Master programming quickly and become an expert.
A lot of you have passion for computers but not a thorough understanding for them, some of you also want to become great coders. I saw this post on the web and I'd like to share it on my blog. I know it will be of great help to you. Let's get started:
Saying 1 : 10,000 hours
There is a saying that it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to master it.
So, to master programming, it might take you 10,000 hours of being actively coding or thinking about coding. That translates to a consistent effort spread out over a number of years.
Saying 2 : No Speed Limit
In that post, Derek Sivers claims that a talented and generous guy named Kimo Williams taught him 2 years worth of music theory in five lessons. You have been learning to program for 2 years, and despite the fact that you've made great progress, your process might be slow and inefficient.
You did not have a Kimo Williams. But now that I know a bit, I'll try and emulate him and help you learn faster by sharing this post.
The Tips
- Get Started : Do not feel bad that you are not an expert programmer yet. In 10,000 hours, you will be. All you need to do is start. Dedicate some time each day or week to checking things off this list. You can take as long as you want or move as fast as you want. If you've decided to become a great programmer, you've already accomplished the hardest part (planting the seed). Now you just have to add time and your skills will blossom.
- Why Worry : Do not be intimated by how much you don't understand. Computers are still largely magic. There are endless topics in computer science and endless terms that you won't understand. But if you stick with it, eventually almost everything will be demystified. So don't waste time or get stressed worrying about what you don't know. It will come, trust me. Remember, every great programmer at one time had no idea what assembly was, or a compiler, or a pointer, or a class, or a closure, or a transistor. Many of them still don't! That's part of the fun of this subject, you'll always be learning.
- Read books : I spent a few hundred dollars on programming books. I bought like 20 of them because I had no idea where to begin. I felt guilty spending so much money on books back then. Looking back, it was worth it hundreds of times over. You will read and learn more from a good $30 paperback book than dozens of free blogs.
- Get Mentors : I create websites for small businesses. Sometimes my clients would want something I didn't know how to do, simple things back then like forms. I used to search Google for the answers, and if I couldn't find them, I'd panic! Don't panic. When you get in over your head, ping mentors. They don't mind, trust me. Something that you'll spend 5 hours panicking to learn will take them 2 minutes to explain to you.
- Object Oriented : This is the "language" the world codes in. Just as businessmen communicate primarily in English, coders communicate primarily in Object Oriented terms. Terms like classes and instances and inheritance. They were completely, completely, completely foreign and scary to everyone. They'd make you sick to your stomach. Get and read a good book, and slowly practice the techniques, and see how you will totally get it. Soon, you can communicate and work with other programmers.
Here are soon techniques to make your programming studies faster. Stay updated for the Part 2 of this post. Thank you and remember, you too can be a great coder.
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