This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Nainy Sewaney
Debunking common myths about coding.
As a software engineer who codes for a living, I have seen too many beginner programmers holding on to beliefs that don’t serve them in getting started with coding in the first place — be it the fear of making mistakes or believing that watching coding tutorials is enough.
I won’t lie. I have been guilty of believing in some of them when I started.
So here I am, wanting to bust these myths so that you don’t make the same mistake of believing in them like countless others.
Let’s get started.
#1: You can learn coding by watching tutorials on loop.
If you keep watching tutorials on loop, you will become good just at watching tutorials and not coding.
Tutorial hell is a real thing. Instead of watching tutorials on loop, how about building something with the knowledge you have acquired?
Watching tutorials gives you the starting point for beginning your journey.
That’s it.
It would be best if you put in the work yourself. It’s just like exercising — nobody can do the work for you but you.
It would help if you were motivated enough to actually code instead of passively watching videos and expecting to become good at coding.
Building something just for yourself to test out your knowledge not only makes it stick to your brain but also skyrockets your confidence.
You may encounter all sorts of errors not mentioned in the tutorials. You become better at knowing common pitfalls and figuring out their solutions.
In the future, if you come across the same errors, you will have a much easier time recovering from them.
And that’s why it’s essential to actually get down to code.
Start by building something small.
Slowly and steadily, you could build projects that can be added to your portfolio as well.
Now, who wouldn’t want that?
#2: There exists a coder who makes no mistakes.
It’s common for beginner programmers to make a lot of mistakes when learning how to code.
Making mistakes as a coder is inevitable, although with time you could focus on minimizing those.
And that’s why debugging is a valued skill when you are a coder.
Learning how to catch those errors while using the tools you have will help you in the long run.
Over time once you get the hang of the syntax and how things work it will lead to fewer mistakes and better code.
#3: You need to remember the programming language's syntax by heart.
Googling is a part of a programmer’s job.
Coders Google even the simplest of things every day when implementing a feature.
Being a frontend developer, I use HTML, CSS, SASS, JavaScript and TypeScript.
It would be impossible for me to remember each and everything that each of these technologies has to offer.
What I do remember though is the means a particular technology provides to solve a problem.
For example, I know that fetch is used in JavaScript for making network requests.
Do I remember the exact syntax for fetch while making a POST request?
Not a chance.
I can easily Google that.
So don’t worry if you can’t remember the exact syntax of the programming language you use. What you need to know is what features the programming language offers so that you can use them when the time arrives.
#4: There is only one way to solve a problem.
Did you know that we can do a task as simple as washing dishes in 250 different ways?
It wouldn’t be wise to assume then that a problem-solving activity like coding can have a single solution to a problem.
Paradigms of all sorts exist, providing a different solution to the same problem.
The solution you come up with on the first go is often a quick and dirty one. You would still have to refine it either for time and space complexities or for cleaner code and make alternative versions of it.
This itself can give you multiple approaches to solve the same problem.
We could compare the different solutions on why some are better than others. Still, the point remains — being open to various solutions that offer to solve the same problem differently.
#5: Coding has a gender.
If I had a dime for every time a peer was shocked knowing that I could code being a girl, I probably would have been rich by now.
Like all other professions — coding doesn’t have a gender assigned.
It’s us who associate genders with professions.
No doubt the male to female ratio is skewed in tech, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carve out a place for yourself as a female.
No one will reject you for technical jobs irrespective of your gender if you have the right skills and technical know-how.
Don’t let these gender ratios intimidate you.
Make yourself skilled enough so that people consider you as an asset on their team instead of a liability irrespective of your gender.
Takeaway
Letting go of these beliefs is easier said than done.
But I hope it has provided you with a starting point to listen less to them and believe in yourself and your capabilities more.
What are some of the myths you believed in but eventually realized weren’t true? I would love to know your side of the story — feel free to share them in the comments section.
Till then, Happy Coding!
5 Myths You Believe About Coding (But Never Should) was originally published in Level Up Coding on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Nainy Sewaney
Nainy Sewaney | Sciencx (2022-03-07T03:20:42+00:00) 5 Myths You Believe About Coding (But Never Should). Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2022/03/07/5-myths-you-believe-about-coding-but-never-should/
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