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Emil Pearce
Emil Pearce

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Hotshot Developer.

Look at you, you coding wizard. Do you feel like God creating this centralized div? Hold your horses, you are not so cool as you might think, hotshot.

 
But before breaking the illusion, let's fly around with Peter Pan using our fabulous fairy wings a bit longer.
 
It's tough to blame anyone for coming into the programming wild-west with overly optimistic expectations.
 
It's like the mid-19th-century gold rush all over again, or some would call it the ‘promised land’ kind of discovery.
 
Why is programming so hot right now? Because of the gold. People smell money. It takes time until the aroma is spread, so people eventually smell the opportunity here, unlike the delicious smell of Paris's Croissants bakeries.
 
Of course, I'm not talking about everyone, but most definitely the majority.
 
By the way, do you know who made the most money from the gold rush?
 
Those who sold pickaxes.
 
Could you guess who are the pickaxes sellers of the programming gold rush nowadays? It's the Bootcamps, Universities, online and offline courses, etc.
 
But we do have the Mother Teresa kind of programs, like FreeCodeCamp or The Odin Project type; God bless you.
 
I want to shift your mind and thoughts to something else, the "I'm such a rockstar” learning to code phase (also known as “The Hand-Holding Honeymoon”).
 
Code, not to program.
 

So our dear pickaxes sellers did a fantastic work promoting the
“Everyone can code” slogan, breaking down barriers and showing
people that code will not bite you.

 
They reach out with the gentlest of touches to assure you that anyone can not just learn to code but become the next Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Mark Zuckerberg kind of person, in fact, sometimes it's so assuring that what is missing is to tell you that you should call your mom and tell her you aren't a total loser, and you will be building the next big thing in a matter of weeks.
 
Suddenly, the issue is no longer fear of code but rather an overflow of optimism and high expectations—you poor thing.
 
For the most part, these educational programs (I'm talking about free and paid ones) do a great job of holding your hand like a child in a crosswalk, past the big scary conditional statements, variables, and through the early chapters of programming syntax.
 
And as you go and conquer one hill at a time - your confidence grows, it won't take too long until you feel unstoppable. You're basically a developer already!
 
Learning graph
 
So if you're able to read the graph, you should realize that you are screwed - pardon my French.
 
Though it may appear like the finish is near, you're just like 45 minutes in, so buckle up, this is only the start. There are so many more hills to climb.
 
Also, consider creating a support system - I will write about that next time.

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