Member-only story
Are You Ready For a Job As a Programmer?
When I started to learn how to program, I began by studying by myself, at home, like many of you probably did. Through Youtube videos, online courses and some books I initiated my journey as a programmer.
At first I struggled with the amount of programming languages and frameworks I could choose, I didn't know what I wanted to do. A Frontend Web Developer? a Backend? Should I know how to Build an App? What language is the best? Python? Javascript? C++?
I was drowning trying to learn everything, I din't have a mentor to guide me, and every video I watched claimed "X is the BEST, take this course and you will get a six-figure job". Needlessly to say, I took every course I could and still couldn't answer the simplest question about myself…
Am I ready to apply for a job?
That's the million dollars question for beginners. How do I know if what I know is enough for a paid work?
If I'm going to be honest with you, you don't. You'll never know. I have friends getting paid those six-figures who still think they don't deserve it. That feeling, the famous impostor syndrome will probably always be with you.
Nevertheless, there are some ways to measure If you are ready or not. Spoiler: They have nothing to do with courses or HackerRank.
First, put in your mind what a programmer is expected to do. It's not write code. A programmer should solve problems. If I present you with a problem, and give you enough time, could you solve it? That's the real question. And Hey, I'm not talking about a Bank cybersecurity software, think of your day to day to life, how can write code make your life and the ones around you easier. Let me give you an example.
I remember like it was yesterday, when I started writing for medium, and I was almost getting 100 views. It looks like nothing but I was thrilled to think 100 people read what I had to say.
I was in my house with some friends, they were all having fun, and all I could do was refresh my medium profile, waiting for that 100th person. I had 87 views by that hour. They were telling me to leave my phone alone and have some fun, but I was too anxious to do it.
That's when it hit me , I could write a simple program to help me on that…
