SHOULD I LEARN TO PROGRAM??

[el_hombre123]

I have seen this question a whole lot on this forum. It seems to be such a heated debate filled with "wrong" and "right" answers.. For those who do not know what to do, maybe this will help you out.

Disclaimer: I am not a millionaire. In fact, I have failed in business in the past and am going at it again. This time the smarter way and with the skill to write crappy, but passable, code. So be cautious of taking this advice.

I was never into tech, not that any of you care. But maybe, someone on this forum could relate. I was always the sales guy. Ironically, I do work in sales now. However, the love hate relationship, with technology, changed when I made an attempt trying to get a prototype up and running not to long ago. Sh***, was I ever lost both technically and eventually financially! I had ideas, but never had the courage to make a decision of whether or not to really learn how to code in order to execute. Can any of you relate? But until one day, during the last week of October 2015, I decided to learn and engage in process.

Boy, learning to develop web apps is a bit challenging. Day in and day out, I was, and still am, learning and learning some more to develop web apps. But, there is a spot in the sand where I draw the line. I don't want to be the greatest developer in history, or an excellent developer for that matter. I just want to know enough to put a "crappy", but passable prototype up and running, and to know the technology that a product will eventually be arise from.

Fast forward to today, I am working on getting a prototype up and running that's good enough to get some momentum and traction. It does feel good to have a basic understanding of what is going on and how to make some little things happen in the world of development. With that base of knowledge, mentors, and a boat load of books, this was possible. I now am moving on an idea that I have, without having to wait for a superstar programmer or having to bug someone about offering imagined equity without a proven track record. After that, I will be cold calling and spreading the word. Again, it feels to great to have some level of control over this! This to me is progress. Before any of you guys make a decision though, I want to add that I saw MJ's desert of desertion video, and boy was he right.

This has been a very lonely period. Very, very lonely. However, all nights come to an end. I am now working with mentors and getting to know future "partners" perhaps, while moving on this idea in silence. So after that long rant, is it worth it, should you do it?

Well, first of all if you are curious about and like technology, then that is a strong indication. While I learned how to code, time flew by. I enjoy it; most of the time, until you come across weird vernacular that you have never heard of or have any references linked up to. So do you like it? Or are you just going to be miserable. This is the youngest you will ever be moving forward, so don't be miserable. Give it a real shot if you go for it not half a$$.

Second of all, if you choose to go with it, can you learn quickly? It seriously is a lot of information in the beginning. If the answer to this is no, then do not begin. It's like life, the more you know about it, the more questions you have and the more daunting it will seem.

Thirdly, are you in a rush? If you are, then do not bother. I barely scratched the surface with three months of hard work, non stop learning.

If you have the patience, like the topic, and can learn quickly, then go for it! What harm would knowing a new skill do? Just know, that you have to be focused day in and day out.

Whatever route you choose, make sure you have a mentor or experienced developer helping you. Learning code for a year, let alone 3-5 months, won't give you enough experience to know who is a great programmer and who sucks, for if you get to that stage.

If you go with learning I am sure front loading your learning like I did, or just learning as you go like MJ will both be good approaches.

In the end though, you're the one who has to figure it out and decide, all I can do is share my experience and see if someone finds it resourceful. I hope I helped clear some myth and bs with this post. It is challenging and will take to time to learn "crappy" code lol. Also, there is no wrong or right answer. Take into account your personal situation when finally making a decision.


p.s Don't be scared to go down a path, just pick path and also HATS OFF TO YOU PROGRAMMERS.. You guys are skilled at what you do. I love it..

 

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[Trivium iz rC]

Interesting post there has been a lot of discussion about is it worth the time to learn how to program.

This Thread: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/learning-to-program-is-stupid-or-smart.41319

There have been a couple of other post's of other fastlane members that have had success learning to program and getting a SAAS product up & profitable @James A. I also had that same feeling on how I wanted to be able to take my IDEA to a MVP instead of outsourcing & having tons of headaches. My goals are pretty much the same as yours, i'm not trying to be a all-star developer but know enough to get a MVP up & be able to talk to other engineers about the software product & technology.

I also enjoy building things & enjoying new skills which I think is why I picked it up as a hobby. It's funny too because i'm in the e-commerce space & thats how I have been making my living not through SAAS.

Interested to know what framework you used to build your app. I've been playing around with Rails & Meteor. It's so nice to have an idea and to be able to get it up and running

 

[BeLarge]

Learn programming? You kidding bro?
If you wanna be Programmer so go for it. But remember one thing- there always will be people around you that can do that job. The whole thing is about to be smart enough to hire people and not to do all the job by your own.

 

[Jon L]

If you're going to run a business based on selling software, its not a bad idea to learn how to program to some degree. You want to be able to talk tech.

That said, I pay an excellent programmer $14 an hour overseas. So...is your time worth more than $14 an hour? (I hope it is). Other good programmers in other languages can be had for $30 an hour. Again...I'm hoping that your time is worth more than that.

Of course, if you don't have $14 an hour to pay someone, the whole thing is a moot point. But, it should make you seriously consider how deeply you want to get into writing actual code.

PS. yes...there are some programmers that make $80 an hour overseas, but those are for things like Ruby on Rails, and the like. Want to know how to avoid paying someone $80 an hour for an in-demand language? Don't use that language unless you absolutely have to. And usually, unless you're writing huge applications that need the organization that Rails provides, PHP (or whatever) is just fine.

 

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[theag]

Its this time of the month again, huh.

 

[garyk1968]

If you're going to run a business based on selling software, its not a bad idea to learn how to program to some degree. You want to be able to talk tech.

That said, I pay an excellent programmer $14 an hour overseas. So...is your time worth more than $14 an hour? (I hope it is). Other good programmers in other languages can be had for $30 an hour. Again...I'm hoping that your time is worth more than that.

Of course, if you don't have $14 an hour to pay someone, the whole thing is a moot point. But, it should make you seriously consider how deeply you want to get into writing actual code.

Agreed. The problem most programmers face is they think that because they *can* build it then they should build it. You must must determine a need for what it is you are building and have a plan to get it out to market.

Sure its worth understanding how long things take but your time is better spent identifying opportunities and getting something 'out there'.

I say this for someone who has coded for decades, I've made a good living as a freelancer/consultant but if I had to have my time again? I would have focused on products and probably outsourced it and spent time on marketing.

 

[el_hombre123]

Right I mean it is not worth delving into who is wrong or right in this epic debate. LOL. This has already been 'argued' on other threads. This was just a thread to give some clarity to those who are on the brink of whether or not they should do it. Both paths are littered with difficulty and process, so at the end of the day, do what is more resourceful for your personal situation/product in mind.

 

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[el_hombre123]

Interesting post there has been a lot of discussion about is it worth the time to learn how to program.

This Thread: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/learning-to-program-is-stupid-or-smart.41319

There have been a couple of other post's of other fastlane members that have had success learning to program and getting a SAAS product up & profitable @James A. I also had that same feeling on how I wanted to be able to take my IDEA to a MVP instead of outsourcing & having tons of headaches. My goals are pretty much the same as yours, i'm not trying to be a all-star developer but know enough to get a MVP up & be able to talk to other engineers about the software product & technology.

I also enjoy building things & enjoying new skills which I think is why I picked it up as a hobby. It's funny too because i'm in the e-commerce space & thats how I have been making my living not through SAAS.

Interested to know what framework you used to build your app. I've been playing around with Rails & Meteor. It's so nice to have an idea and to be able to get it up and running

Hey,

I am using the infamous rails framework. I did take the time to learn the ruby language quickly at first, and that helped a lot... And yes, it does feel great to incrementally get an actual product up and running and see a response from the market. With the bootstrap framework, countless help out there both in the real world and web, and rails framework, this will just be a small part of the journey, but a rather interesting one.

If you are gonna sit and learn, or do as you go, don't fixate on becoming a pro. Why? Because there is still sales and marketing which is crucial, not only the code on the back end.

BTW, I agree with you 100%, outsourcing has been a major headache for me. Even more after reading MJ's piece where he says, be aware of who you let into your castle. They say it takes a year to know someone a bit or speaking to his/her closest circle. With the foundation, I figure I take a month or two longer laying it down the right way, and I think you agree.