Everybody has their own path into programming. There are innumerable ways to learn programming, including CS degrees, bootcamp, tutorials, videos, books, trial-end-error, internships, mentorships, learning on the job, and many, many more. I was lucky enough to have parents who were able to buy a computer when I was around 11 or 12, when computers at home were still rare and very expensive. I was instantly hooked, fascinated by this incredible machine that could seemingly do magical things. I wanted to know everything about it. I started by learning the hardware, probably giving my parents a heart attack when they saw me pulling open and prodding the device they’d spent a small fortune on. Fortunately, I never broke it (permanently, at least) and I learned all about the CPU, RAM, storage, modem, video cards, busses, chipsets, and various other subsystems that make a computer go. After I was reasonably satisfied with the hardware, I turned my attention to the next natural question in my young mind: “Now how do I make it do what I want?”

I picked up a copy of Teach Yourself C in 21 Days. I didn’t learn C in 21 days, because without a mentor or any other programming resources, I struggled to understand some of the more abstract concepts. But I did learn enough C to know that I loved creating software. The ability to harness the awesome power of the computer and have it become a useful, multipurpose tool for good opened my eyes to the massive potential of computers. After struggling with C, I got my hands on a copy of Visual Basic. It was an easier language to understand, and more importantly for me, allowed me to create visual user interfaces. At the time I was in high school, so the most immediate use I could find for my newfound skills was math. I made VB programs that did my math homework for me. I wasn’t trying to skip out on learning or doing the math, because I had to learn the math in order to instruct the computer to do it properly anyway. And I still had to translate the answers back to paper and (yes Mrs. Pendergrass) show my work. The reason I made programs to do my homework was because it was fun. It was fascinating. I learned more about programming doing that than anything else in my early years, even though what I was doing wasn’t particularly difficult or useful.

I also learned an important lesson that has guided me through my journey as a coder. The best way to learn and advance your career is to focus on what is most interesting to you, and learn it as thoroughly as possible. Your natural curiosity is the best motivator and teacher that there is. The more you learn, the more you will understand and in turn, the better questions you will be able to ask to increase your breadth and depth of knowledge. Learning is not about knowing answers, it’s about asking better questions, and it’s by far the most important skill you can have.

It’s not important if that thing that drives you is the hottest new tech, the most popular framework, or the language that “everybody uses”. The tech world is a dynamic, vast, and diverse place, not just tech bros in Silicon Valley. There’s room for everything and everyone that brings something valuable to the table. If you think it’s interesting and useful, there are others out there who feel the same way. Learn it and express yourself through it. Bring your value in whatever you do. You are helping to make the internet the wonderful, thriving foundry of ideas and technology that it is. Good luck and happy coding!