How I Started Programming - Emmanuel
Introduction
Hello, yes you!, today I’m going to tell you a simple story of how I stated programming and just maybe it may inspire you to begin too or even motivate you to continue as you meet some hurdles along the way.
My name is Emmanuel and I am a graduate of Computer Science from the prestigious Makerere University in Uganda. As of this date, I have been coding for just about 1 year now. You may probably be wondering why a graduate of CS has only written code for 1 year and yet it takes way more than that time to graduate, therefore for this story, I’ll define programming as following the proper work flow to develop an application that is ready to be used.
How I started programming
While pursuing a CS degree, you’ll be given various coding assignments that keep increasing in difficulty, right from “Hello World“ all the way through implementing some complex algorithms and data structures and even building some simple applications. Though these have a lot of programming in them and were very challenging to implement, I have chosen not to include it as when I started because while doing those assignments, they lacked certain core aspects of programming that I learned after I graduated.
Some of the aspects I am using to determine what I mean by programming in this story are, using a framework, following a specific design pattern, having some automated tests, having some form of Continuous Integration, to mention but a few. Though at the beginning these aspects felt like they were making the codebase and the work bigger and more complex, with time you begin to appreciate the need for each one of them. Incase you are just beginning to write code and it feels like I am talking gibberish, don’t worry, every single coder gets overwhelmed with the amount of new things to learn and not only at the beginning but throughout their career. Just take things at your pace and remember that applications are built one statement at a time.
Now that you know the context of programming I’m talking about let me dive right in. I started by applying for my first job towards the end of my final year as a student. This was at Andela and I had to go through through a bootcamp to get in. The bootcamp obviously included developing an application using the core aspects I mentioned above, and at that point I knew nothing about them and was about to learn them the hard way and in just 2 weeks. Most people already know that coding bootcamps are extremely hard, especially because there is a lot to learn in such a short time, and it takes a lot to successfully complete one even for some people who already have a little experience in programming.
So, during the bootcamp, much like other candidates, I of course felt like quitting every other hour, but somehow I managed to keep it together and persist through the end. It was without a doubt the most challenging experience and the most learning per day I had at the time, but also, the most rewarding. Completing the bootcamp for me was rewarding on so many levels including;
the fact that I now knew I had it in me to keep struggling no matter what.
the fact that I had completed my first application.
the network and friends that I developed through the bootcamp.
the different aspects of coding that I learnt.
and lastly, the fact that I was given an offer really gave me the courage.
Conclusion
All in all, to me, programming is synonymous with learning. You can’t know it all. You just have to keep doing your best and pushing yourself to your limits everyday, develop a passion for this and you will love it just like me.