to one tech stack instead of learning the same thing in many different languages. Your goal should be to not get distracted.

@ReverseEngineering you can give us a motivation kick as you've promised on your profile by releasing guides and tutorials regarding iOS, bots and other stuff like SSL unpinning.
 
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Learn SAP - plenty of customers paying high fees.
 
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