The Self-Taught Computer Scientist. Cory Althoff

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ you did a good job. When you are practicing programming, there is no feedback loop. For example, if you create a website, the website may work, but your code could be horrible. There is no feedback loop to tell you if your code is any good or not. When you are studying algorithms, however, that is not the case. There are many famous computer science algorithms, which means you can write code to solve a problem, compare your result to the existing algorithm, and instantly know whether you wrote a decent solution. Practicing with a positive feedback loop like this will improve your coding skills.

      The biggest mistake I made as a new self-taught programmer attempting to break into the software industry was not spending enough time studying data structures and algorithms. If I had spent more time studying them, my journey would have been much more manageable. You don't have to make that mistake!

As I mentioned, computer science is a massive subject. There is a reason why computer science students spend four years studying it: there is a lot to learn. You may not have four years to spend studying computer science. Fortunately, you don't have to. This book covers many of the most important things you need to know to have a successful career as a software engineer. Reading this book will not replace a four-year computer science degree. However, if you read this book and practice the examples, you will have a solid foundation for passing a technical interview. You will start feeling comfortable on a team of computer science majors, and you will also significantly improve as a programmer.

Who Is This Book For?

      So I've convinced you that self-taught programmers can program professionally and that you need to study computer science, especially data structures and algorithms. But does that mean you can't read this book unless you are learning to program outside of school? Of course not! Everyone is welcome in the self-taught community! My first book was surprisingly popular with college students. A few college professors even contacted me and told me they were teaching their programming classes using my book.

      College students studying computer science often ask me if they should drop out. My goal is to inspire as many people to learn to program as possible. That means letting people know it is possible to program professionally without a degree in computer science. If you are already in school studying computer science, that works too, and no, you should not drop out. Stay in school, kids! Even if you are in school, you can still be part of the self-taught community by applying our “always be learning” mindset to your schoolwork and going above and beyond to learn even more than your professors teach you.

      So how do you know if you are ready to study computer science? Easy. If you already know how to program, you are ready! I wrote this book for anyone who wants to learn more about computer science. Whether you are reading this book to fill in the gaps in your knowledge, prepare for a technical interview, feel knowledgeable at your job, or become a better programmer, I wrote this book for you.

Self-Taught Success Stories

      I got hired as a software engineer without a degree, and I hear new success stories from self-taught programmers every day. As a self-taught programmer, you absolutely can have a successful career as a software engineer without a degree. I know this can be a sticking point for some people, so before we dive into computer science, I want to share a few self-taught programmer success stories from my Facebook group.

      Matt Munson

First up is Matt Munson, a member of the Self-Taught Programmers Facebook group. Here is his story in his own words:

       It all started when I lost my job at Fintech. To make ends meet, I started working odd jobs: cutting lenses for glasses, fixing and tuning cars, working as a carnie, and doing small side programming projects. Despite my best efforts, after a few months, I lost my apartment. This is the story of how I escaped homelessness by becoming a programmer.

      When I lost my job, I was enrolled in school. After I lost my house, I kept doing schoolwork out of my car and tent for a couple of months. My family wasn't able to help me. They didn't understand minimum wage jobs don't pay anywhere near enough to feed one person and keep gas in the tank while keeping a roof over your head. Nonetheless, I was still unwilling to reach out to my friends for help. In September, I sold my truck, cashed what I had left in a 401(k), and drove the 1,800 or so miles from my hometown in Helena, Montana, to take my chances in Austin, Texas.

       Within a week, I had two or three interviews, but no companies wanted to take a chance on a homeless guy, skilled or not. After a few months of this, I had friends and strangers donating to my GoFundMe to try to help me get back on my feet. At this point, I was eating about once a day, seldom anything good, in any sense of the word. My only shot at getting out of this situation was becoming a programmer.

       Finally, I decided to do one last push. I sent out my résumé en masse to any job I remotely had a chance of being qualified for. The next day, a small startup called me for an interview. I did my best to look decent. I shaved, put on clean clothes, tied my hair back, showered (a hell of a task for the homeless), and showed up. I came clean, explained my situation, explained why I took my chances here in Austin, did my best during the interview to show I may not be the best as I stood there at that moment, but given an opportunity, I would work my ass off to show that one day I could be the best.

       I left feeling like I bombed the interview. I thought maybe my honesty had sunk my chances, but a week and a half later, after feeling like giving up entirely, the startup called me back in for a second interview.

       When I showed up, it was only the big dog. The boss said he was impressed by my honesty, and he wanted to give me a chance. He told me I had a decent foundation, and I was like a box: a sturdy but relatively empty box. He thought I was sturdy enough to handle anything they threw at me, and I would learn on the job. Finally, he told me I would start on December 6.

       One year later, I live in a much nicer apartment than before becoming a programmer. I am respected among my co-workers, and they even ask my opinion on significant company matters. You can do or be anything. Never be afraid to try, even if it means taking a real chance at everything falling apart.

      Tianni Myers

      Next up is Tianni Myers, who read The Self-Taught Programmer and emailed me the following story about his journey learning to code outside of school:

      My self-taught journey started in a web design class I took in college while working toward a bachelor's degree in media communications. At the time, I was interested in writing and had dreams of working in marketing. My goals shifted after deciding to learn to program. I'm writing to share my self-taught story about how I went from retail cashier to a junior web developer in 12 months.

       I started out learning the basics of HTML and CSS on Code Academy. I wrote my first Python program, a numbers game; the computer picked a random number, and the user had three tries to guess the correct one. That project and Python got me excited about computers.

       My mornings started at 4 a.m., making a cup of coffee. I spent 6 to 10 hours a day reading programming books and writing code. At the time, I was 21, and I worked part-time at Goodwill to make ends meet. I had never been happier because I spent most of my day doing what I loved, which was building and creating various programming languages as my tools.

      I was on Indeed one day casually applying for jobs. I wasn't expecting to get a response, but I did a few days later from a marketing agency. I did a SQL assessment on Indeed followed by a phone СКАЧАТЬ