Here are some thoughts on programming autodidactism and development process evolvement.
First of all, I’m a 20 y.o. web-developer based in the Bay area. For a while I’ve been working at PropaneStudio with smart and collaborative individuals, who taught me a bunch.
What I want to emphasize on, is the self-education part. I had a long journey since 15 to figure things out. I was able to try different languages, read all the books I wanted and participate in projects with friends. Without a time limit or any responsibilities I could afford to spend hours every single day to do what I liked and get knowledge at the same time. The same thing doesn’t apply to most adults today, who want the quick and easy way. I have met many individuals who think that a couple of books(or some theory in general) can give them the necessary expertise. Unfortunatelly, programming is hard and takes a lot of time. It requires you, to write a lot of code, struggle, google and eat lots of dirt before you can start recognizing patterns, and thinking ahead!
This brings me to the second topic. How with experience and practice, we don’t pay so much attention on how to build something, but what’s the best(most optimal) way to do so. For example, one is not going to utilize features not supported by older browsers, but try and find a universal solution instead of having a separate fix for gracefully degrading browsers. That’s in my opinion when somebody, becomes a more mature developer, thinks about performance, optimization and code patterns.
My point is: don’t take shortcuts! Coding is hard and will consume you before you see any results. But if it can wake you up early in the mornings, then do it! The more well-rounded you are in the field, the better you will perform in a specific area.
-Paul
