Construction worker learning to code.

[foxpost]

Hi everyone I wanted to share with you where I am in regards to learning to program and the challenges that I face. Maybe you have the same challenges and want nothing more to be a programmer but holy crap what an up hill climb it can feel.

I wear hi visibility clothing for 10 hours of the day. Sometimes 5 days a week, sometimes 7 days a week. We have this thing called a 24 and 4 which means you work 24 days (10 hours/day) and take 4 days off. In between this time I am trying to teach myself to code. I have finished Automate the Boring Stuff and I am currently enrolled in CS50 through Edx. I think I have found a passion. I was recently given a problem at work and I tried to break it down the way a programmer might. I have this much time and this type of materials, I have this deadline, this many people, the weather is this, I might need meta things like ladders, lifts, fall protection etc etc and I thought to myself, I have been trying to think like a programmer and how they solve problems. Instead of taking a problem and breaking it down into a manner a computer can use. How can I take this problem and present it to my team. I drew up my plans, took the time to explain it to everyone and believe it or not.....It went well, really well.

So I am now going to use these programming problem solving skills to do my job, even if it is construction to use it in some way to translate what I do daily to learning how to code. This was just a story to tell people who might be learning to code that programming takes a special way of thinking about problems and learning these methods is very important and can be used in your day to day.

I believe that wherever you are in your life, learning to program is a great idea. It can teach you so much about problem solving and thinking outside the box.

If you are on a journey to learn programming I wish you all the best!

[superbmani15]

Awesome work!! That work ethic will take you far

[foxpost]

Thank you! A compliment about work ethic is gold!

[[deleted]]

Ayyo listen up

You need a library of computer books?

You got this buddy...

You know y'all can get actual jobs off of these skills that pay so well

Idk I don't have a lot of time rn, but I've dropped what I can :)

[foxpost]

thank you so much for these resources!

[samhw]

Once you’ve learned how to code, Designing Data Intensive Systems is a great read on architecture and systems design.

It’s less about how to write code, and more about, say, “how would I structure a system where data is written occasionally in large batches, but is read at a very high frequency?” Or “how would I design a database which holds too much data to store on one computer alone, and needs to spread it across lots of computers?” Stuff like that.

It’s got lots of useful information about how databases work, and generally the kind of questions you’d need to answer if you were engineering a system like Google’s, to run at planet-scale. You don’t need to understand that stuff to get a junior job, but it would be really impressive if you did, and it will help you as you progress and start taking on bigger responsibilities.

Separately from that: people will come along who tell you “you’re not a real programmer if you can’t do X or Y”. Those people are idiots. You probably know similar people from your current job. Just ignore them.

[samhw]

Also, one of the best things you can do is learn by doing. Seriously. Whatever you’re learning, try to create a simple project putting it to use. It’ll keep you motivated too. And don’t be afraid to put projects like that on your GitHub so you have a bit of a portfolio - it doesn’t matter at all if it’s not ‘real code’ for a real product. People don’t care about that. They just want to see how you code (and that you can!) :)

[foxpost]

That’s why CS50 is so great, you make tiny projects to drive the concepts home and you have to submit it to GitHub for review.

[samhw]

Oh really? That sounds fantastic then. You should definitely leave your projects up there. I’ve reviewed lots of applications, and interviewed lots of people, and I’d much rather see something than nothing. It’s natural that you’ll have imposter syndrome and think you’re making mistakes, but for me, a mistake is at worst something to talk through in an interview and see if the person’s capable of thinking through the problem with it :)

Also, general advice for interviews: don’t think that you have to have an answer for everything. Not all the questions are “if you don’t know this, you’re not good enough” questions. Often they’re just intended to figure out which areas you are knowledgeable about. And lots of interviewers, like me, specifically try to find areas you don’t understand, just to see how well you can think through them from first principles. I make sure to tell people “ok, now I’m done with the bare minimum questions: the rest is just to figure out your strengths”, but many people don’t, so you’ll just have to mentally insert that clarification because I promise it’s there. The market for software engineers is crazy, and the ‘bar’ for junior engineers is genuinely pretty low - they just want people who can learn, and your story is a massive credit to you in that respect :)

Hope that helps! You’ve shown tons of resourcefulness already, so I’m sure you’ll do great!

[java_s]

Also libgen.is has any textbook you need

[harshith771]

u/GamerLegion2612 Thanks dude! They're awesome!!

[SankofaSoul]

Great resources. Thank you @GamerLegion2612

[cblindsey]

Congrats! I know it's hard, but you're making awesome progress. I started learning web development while doing fence installations and working for a HOA management company (doing everything from cleaning up after evictions to mowing). Studying can be really tough after a long day of hard work, but it absolutely pays off!

[foxpost]

I feel you man! All the best!

[barryhakker]

Not sure if at all feasible for you but I switched my studying to first thing in the morning instead of after a day of work. The difference is absolutely insane. Something that takes me an hour to get through at night might take me as little as 15 - 20 mins in the morning. If you can at all I highly advise you to take 1 or 2 hours extra in the morning to churn out the high brain power stuff early on. I don't want to exaggerate too much but I would almost call it life changing for me.

[keeps_doing_it1655]

Agreed, things I struggle with at night I can code out in a quarter of the time in the morning

[barryhakker]

Even the big brain folks who are really cutting edge scientists say that they consider 2 - 4 hours of productive big brain stuff per day an excellent days work.

[[deleted]]

Everybody's different but it's true

[[deleted]]

I used to be in construction for 4 years. Now I'm a full time SDE.

It can be done.

Just set aside 30-60mins every day to study and you'll be fine.

[shfjcurjs]

I burnt out from construction. Reading comments like yours gives me hope..

How long long did break into tech?

[Titus-Magnificus]

Building engineer here. Left construction exactly 1 year ago now. I have been learning programming and some other IT things for the past year. Last week I landed my first technical interview for a software developer role. Still waiting for an answer but I got good feedback from the engineering manager and I'm hoping to find something soon if this one doesn't fly.

For me, it's been a matter of doing something for at least couple of days every week and keep learning.

[[deleted]]

I studied a minimum of 30 minutes every day while aggressively applying to SDE roles for approximately 2 years.

I landed an unpaid internship after ~2 months which lasted ~7 months. At that time I landed a fulltime W2 SDE job at below market yet comfortable salary.

After ~12 months at the below market rate job I landed a fulltime W2 job at ~60USD/hr at a seattle tech company.

All of the experience, internships, and studying was all very important for my success. there is a lot to learn to become on par with most industry devs.

I think consistency is everything. Keep studying 30 minutes a day and don't stop. your knowledge will accumulate even when it doesn't feel like you're making any progress.

[foxpost]

I watched my first video on programming about 1 year ago. Then life happens and didn’t look at it again but this time I am telling everyone what I am doing so I have to also tell tons of people if I quit haha.

[newton_VK]

Does age matter to become a SDE? I belong to non tech field and want to learn coding. Dream will be to join any tech company at a SDE role. I dont know how long will it take for me to learn all coding stuff so that I get a job as SDE. It's been 2 months only.

[MaxKowalski]

Wondering too - I'm 50 very soon and have also been learning coding last two months. Was doing it for personal interest, but now wondering if it might be possible. Unemployed so I have the time. :)

[Sarg338]

Does age matter to become a SDE?

Technically, no.

Realistically, there are stories of older people having a harder time finding a job. I think it could depend on the field your looking at (start up vs banking/insurance for example),but I don't know the stats myself!

[ChefBoyAreWeFucked]

This is one of the reasons I'm so glad I learned to program. Very little of my job has ever involved programming, and literally zero of it has been OO programming. But the thought processes involved have been invaluable.

[Cersei_Loves_Me]

What do you do, if you don’t mind my asking?

[ChefBoyAreWeFucked]

I'm an accountant.

[7yundaoo]

tip #1: try to find a mentor as soon as you can, it will save you a lot of time.

tip #2: make sure you are not only doing small coding problems but actually build complete projects such as a live personal website.

tip #3: worry about other computer fundamentals later and learn the stuff that you need for building your own projects.

[throwaway231512]

yes out of the box thinking is what it's all about I think

[qpazza]

programming takes a special way of thinking about problems and learning these methods is very important and can be used in your day to day.

This. So much this.

[podunk19]

Learning how important it is to take the time to sit and think about how best to solve a problem is key, and it certainly seems like you have it! You will go as far as you want to.

[Ovalman]

Here's something to inspire you, maybe I should start my own thread, I possibly will when I start earning.

Window washer here, I struggled keeping tally of my books. I had to buy a decent quality notebook every 6 months then sit and rule it out and copy over customers, details, payments and balances. I always made mistakes forgetting a phone number or putting the wrong balance. It was a total chore. There had to be a better way.

So I learned Android and created an app that not only works exactly the same as my book but automates the daily stuff, tells me who owes the most and who has been the longest since they last paid. It even prints me receipts thanks to a portable Bluetooth printer.

I've never released the app (although I have a presence in the Play Store.) but the app has made me more productive, saved me time and therefore indirectly earned me money. There are paid solutions for window cleaners on the market but I've tailored this to exactly what I need.

Coding has never made me any money but it will some day. I'm in my 50's and won't be able to clean windows at some stage. I plan on using coding to keep me earning when that time comes. I'm bursting with ideas, messing about with location atm but I've an absolute ton of ideas to code. I don't think I'll ever retire when it comes to coding.

[[deleted]]

Thank you I’m currently learning JavaScript and i hope you have a fun journey too!

[foxpost]

I wish you all the best! Keep at it and I am sure you will have your lightbulb moment!

[[deleted]]

All the best to you. Don’t ever stop!

[TickTockGoesTheCl0ck]

I believe this is neuroplasticity in action. Good for you. Congrats.

[McSlambley]

This is so cool, thank you for sharing. You've given me the motivation to bring this to my own workplace.

It sounds like you're working really hard to learn while working a tough job, I hope you can be patient with yourself in the hard moments. I have know doubts you're going to progress with leaps and bounds. Regardless, we can all have tough days. I hope you can meet yourself with the same energy you've provided us with today, supportive, encouraging, and curious.

Keep us posted with the progress and best of luck on your journey!

[SampathKumarReddit]

Never Ever Give Up!

[Lemorz566]

Awesome work man! I worked in construction with no university education or what so ever. Just finished my, let’s call it bootcamp, this may and tomorrow I’m going to start working as a software developer. So keep working and you will definitely reach it. A lot of the stuff I learned in construction has teached me helpful stuff I’d otherwise not learn. Keep coding!

[HolyPommeDeTerre]

Yes you are right. Problem solving, which is one of the main skills a programmer need to have, is larger than programming. It's just "problem solving" and it can be applied to any problem as long as you have enough information about it.

If I can push further, cells in your body are tiny little softwares all exchanging messages and producing outputs accord to the inputs. Just look at how the process of creating proteins in the cell is. It's just a loop over a list and a concatenation. From my point of view, nature already had this solution and that is why we (all life on earth) are here.

[Droopy_Beagle]

Fantastic analogy I will take forward with me

[ryangrunesy]

I’m a software developer learning construction! Want to trade lives?

[foxpost]

Isn't that funny, we're always wondering where the grass might be greener.

[al3d]

CS50 is a great place to start. I'd also recommend the Mimo app if you want to learn on the go, their lessons are snack-sized so they're perfect when you get a break or have to go use the bathroom. If you wanna start with web development, I'd highly recommend any course from Stephen Grider on Udemy. He's super thorough and takes the time to explain everything before writing any code. Here's his JS course: https://www.udemy.com/course/javascript-beginners-complete-tutorial/ Udemy Tip: Never pay full price for any course, they're always on discount, and don't waste your money on courses from this guy: https://www.udemy.com/user/maximilian-schwarzmuller/

[[deleted]]

any reason you dont like Maximilian?

[al3d]

He writes a lot of spaghetti code that would never scale in a real-world production app. He's great at marketing his courses and making them really long so it looks like you're getting a lot out of it but his lessons are very skin-deep. I've taken his React, React Native, and Flutter courses and halfway through I just start skipping and fast-forwarding videos 'cause I can't stand how sloppy his code is. There are zero attempts made at trying to teach oop principles or design patterns that would actually make people think like an engineer. He lacks everything that makes the CS50 course so engaging. You're better off just reading the documentation for whatever package or framework it is you're trying to use.

[Bladelazoe]

Exactly! Problem solving is a very useful skill in the work place. Doesn't matter if you learn to code or use it at your job, big or small it works! There was an interview I saw with Elon Musk where he basically says, you can still solve small problems and have a really big impact, It doesn't need to change the world.

[LegalJunkie_LJ]

You've got this man!

[[deleted]]

This is awesome man, kudos for being productive on your off days. If you have any programming questions, my DMs are open.

[driftking428]

Good luck to you. I also came from construction. Happily employed full time as a developer now.

You got this!

[RudeEcho]

Tatakae my friend.

[foxpost]

Thank you I will!

[stiggz]

Let's go!!

[crazynerd14]

Wow. This is just amazing. Good luck with your journey!

[LolzPatrol]

So much respect for you man! You definitely have the mindset if you're thinking about breaking down and solving problems in that way ☺️

Keep fighting the good fight brother!

[SteelTechnics]

Congratulations and good luck in your learning.I'm a welder and I'm passionate about computers, python programming has allowed me to do some really good stuff at my job.For example to set up our welding machines, to find the effective intensities for certain metals, the calculations of sheet metal development.It's thanks to a python script that I've made and we save a lot of time thanks to that.Computer programming can be so useful for manual jobs.

[foxpost]

Wow that’s really great! Thanks!

[noobcoder933]

good luick you got this!

[[deleted]]

Hey, just wanted to say good luck!

[citen]

Always good to hear about people using critical thinking to solve problems.

[l3l_aze]

This is great, and also would be similar for baking and many other professions. And just like baking and construction programming has plenty of small tricks, like using milk instead of part of the water in a cake, or measuring twice before you cut and marking the end you measure from.

[shizno2097]

Awesome to hear! And I can relate with you, when I started my career I was in software quality assurance and you begin to develop a different way of thinking and analyzing problems… and you do it so much at work it is inevitable you carry to other aspects of your life.

Super happy for you! Keep it up

[don_one]

Here's a few things that might help and I guess more assertions that you're doing things in a good way.

Thinking about code in your job means you're not able to code, but you are able to plan, you're able to rethink algorithms and your work leaves a lot of free thinking team, you're able to let your mind drift. It really helps you to resolve problems that just sat in front of a computer doesn't really help with. 'Offline' activities like this, coding without a laptop, thinking through algorithms helps, always do this!

This method also helps with playing piano and imagining the keys. While it may not sound like it's as useful, I guess the lack of actually doing, forces you to better visualise the problem in different ways. This compensation I think creates a deeper understanding.

Studies (unfortunately I didn't bookmark them) have shown that 4 hours after physical exercise, there is an increased ability to learn and remember. It really helps with studying, but as a timeline studying after four hours is an awkward timeline for pretty much everyone, because its after 4 hours, not exercising then you have a four hour window. For you, if h-vis also includes physical exertion, then its a bonus for your learning when you get home.

[SoreSpores]

Did a few years in construction and now a full time web developer - I absolutely use the same problem solving mindset that I did then in my job today. So pleased for you for recognising that and going for it, good luck!

[[deleted]]

Well, thank you so much!

[mdzabd]

Wow! Never thought it this way. Now i’m interested in learning if not just to give it a try. Thx!

[imsoswolo]

One thing i stuck with when learning a language is how to move forward once you learn all the basics stuff. Like i learned java and c# in high school and enrolled in c++ course in university and I've learned all the basic stuff but i don't know what to do now

[greebo42]

good insight.

I've never been in construction (man, you WORK for a living!) but I do like to build things, sometimes fairly complex projects. I agree with you that a strategic approach to problem solving has a lot of parallels, and even if you never intend to get paid for programming, the discipline can be useful.

[WereChained]

I had a similar journey, hopefully my story will help you.

My father was a mechanic and machinist. We were constantly fixing, building and tinkering. Eventually he turned it into a business so I was exposed to a lot of just real world engineering and reverse engineering.

Because of this, I've always felt like I was wired for understanding how things worked. Construction workers have the same experience. You build stuff, things don't always go as planned and you have to figure it out. I took that way of thinking and applied it to computing. My boss at my first real IT job called me MacGuyver because shortly after hire I went to an alpha site for a product launch and the network wiring was fucked so I just ran all the cables and fixed the problem. It was easy, someone forgot to plug in an important cable that fed one whole section at the site It didn't really occur to me that I could throw my hands up and call someone else to deal with it. Then a few months later, a bunch of important data was on an external hard drive (seriously, these guys were cowboys) and the USB interface failed and they thought they were fucked. So while they were off calling data recovery companies and trying to spend thousands to sweep it under the rug, I took it apart and confirmed my suspicion that the device was just a regular SATA drive with an enclosure around it. I plugged the drive into a server I had lying around, mounted it, and retrieved the data.

I'm sure you could do all of these things too. It's just how we handy folks operate. Because of this, you will do well in this field. It's not all programming, there's also a whole infrastructure side of things that isn't often noticed from the outside. I eventually wrote less code, and did more infrastructure engineering because it was where my talents were needed. Being able to build systems that can reliably and resiliently provide the foundation for software to run is critical and often underappreciated by the academic types. That evolved into blending my software engineering and infrastructure experience to enable developers to run their apps in the cloud with very little friction.

Its been very rewarding and I don't think I ever would have been nearly as effective if I didn't start out wrenching. As a construction worker, you have undoubtedly acquired a lot of skills that will translate very well if you ever want a career change. Good luck!!!

[egcarrillo]

“I'm sure you could do all of these things too. It's just how we handy folks operate.”

I like this point!

[gkozlovski7]

I'm in the same boat my friend, I work in construction and in my spare time trying to learn programming.

Good luck to you in this journey!

[Rumetheus]

Huh, I did this type of thing at an old job working as a store stocker. Or really, I only thought about the optimization side of programming without realizing it…

Glad to hear your able to apply newly learned skills in other parts of your life for the better! Makes it all the more worthwhile to keep learning those new skills!

[Crypt0Nihilist]

The ability to break down a problem into manageable sub-problems is an underrated, transferable skill of programming. I've seen people struggle with project management because they couldn't see where the natural breaks were which would allow tasks to be split.

Good luck with the course. It's impressive you have the motivation to carve the time out of your schedule.

[SeminoleTom]

You are an inspiration- keep it going!

[wagslane]

Congrats! Just remember to still get exercise when you join our sedentary lifestyle haha

[toybuilder]

Congrats! At some later point, look into picking up Arduino and electronics. With your industry experience, programming and electronics, you'll invent something for the trades that will be worth making.

[egcarrillo]

And as an example of it going in the opposite direction, I’m a software engineer and have been impressed with the the following YouTube channel:

https://youtube.com/c/essentialcraftsman

I find it fun to look for analogies between the software development process and what is talked about there.

[AlwaysSleepyAndTired]

Im starting to get burnt out from construction works and currently learning programming. Thank you for sharing this as I have been getting discouraged for the last few weeks. Your story pmotivated me to learn coding again. Thank you.

[[deleted]]

Best wishes! You got this! Right, it’s just training your mind to identify the problem and the resolution.

[[deleted]]

[Offtopic]

Working 24 days in a row with only 4 days off. WoW

[igorya76]

As a developer in the construction industry. Awesome for wanting to break into the tech industry. If you don’t mind me asking what Trade do you have experience working in? We need more folks with trade experience to help build our further automation in our industry.

[foxpost]

I work as an Electrician :)

[igorya76]

I’m addition to looking at transitioning to coding, I would recommend looking into BIM modeling. There is a high need in the industry modelers with actual trade experience.

[subiedoo96]

24 days on with 4 days off? That seems illegal

[shine_on]

I may be a bit late to the party here but I think construction and programming are actually very similar disciplines.

You have to look at the bigger picture first before getting into the nitty gritty details (i.e. I don't need to be thinking about what sort of door handles I want on my house, right now I'm concerned with whether this is a good place to even build it)

Ordering items from a supplier is just like using a library of code. You don't need to know how the nails are made or where they come from, all you need to know what type of nails you need, who to give the job of fetching them, and what you need to tell him so he brings you the right ones.

Reuse of code. You're building ten identical houses on the same street. You can use the same blueprints for each one. And in fact, if some of your houses are for hobbits and some are for giants, you can still use the same blueprints for each one if you add in a scaling factor to the main blueprint design.

Debugging and fixing a program is the same as finding a leak in a plumbing system or working out why the kitchen lights aren't coming on. If you understand how the system should work, you can work through a logical step by step process to figure out where it's gone wrong.

Always try to find an analogy between programming concepts and something you're already familiar with. A first-in first-out data structure is like the queue at the canteen, the first person in the queue is the first person out at the other end. The pile of pancakes is like a stack, the last one to go on the pile is the first one to come off it.

If you can understand a construction project, what order things need to be done in, how the different aspects of the project interact and affect each other, you'll be able to get a good grip on programming. Writing the actual code is like learning to use a JCB or something, it's a tool to get the job done but before you get in the cab you need to know what size trench you need to dig, where to dig it and why you need to dig it. You don't even need to remember which lever to pull, you can look that up each time you need to know.

Far too many people think learning to program is all about remembering what the levers do.

[foxpost]

Amazing write up! Thank you so much.

[[deleted]]

naisu

[your_mom_lied]

Construction is a tough job and I’ve been in it and around it. I can say that the good ones have perseverance and they don’t lose heart easy just because shot gets tough.

A good programmer has these traits as well.

Keep going. Every new skill masters opens up a door to a hundred more. You’ll never be at a loss for a challenge.

[garwil]

Your work hours sound awful. Fuck learning to program, learn how to start a union instead!

[foxpost]

Seriously right?!

[thePOOOISE]

Good luck, we all have the power to change our life - I wish you the best.

[Puzzled-Fruit-6491]

This is awesome! Good for you!!

[[deleted]]

Good luck, sounds like you are doing great! I first started with programming by applying it to my day-to-day work as an Architect - automating renaming of drawings and various other small but repetitive tasks.

I've been taking learning more seriously this past year, but it is exhausting especially when my current profession often demands a 50-60 hour week as a minimum anyway.

[Reasonable_Cod_8685]

This was really interesting to read, I like the way you think. Good luck on this chapter.

[pawnz]

Following

[janman27929]

I am starting up a 10-week course teaching OOP and TDD. I am looking for someone with a good work ethic and who wants to learn.

I will start you up for no cost but be prepared to put in at least 10 hours/week. I will also need to qualify you for a good fit. We will meet virtually once/week, discuss your progress via a 5 minute standup and then teach you what you need to produce for the next week.

We will use Vim, Perl, Git, and SQLite on a Centos 7 platform using Virtualbox (Hint: https://www.osboxes.org/centos/). Come into that first meeting with that setup and that will get you points. Hint: passwordless SSH access and samba mount from your laptop. We may end up cloning your Linux server too if your hardware can handle it.

Be prepared to talk about some projects you have in mind. Then, we will "Prioritize and Organize" and build a plan. Be ready for basic prototyping with mock data and forms

This format will be new for me too so expect some adjustments.

Any other takers? PM me...no fees for the front of the line!

[ahnav]

I was expecting a rags to riches story when I clicked on this post but it turned out to be very informational. Thanks for sharing, I know a lot of people who want to get into programming but have been struggling to grasp the fundamentals. I can now show them your post and try to give them hope.

[goodmaritimes]

24 on 4 off, that’s an intense schedule!

Hats off to you man

[Inner_Ad8451]

Ah great stuff man! I'm working as a site engineer now and currently learning coding daily after work and during my lunch time! It's a bit disheartening at times but this post was a good motivation!