To hell with talent

Believe me, learning how to code is pretty damn hard.



Learning to code is very difficult. Functions, interest. Indents and fields. You need to cover a lot, and even more to understand how to write it. I have been working in this field for 10 years, and only now I felt like something of an “expert” in what I teach people.



So listen to what I understand. At the moment I taught programming more than 300 people. I know this is a difficult road with obstacles. But you know what else is difficult? Walk around

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You were not born with the ability to walk, you had to learn and practice. Then why do you think that you can become a master in coding in one moment? Why are you sure that you will never be as good as the "experts" in this field? Do you think they did not have to practice, and this is all pure talent? You know, they, too, were once worthless coders.

No one is born talented

I believe that there is no such thing as giftedness. No one is born with a predetermined path in life in which he will succeed as a musician or writer. People are the product of their environment. Having the opportunity to develop their interest, they will do it as often as possible. Only through a lot of practice, we become what society calls "talent."



The same goes for programming. No one comes out of the womb of the mother "the leader of functional programming" or "an adherent of the subject structure." If my father hadn’t bought an HP computer in Sears in 1993, I might never have thought about computers.



To be “good” in something, we need to first get acquainted with it, and then learn it. Mozart was not immediately given a piano and he did not immediately become a genius, most likely, he was shown this, he became interested and began to practice. It is unlikely that he could immediately play, knowing all the frets and tonalities necessary for writing his symphonies.



This idea of ​​dating, learning and applying is how we create “talent”. We need to be introduced first to the concept, and if we are interested in this concept, we will study it. And after that we will apply it in life, and allow it to define us as it becomes our “skill.”

Programming is a skill that everyone can learn

I once hated javascript. The concept of variable and conditional constructions made me mad. I knew that I needed to learn JavaScript in order to move up the career ladder.



Initially, I became interested in this with a financial and professional purpose, and not for the sake of pleasure. I forced myself to learn this, I forced myself to understand it. I practiced, practiced and practiced once again.



Now I love him. Now I teach it. I learned javascript and turned it into something useful for me. I conquered what once seemed so unattainable and annoying.



I am not an expert in JavaScript, but I can proudly say that I have overcome irritation and confusion when writing code.



And this did not happen overnight. It took me 5 years.

Time

As a child I loved music. I wanted to be a rock star.



Besides the fact that we had an HP computer when I was 9 years old, we had an old acoustic guitar. The computers were interesting, but the music was something real.



I got to know music very early, and I was filled with passionate love for it. I played a terrible guitar, but I still did it with pleasure. I didn’t even know what the meaning of the settings was, I turned the pegs so that they looked like pegs in the clips. This passion has grown into something more. I learned how to tune my guitar. I gathered a group and studied music at school. I got into a jazz group in high school and participated in competitions. I was on my way to my goal.



It all started 10 years before with the very acoustic guitar. If I hadn’t got this guitar 10 years earlier, I would never be interested in playing. Passion for music, which became the goal of my career. Therefore, I often hear “You are so talented”, although it’s not like that, I just practiced a lot.



Ten years. This did not happen overnight. It took me 10 years. It took me so many years to develop these skills, this passion and this so-called “talent”.

Talent is just passion

Talent exists, but only as a sum of interest and hard work.



Learning to code is like everything in this world. This requires practice and interest. All these "talented" developers also studied. They were not born with the “talent” of programming, they just developed these skills.



I still google different things every day. I am still studying. When something in my code doesn't work, I go back and reread it. I put commas in strange places and can't put logic in my head.



I still love to teach. All these things, on the understanding of which I worked very hard, because I have a passion for them.

Just cool down

Nobody expects from you that you will immediately become a cool coders. If you were good at it right away, you would not want to make it a goal of life. We are looking for difficulties in our daily life.



As a teacher, I meet people who learn coding in an attempt to change their professional life. These people are often bored with their work, and they are looking for a new challenge and additional skills. They are not looking for change.



Encoding is not difficult; encoding is just a challenge. No one will understand the logic of the floats at the very beginning. But you will understand everything with time.



Treat this as a challenge that you will understand if you want to learn it. You can become “talented” in coding and develop your skill. You just need to want this.

We change our attitude

Our field is expanding every day. This is not an exclusive area, intended only for those who are able to achieve something new and great.



In every field there are people who look down on those whose skills are not as good as theirs. Let them be goats. Consider that at some point they suffered in the same way. Believe me, I taught students who now scoff at newbies and call them noobs. Everyone was once at this place. They were also “noobs”.



This area develops quickly and often defines our culture. What will happen if we scare away the next revolutionary developer by the fact that we behave like goats. Instead of such a person developing his passion, he can completely ignore it.



Instead, let's teach and engage those who want to learn. Give them motivation and tools to explore their passion. Who are we to take away their passion and ability to develop "talent"?