My Struggle as a Self-Taught Developer

Tris Dev — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 22:46:33 +0000

I've always wanted to be a programmer—well, not really. Back then, I didn’t even know what "programmer" meant. I just wanted to create things, like the technology I saw on TV. I thought it would be impossible, something only geniuses or scientists could do. Fast forward, here I am, chasing that dream!

It all started when I was 13. The first time I accessed the internet on a laptop, I began searching for what I could do with this magical thing called “Google” That’s when I stumbled upon a fascinating concept: programming. I didn’t understand much, but it sounded exciting.

During summer holidays, I began searching how computers work. It amazed me how simple technology could be—especially for achieving my childhood dream. As a kid, I was glued to documentaries about robots in Silicon Valley and China. While most kids my age were watching cartoons or Barbie, I was fascinated by machines (I loved Barbie too! I'm not a nerd, okay?🙂)

In the summer of 2019, I discovered HTML5 through a YouTube channel and created my very first webpage. It was just a basic “this is my first page” header, but it felt like magic. I was so proud and told everyone about it, but no one really got it—all they saw was a browser tab with some text.

Still, I pressed on. I experimented with CSS, building colorful layouts, navbars, footers, and grids. Then I dove into JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, and MySQL. I was learning, exploring, and dreaming big.

Then came the pandemic. In my final year of high school, COVID turned everything upside down. After graduating in 2020, I went to nursing school—not because I wanted to, but because studying computer science wasn’t an option in my city. Plus, the CS curriculum in my country was so outdated, I knew I’d have to teach myself anyway.

Working as a nurse during COVID was overwhelming. My plan was to learn programming in the evenings after work, but after 8-to-6 shifts in pure chaos, I barely had any energy left. Still, I pushed through. I completed my residency program, got licensed, and finally quit nursing to focus on programming.

Now, I’ve been teaching myself for a while. I’ve built projects, learned different tools, and tried to improve step by step. But the journey hasn’t been easy.

Being self-taught often feels lonely. You doubt yourself. You feel like you’re constantly catching up. And with the job market so competitive, it’s easy to lose hope. I planned to land a job or internship as a developer by the end of the year, but that hasn’t happened yet—I haven’t even applied. And the pressure is mounting—I’m turning 22 this week, and I need a job.

But I’m not giving up. Software development is what I want, and I haven’t given it my all yet. This is just the beginning of my journey, not the end.

Technology has always been my passion, and I want to be part of shaping the future. Whether it’s building tools that help people, solving unique problems, I know my story is far from over.

If you’ve been through this or are going through something similar, I’d love to hear your story or any advice you might have.

DEV Community: Tris Dev

My Struggle as a Self-Taught Developer