Beginning with this article, I will answer questions that my readers have asked me personally or that I have encountered on the Internet from novice programmers or those who are just interested.
These questions are not directly related to learning to program. However, it is questions like these that most novices are very interested in.
And it is understandable - when you are faced with a choice and try to define your future profession (who knows - can be for life), then programming questions are not so urgent.
But the questions that are related to the life of programmers, with their work, with the level of income, etc. are the most interesting.
Of course, there are fans who are not interested in anything but programming. However, this is rather the exception than the rule.
So today I will answer one of the most popular questions - is it easy to become a programmer?
I might disappoint some people but my answer is no.
It is NOT EASY to become a programmer!
Of course, a lot depends on who one might consider to be a programmer here.
Some of my readers don't understand very well what a programmer does. They simply confuse a skilled user with a programmer. Of course it is much easier to become an expert user than a programmer (although for many people this is not easy either).
If a person who can write a simple program like "Hello, WORLD!" is considered a programmer, then it is easy to become a programmer.
However, to become a good programmer, you need to make a very serious effort and spend a lot of time.
You will have to reread the same books several times.
You even have to reread the same paragraph several times in one book to understand what it means.
You have to type millions of lines of source code.
You have to reread a lot of books (dozens or even hundreds).
You'll have to write a bunch of relatively uncomplicated training and boring programs before you can create anything worthwhile.
It will take you several years to do that.
Scary? Tiresome?
Well, then I'm going to disappoint you even more. It's about the same for you to master any complex profession.
So you have little choice: either work as a janitor, or study, study, and study again.