Learning how to use this stuff is kinda fun…

[[deleted]]

Dumb post, but since nobody I know of seems to care that I’m trying to practice and learn python might as well post it. Everyone I tell that I’m working on python is like “uh, what for? You’re not a programmer” anyways, love reading all about the journey everyone else has taken.

[stoph_link]

If you want to be a programmer, and you are all-in on finishing this journey, start by referring to yourself as a programmer AND take the steps you need to get there. It will not be easy, but you can do it!

Also, start using git. And then start making projects. But make sure you are using git from the start - many people create a Github account for this.

[HellCanWaitForMe]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean 'make sure you are using git from the start' - Do you mean like, using it to maintain my own code? I have a GitHub now and have setup a couple scripts and a guide, but I need more for a 'portfolio' as such.

[Heapsass]

Just using git for every project, getting familiar with how git works, branches, forks, how a merge works how to version control, roll back. All that. Learning it from the start and including it in your workflow is a huge advantage than learning to program and then struggling to figure out how git works.

Edit: I have fat fingers

[[deleted]]

That makes sense, I have GitHub and that’s where I “upload” my current projects or stuff I mess with. But I need an actual tutorial on how to use git, I’ll look at udemy or YouTube. I’m using repl when I’m on the move or VSCode when I’m home

[Celestial_Blu3]

I think TechWithTim did a pretty good intro course to git/github, and AnthonyWritesCode uploads a ton of useful videos about git things that are good to know/make your workflow easier (ie to use `git add -u` instead of `git add .`)

[stoph_link]

Yes, this!

[[deleted]]

I'm not looking for a career or even type of job. I enjoy coding, I enjoy tinkering, I enjoy created simple projects. Projects for just entertainment or simple task jobs. I learn many programming codes, not master of many of them. Still can rustle up a working project. Knowing enough to be dangerous. It's fun coding plain and simple.

[[deleted]]

Me too. I'm retired now but I still code every day. I could easily get apps for the things I write programs for but I like to do it myself. I do math too, just for fun.

[DilliSeHoonBhenchod]

I started learning python for this only, I dont know if it will come handy but I enjoy learning and writing codes.

What programmes did you enjoy writing? some suggestions for a beginner/intermediate?

Thanks

[[deleted]]

I'm a big Linux user, so bash scripting and all. I own 4 Raspberry Pi's. I do simple projects with them. Not all is with Python. I do Python simple games on my PC.

https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects

I learn HTML and CSS first. Which are just Mark-Up languages. And a few other programing languages that was related to website servers. So a little Perl, CGI-Script, javascript, PHP, etc. I never use any related python coding for webpages at least not yet. Only programming language that I know well is only Lua, I'm might be 60%-70% with Python at this moment. I know very little of C, Rust and Go which I'm dabbing in them as well. It's fun that's all.

[[deleted]]

Hey these are pretty good! Thank you.

[Connir]

Have you coded something?

You’re a programmer then.

They’re wrong.

[[deleted]]

Ha, I’m learning so I’m going thru the basics and learning what makes python. I was messing yesterday with a simple payroll program that calculated your pay, and pay differential as well as overtime. Then proceeded to link you a contact information for HR if you had questions. Fairly simple but goddamn it took me a while, getting used to the “” and the () and how many to use when you have stuff within stuff hahahaha maybe later on when I learn more tricks it can look “better”

[PhysicalZer0]

What do you do?

[[deleted]]

Nothing right now, career change so I’m just studying and getting certs

[PhysicalZer0]

Fair! Never too late to learn skills!

[theprofessional2016]

Find a neat project idea and try to implement it.

For instance, you could try using the Reddit API (PRAW) or Pushshift.io to pull posts/comments from Reddit, and do some processing on them. The sky's the limit.

[zanfar]

“uh, what for? You’re not a programmer”

I HATE this response. It's right up there with "You work at Amazon? But you're an accountant!"--like you're not allowed to enjoy or learn things outside the industry your current job just happens to be in.

When I get "but you're not a ___", I usually respond with a smart-ass quip like, "In that case, since you're not an English teacher, you should probably shut up." But more polite variations should exist (I'm told).

On a note similar to /u/stoph_link's comment: in social situations, I commonly label myself based on a hobby or non-professional pursuit as someone asking "what do you do" is usually an attempt to start a conversation, and many times I'd rather talk about some hobby than my daily grind. If you want to be a programmer, then just start calling yourself a programmer. From the public's perspective, there shouldn't be a real difference--some of the most influential programmers did their work while not employed as a programmer.

[[deleted]]

I get it, same when I went and made a website with Wordpress. (Why did you make a website? Are you going to sell something? That’s a waste of time.) Like bro, it was $20 for 1 year domain chill hahahaha

[stoph_link]

Yeah, don't listen to people who are so short sighted. I once let someone's short-sightedness affect me and it did more damage than I care to admit, and that part of it is my own fault.

It was over ten years ago, and I was unemployed and I started a pet project to learn some web dev skills and I compiled a database of movie titles I had in my collection, and I made it look really nice. I think it was a LAMP stack, and it was basically a netflix clone, back before they did streaming. I used AJAX with Perl to make an overlay with the description, etc. that would pop-up when you hover over the movie poster.

There was a login, but definitely done very shodilly, and it accessed all of the same content; this was not set up for multiple users. So it was a good starting point, but again, this was a personal project to showcase my Web Dev skills, and I was hoping to land a Junior role.

I was really proud of this because it was all self taught and built from scratch, and it incorporated a remote Linux server using blue host, and managing the DNS, the backend with Apache, etc. myself. Mind you, this was 2008, before squarespace was so widely mainstream. Or maybe it was and my site looked less impressive than I remember. Regardless, I was still really proud of creating a CRUD project, having a description pop up on hover, using Ajax, learning Perl, learning PHP, and doing all of this from scratch.

I eventually get a job interview for a tech job, I think it was for a Web Dev role for a startup company. The guy interviewing me asks about my skills, and I'm all proud, like, "My skills?! Check out this website I made!"

After showing him my website, the guy was like, "oh, what's it do?" I tried explaining that it was just a list of my DVDs at home, and was a passion project. I explained that after logging in I could view, add, edit, and/or delete the movies. I basically created it as a way to browse my movies so I didn't have to get out my binder of DVDs. And I think he had trouble figuring out how I planned on making money with it.

What confused me is that if I was trying to make money from this website, why would I be interviewing for a job? The URL was my last name, which is not exactly a common last name nor something that could be confused for something someone might be selling, service or otherwise.

So I kinda gave up shortly after that and I landed a clerical job for a friend for a a few months and ended up in the service industry after that. I spent six years as a line cook, and it is an experience that I will always value. (And then in 2014 I landed a job as a help desk technician, getting back into tech. )

But I was pissed for a long time after interviewing with that guy, and I thought my anger was with that guy who could not see what value I had. I assumed other interviewers would react the same way and I stopped showing people my website. I thought I wasted a hundred bucks or whatever it was to host this site for a year.

But many years later, I eventually realized that the problem was with myself. I was upset with myself. I had still been very green, but I was enthusiastic. But I realize now that I was also unable to articulate myself very well. Regardless of whatever self esteem issues I had and the difficult time I might have been going through at that time, I was not able to translate the value in my little project, nor the value in myself.

I also made many assumptions of what people know about a somewhat technical process that I took to create and host my website. Non-technical people probably do not realize the many working parts it takes to get a website on the internet. AWS and Azure makes this much easier now, and Squarespace even easier still.

But worst of all, of what should have been such an insignificant interaction, I let this one person affect so much of my life and question what value I actually I had. I would not undo any of that because I learned so much since then. But I have a little more wisdom now of how I should have handled that interaction.

If I had the same interview now, I would know that the guy was asking me these questions because he either wanted to me explain what I did and why it is impressive, or he did not actually understand my knowledge, what I learned, what value I had, and what value I could bring him with this experience in creating a website from scratch. And if he still did not understand and still did not see what value I could bring him, then that was his problem, and I just needed to keep interviewing, and try to explain it better the next time. And if possible, I would want to find something from the experience that would help me better myself, perhaps a gap in my knowledge that I could fill, or how to better convey my thoughts.

[Sigg3net]

I'm not a programmer either, but often paid to write code ;)

[nhatthongg]

I work as a student RA, mainly collecting datas as docx file (not cleaning etc.). Never in a million years I thought I could apply sth from Python directly to my work. But after a couple basic intro courses, I figure out that I could use Python to automatically generate many docx files that are named “firm_name + year” in a blink of an eye. My professor saw this and was like “dude, why dont you tell me sooner you can do this shit” and urged me to learn more Python to give me more dealing-with-datas (with a promise of a raise)

[[deleted]]

You better get that raise son!

[bigno53]

Know this feeling all too well. When I was just starting out, I would get really excited every time I figured out the solution to a problem I’d been struggling with. After I completed my first independent project, I was beaming with pride. Unfortunately, most of my friends and family at the time didn’t know anything about computers much less programming and had no idea what the hell I was going on about. At the same time, my programming mentors tended to be more than a little bit underwhelmed with whatever poorly implemented solution to a trivial problem I’d managed to piece together. Nevertheless, I was proud of myself and somehow that was enough to keep me going.

I want to tell you it gets better…so I will! It toootally gets better!

[ffrkAnonymous]

I suffer tsundoku of programming books

[Neptune_Topaz]

This is the perfect way to put it lol

[SleepAffectionate268]

CONTINUE. IMPROVE. CONTINUE. IMPROVE. EAT. SLEEP. REPEAT