I originally posted this post on my blog.
Recently I found this question (with a tone of frustration in it):
Like investing, planting trees, and pretty much anything else in life, the best time to start was five years ago. But the next best time? Now.
Decades ago, people learned from reference manuals and magazines. Paid for compilers. And suffered with slow and expensive internet connections. You could only access a computer in universities. Having one at home was a complete luxury.
Fast forward to today, your phone has more power than the computer that put a man on the Moon. Now, anyone can start learning to code by asking ChatGPT for a 3-month learning guide and following YouTube tutorials. All for free.
If you're asking the same question, don't be discouraged by AI. Blame all the misleading headlines. "More than X% of new code at $BigCorp is generated by AI." There's a lot of nuance behind those statements.
AI is making coding faster and cheaper. Sure. But most of it happens through collaborating in meetings and discussions, not at the keyboard. AI isn't replacing coders (for real) anytime soon because coding is about thinking and problem-solving. Typing is just the surface.
What do you think? It's too late to learn coding?
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