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kbc501
Community Member

Just Wondering

Are there any programming / web development gigs that would hire someone with a background in creative writing and no experience programming? I'm assuming the answer to this question is "no," but I thought I would ask anyway.

 

The few programmers I've spoken to told me that they taught themselves what they know, though, so maybe I could learn those skills, too? 

 

I'm interested in getting training for programming or web development but I'm not exactly sure what skills I need. I just know that it's an in demand field, and having those skills might be a way to another full-time job. 

 

I've thought about maybe signing up for a "bootcamp" style course, but I'm not sure what specific skills I need to teach myself to make a living doing this. 

11 REPLIES 11
scientistbhoot
Community Member

the programming sector is way too much populated right now but we are living in the golden age of programming. There is lot to do and still there are lots of new languages coming by. And each and every language have an unique advantage and all of them are career builder.

 

Even if you know HTML only, you can make fortune with that if you are lucky. For you, my suggestion is, start right away with HTML, CSS I mean the basic stage. If you want to be a web developer then soon you will find out which programming language is good for you.

 

I learned PHP and after learnign that I received an order from the local market of my country to create a website for job circuler. Where people can signup and create CV which must be supported in the MS Word if they download it.

 

Now guess, how in the world I'm gonna create a MS Word supported CV format with PHP? In this case it is 100% necessary to use code from C# (Sharp). But I don't know C#, I learned PHP!

 

Why I'm telling this? Bcoz you cannot achieve everything with a single language. So there is no specific choice. You have to learn everything you need. Not all of it, only what necessary.

prestonhunter
Community Member

Kendra:

Clients hire programmers based on what the programmer can do for them.

Nobody cares about the programmer's "background" or if they previousy did "creative writing."

 

What matters is what you can do right now.

 

Obviously you can't offer your services in an area for which you do not yet have the requisite skills.

 

Here's a secret to learning programming: You can't actually learn to program in a void. You need a goal. you need a project that YOU want to create. If you have a goal in mind, something you want to accomplish -- a specific program, a web application, mobile app, etc. -- then you can learn to program by learning what it takes to accomplish that goal.

sr_vd
Community Member

I agree as well, I don`t know any other faster way to learn a language or a framework without practicing at least on a couple of projects.

kbc501
Community Member

I've started with taking a few free programming classes and trying to make simple games. I feel like I'm learning a few things, but I'm a little upset with how slow everything is going, though. Plus, I'm not really sure how I would apply my skills to help potential clients right now. 

 

I'm also wondering if it's time for me to look for practice projects, and, if so, where should I look for practice projects? I want to add to my portfolio so that I can eventually prove to myself and prospective clients that I know what I'm doing. 

re: "I've started with taking a few free programming classes and trying to make simple games. I feel like I'm learning a few things, but I'm a little upset with how slow everything is going, though. Plus, I'm not really sure how I would apply my skills to help potential clients right now. I'm also wondering if it's time for me to look for practice projects, and, if so, where should I look for practice projects? I want to add to my portfolio so that I can eventually prove to myself and prospective clients that I know what I'm doing."

 

Sorry, but I don't think you can really learn programming that way.

 

You didn't really pay any attention to what people in this thread were telling you.


Until there is something that YOU want to create, I don't think you'll make any headway.

You told us, you wanted to be a web developer, why are you taking classes for game development? Learning throug classes is a very boring process. You have to learn programming via projects.

hilalkhaan
Community Member

Well in today's world, the first thing that matters is your skills and not your background. I you can do it, and you can develop what the client is asking for, you are going great. If not, you need to re-visit your skills and update it according to market needs. Degree, background, etc comes very late, the first thing is your skills, and that's too "Relevent Skills".

 

Happy Coding. 

I think most of you said I should start by making small projects. Do you have any idea where or how I should get started teaching myself based on what clients really want? Sorry if this was already addressed, but I'm pretty new to this, save for one class I had in college that I've probably forgotten about by now, and I agree that traditional code language learning isn't that effective. 

 

I thought about signing up for Free Code Camp, but is there anything else you would recommend? Like I said, sorry if this was already addressed; I'll go back and read the previous replies. 

Kendra, I don't agree with those who've said you should start by having a project you want to do. Even if you did have a particular project in mind, how would you know which technologies you needed to learn for that project, or whether it was suitable for a beginner? Of course, if you did have a burning desire to implement a particular project, it might make sense to pursue it and overcome those obstacles. But as you're not in that position and it sounds like you're effectively a complete beginner, I would recommend starting with any short introductory programming course, to learn the very basics and see whether programming suits you. Once you've done one short course, you'll be better equipped to choose your next one. Expect this to be part of a continuing process. A single course is not going to make you a programmer.

caldus
Community Member

Honestly, programming and web development takes a very long time to get comfortable with if you're starting from scratch. I struggled with it for a long time. For the 1st 10 years of my career, I worked at full time jobs as a developer and slowly worked my way up to more senior developer roles. At first, I was the junior programmer for a team. Luckily, I worked with many talented senior developers over time and learned a lot from them. That combined with me wanting to do this for a living helped me to get to where I am now.

 

It's possible to do what you want to do, but it's going to take a long time before you might be comfortable enough taking on programming jobs in Upwork. I like the idea others mentioned about working on a project you want to work on. I did something like that early on. I worked on my own website and then later worked on a game. I wasn't doing it for profit but because I wanted to and also wanted to improve my skills.

 

I really have only learned programming through doing it. I don't spend a lot of time reading books or taking courses. They never helped me much. I think it would be worth your time though to read books that talk about fundamental concepts of programming like data structures and algorithms as they are the building blocks if you will. Actually sitting down and coding is what helps me get better at it. That's why everyone else here is suggesting you just invest time doing a personal project in order to get some experience.

 

Good luck!

matttrussell
Community Member

Definitely do not just jump to going to a bootcamp. You might not enjoy coding at all! Then there's $18k down the drain.

 

You should start by working through some lessons at a few free and low cost sites and programs to see how you like it.

 

These sites are totally free and will give you a chance to get your feet wet.

codecademy.com

freecodecamp.com

theodinproject.com

 

Treehouse is fantastic for new developers. They have great videos that are very explanatory. It's only $20 a month. If you are interested in web development, you should start with their Front End Development Track.

teamtreehouse.com

 

Udemy has a ton of great courses. They have sales all the time, too. Pick up a few of the highest rated web develpment "bootcamp" courses for $10-$12 each. 

udemy.com

 

This is a good one to start with:

https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-web-development-bootcamp/

 

And this one, also:

https://www.udemy.com/the-advanced-web-developer-bootcamp/

 

Actually, with those two Udemy courses you should have a pretty solid base. Do those and work through freecodecamp.com and you will be good to go.

 

Good luck!