Any self-made programmers out there? Digital nomads/freelancers?

randomness871 · 2017-04-26T06:26:05+00:00

I have about 3,000 hours invested into web development at age 19. I've banked about 250k so far and do pretty well. PM me if you have any questions.

Googoots · 2017-04-26T11:12:09+00:00

I learned programming at a technical high school (BASIC and COBOL) back in the mid 80's. Most of the kids were fuck ups and just wanted to get baked every day, but I used the opportunity. The teacher taught some stuff but he wasn't very good (and older guy who came up teaching typing and punch cards). So I learned a lot on my own using the school's equipment and sometimes even taught him stuff and the class.

I got a job as an intern my senior year and ended up working there as a programmer for 20 years. I taught myself everything after HS - C, SQL, JavaScript, VB, C#.

I even developed some apps myself and ran my own software company on the side while working full time.

It can be done - the issue is getting experience, and getting someone to hire you without that formal education and experience to tout.

(PS - I don't mean to be a dick, but in general, many of us who program don't consider HTML and CSS to be "programming"... I mean, in a way it is, but to me it's more like using a word processor and saying it's programming - granted it's much more complex, but it's all just formatting... add in some JavaScript and now you're talking.)

bsandberg · 2017-04-26T12:28:05+00:00

When you are working freelance, your soft skills become as important, if not more important, than the technical skills needed for the work itself. Being able to interact with customers, especially the ones who don't understand what you are doing, and the relationship you form with them is what will make you successful. Repeat-customers are the best customers, and customers recommending you is the best introduction you can get.

Getting the jobs are only the first issue; after that you have to manage customer expectations, fight their push for scope-creep, and deal with getting them to pay your bill. Spend a bit of time learning basic business skills, as well as the technical ones.

IslandicFreedom · 2017-04-26T14:32:30+00:00

Hardest part was finding the first job. After that it got easier because you have experience and people just start assuming that your credible.

If you're really passionate about development / programming. I mean it's not only your hobby, it's your top hobby. Often you don't sleep an entire night, give up whole weekends, or entire holidays just to be programming. When you have spare time and think what would make me happy - You think programming. For you playing your favorite game and programming are one in the same.

If you're like this and can't get a job, I'm just going to say lie about your education. If you get caught, you won't get the job, but if you are not getting the job because of education, then does it really matter? Often education is not strictly checked.

There are other ways to weed out shit programmers - i.e: Interview testing, etc. And ultimately you always start a job with a trial period, so the risks to employer are kind of low.

But if you're the type of guy who only got into IT because you think it can't be that hard and easy money, and you don't have any real passion to program, I would say rather just move on and find something else, don't bother jumping through hoops to get programming jobs because you're just wasting your time and could be focusing on a career you actually are passionate about.

I know on the surface this might not seem morally sound - but let me also remind you of a few things before you cast judgement. Many people don't have degrees or higher education not because of lack of desire. It's expensive, other shit comes up in life, etc.

It can also be over rated. Consider the plight of an average middleware developer using 3rd generation languages and an internet full of knowledge. Most of these skills can be learnt on the job and perfected while gaining work experience. There are somethings that you learn in Uni which have zero practical application. For example sorting algorithms. Most .net developers will never in their entire lives write a sorting algorithm, instead they have libraries in the framework for example .Sort() method which is already typically quicker than any custom shit you can try and write.

In my successful career of over 20 years, I've yet to come across a situation where I was totally at a loss because I didn't have the required education. I have however nearly on a daily basis encountered all kinds of problems and issues I know nothing about and religiously solve them.

I've come across guys who are very well educated and yet who suck at problem solving, and also guys who are just natural born programmers. So all in all, passion and experience is far more valuable than education.

Docbear64 · 2017-04-26T12:43:18+00:00

On my last team I was the only programmer who had graduated from an official programming curriculum , which means my lead and the senior programmer above me were both self- taught programmers .

Self- taught programmers don't have problems finding jobs, programmers without published work do . My advice to any programmer who has been in school or not is to have a published project somewhere that a potential employer can look at . No matter what your focus be it videogames, websites, apps . Have something that an employer can look at and that demonstrates your work , It doesn't have to be perfect .

The hardest thing about hiring any engineer is that it takes a while to figure out if they know what they're doing . A one month eval to make sure they can handle basic responsibilities of the job and a 3 month window to see if they are a worthy long - term fit . Your demonstrated work makes it a lot easier to believe you will make it past that first month evaluation and therefore makes you a better investment ( on paper at least).

I have freelanced a few times, I am picky with freelance jobs but you can get great rates from freelance gigs as your portfolio and work experience improves. In my field there are a lot of small companies and big who take on projects and can't hire / manage full-time engineers or teams so they are more than willing to pay a premium to someone who knows how to do the job . I couldn't do freelance full - time only because while I am an introvert I definitely feel my social skills dull if I go too long without in person contact. So going to an environment where I have to / get to talk with all sorts of other people keeps me balanced.

RPStone · 2017-04-26T20:06:31+00:00

I started my web development agency as a freelancer over 5 years ago and have been full-time for 4 years. We've built over 130 websites and applications. Most of what we do is HTML, CSS, PHP (WordPress), and JavaScript.

what challenges did you face when trying to find a job?

My business thrives on SEO (Search Engine Optimization). We rank 1st place for several key phrases in my geographic area, so all of our clients come to us.

Feel free to AMA.

IronMonk48 · 2017-04-26T10:49:59+00:00

Go to r/cscareerquestions and r/learnprogramming

IIlllIllIIIllIl · 2017-04-26T06:05:20+00:00

From the ones I know, takes a lot of work.

Mr_Talent · 2017-04-26T11:05:23+00:00

Alternatively: to those who are currently in the field, have you thought of becoming a freelancer?

Informatics Engineer here. Starting July will become a freelancer and I'm pointing towards the digital nomad lifestyle. Feel free to ask questions.

About jumping into the field without prior experience and self-taught, as someone who studied 7 years for this, I think it's really hard but hey, the world is full of stories of people who in 3 months of intensive study start getting paid 100k, so what do I know?

Title	Any self-made programmers out there? Digital nomads/freelancers?
Author	TruthInArt
Upvotes	25
Comments	35
Date	April 26, 2017 3:09 AM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/67lj2d/any_selfmade_programmers_out_there_digital/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/any-self-made-programmers-out-there-digital.90140 https://theredarchive.com/post/90140

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