Preface: This post is geared towards people interested in being self-taught because boot-camps or college aren't viable options for them for whatev...
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Thank you Mr Clint for this article. I've just started my journey as a self-taught developer and I've had my fair share of ups and downs. I've actually quit a couple of time but I keep coming back to it. Two consistent months and I've made good progess. I hope I can build a career in this.
Thanks for the feedback! If you've gotten this far then I'm confident you can keep going. I'd bet the number of "successful" developers who gave up at some point in the beginning is high. It's the people who learn from it and come back stronger that make a career out of it. I hope to read about your success story soon!
This is encouraging. Thank you for this article. I'm just starting my journey again after pausing for several reasons including trying to hold on to my current job. But I really need the career change and that has been motivation. I hope someday I can really switch and have a career in it
Good article! I had a gig as a front end dev, but I focused too wide on everything at first and neglected the front end side of things. I also think that being self-taught sometimes put us in an odd position that we think we know a lot (especially if the people around us are not technical) and it can be off-putting to those who have years of experience in the field. Would you recommend a best approach to dealing with false knowledge while being a self-taught programmer?
There's a term called the "expert beginner" that comes from this post: daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-l...
The fact that you have awareness of it already puts you ahead of all of those that don't think they have any missing knowledge who are doomed to remain expert beginners. If you ever feel like you know everything that you need to know then you're probably an expert beginner because anyone past that stage should know that it never ends.
Keep exposing yourself to the world. That means expose things that you create and be open to criticism. It also means expose yourself to other people's work.
I follow the top developers and the creators of the technologies that I use and I can tell you that I'll never feel like an expert compared to these giants. They humble me on a daily basis--almost to an embarrassing level.
Appreciate the comment Carl--you'll be fine!
To answer the initial premise here, in much less words than the article: Yes, you can be a successful developer without formal education (if bootcamps count as formal).
As just one data point - I was working as a developer while in high school (for a company, not self employed/freelance etc). I went to university - and dropped out after only 4 months of the BSc Software Engineering course.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I'm now an Architect and Dev Manager (and if money is your motivation - I earn enough that my partner doesn't need to work, if she doesn't want to - though she has a decent job too).
Great read! I am did the same as you did quitting learning web development like 3 or 4 times but I keep coming back to it. Right I am an equipment coordinator at my IT department at my job. Was thinking of getting certifications such as CompTIA. But when I study for it, it just does not interest me. Even thought I have a difficult time learning web development and have a hard time understanding concepts it still appeals to me to learn it. It just something awesome seeing a line of code you typed out. Reading this article makes me want to get after it again and succeed. Thanks for writing it!
Thank you Greg! It's good to know how you best learn new subjects. I cover a large swath of different resource types as well. Video courses, books, articles, and more. But putting what we learn into practice is most important.
Aw, thanks this was the pick me up that I needed. I'm a self-taught web developer and I'm taking some time to push me to that 90k job and it's been looking bleak.
Hang in there! Hopefully my upcoming posts are able to help you stand out as a developer and reach your goals.
Thanks for this article, it's very good. I am just starting my adventure with JS
Yes. 100% possible. I'm self taught (from the age of 7 back in 1983). I have no formal qualifications or training.
In fact, most of the best developers I know are self-taught
Good read yes its true anyone can be a developer. I might have a degree in computer science but honestly I have learned more from self learning and personal projects than i ever did in university.
Thanks for the read! Absolutely right that there's no way around having to self-teach regardless of which route someone chooses.