Short answer: Those people failed to learn programming because they chose to fail.
Why Did They Fail?
Maybe they chose the wrong courses, or the wrong programming language, or they chose to watch Netflix instead of sitting at their desk to study. The point is everything you do in your life is your choice.
I don’t want to sound too harsh, but with all things in life, holding ourselves accountable is the best way to grow and move forward, blaming others or things outside of your control is neither productive nor necessarily the reality of what happened.
So if you failed to learn programming or pursue a programming career, that is a choice you chose to make.
Don’t blame it on anything, don’t blame it on anyone or past mistakes, those are current things you’re choosing to do. Also bear in mind, that is not necessarily a bad thing either.
So if you wanted to learn programming, you would’ve learned programming, you would’ve put in the hours, did the research, find the relevant courses or even paid money to learn to code.
We all lose interest in things, such as studying programming concepts or building that personal project or portfolio. If you want results, you just have to work whether you feel like it or not, you can’t blame it on anything or anyone.
When it came to try to get your first programming job or a career in programming, if you failed to do that, it was because you chose to fail.
My Own Experience
In case you weren’t aware, I started my programming journey by enrolling to a Web Development Bootcamp.
In my cohort, from what I can tell, only 2 people including myself have become developers from that experience. That’s not to say that everyone that didn’t turn into developers didn’t get value from the Bootcamp but if from what I can tell they didn’t become software developers.
Some were able to use their programming knowledge to help with their own businesses or career paths, while not necessarily coding related but within the industry they ended up in.
I could’ve failed
I could’ve easily been one of the people didn’t become a developer from this. I remember that I really struggled to grasp the concepts and basics of programming during the course.
In fact, when initially applying for this bootcamp, I was rejected twice, the reason was that during the technical test, I had failed to demonstrate good problem solving skills as well as any proof that I studied particularly hard on the days leading up to the day of the interview and technical test.
I was told both times that I have poor problem solving skills and would struggle to succeed in this career path. I remember the second time, I basically had to beg to be given a chance to enrol, and I said that if I failed, then it would be on me because I’m prepared to lose the tuition.
Having given the opportunity, I chose to work hard. That said, he was right, my problem solving skills were terrible and I struggled. I was able to do very little and getting a job after this was really tough.
My First Few Roles
I managed to find a start-up company who were willing to take me on for free as an internship. I had worked there for 3 months (had my expenses covered).
I helped with their website but did a poor job (I remember I used inline CSS 😱), I was then tasked with trying to create a prototype mobile app and also learning how to create mobile apps using “Ruby Motion”, the whole thing was a bit of a mess, but I persevered and ended up leveraging this experience to not only get a recommendation on LinkedIn but a reference in order to progress to the next role.
I really had no idea what I was doing. During this time I was also tasked to do illustration and animation for these start ups, even then the quality and standard was poor, my prospects were not looking good.
Little Talent
The reality is that I have some experience but very little talent for animation, illustration and problem solving.
These are things I acknowledge but I didn’t let that stop me from aiming higher, I instead took advantage of other qualities I had, such as good work ethics, being easy to work with and striving to learn more on the job or in my own time.
And therefore, I was able to get that reference in order to move to the next role.
I used some free time to learn to code, build projects and tried to expose myself to programming related topics through websites like Reddit or HackerNews for example.
I kept my CV up to date, made sure I spoke with recruiters and send applications where I could.
Each subsequent job was a milestone, and with each milestone I was able to get better and grow. Not only was my knowledge in programming growing, but my salary and earning potential. Growing on the job made it easier because I was being paid to do it (among providing a service to my employers).
Summary 📝
Admittedly I didn’t do as much self-learning or study as I “should” have. But I made efforts where I could and that reflects my growth from a career standpoint.
Ultimately, there are some who have grown substantially more than I have in less time, as well as grown less than I have in the same amount of time.
I only have myself to blame and if I wanted to get better, I need to choose to get better and take the steps necessary to achieve that.
And any successes I have achieved thus far, were due to me choosing to succeed in that space.
Holding ourselves accountable instead of blaming and being a victim, is the mindset that will greatly improve your outlook on life once you adopt it.