So, you want to know if programming is easy? If so, why does it seem programming just clicks for some people and not for others? Are people who are able to code special or unique from those that can’t?
Well, if these are your questions you’re in luck! Today we are going to explain why programming is actually very easy and why anyone can learn how to code.
So without wasting any time, let’s dive right into the article.
Why Programming Is Easy
As a programmer that has been working as a professional software engineer for many years, I can tell you that coding is actually very easy. Sure, there are days when I don’t know how to solve a specific problem and many things that I do not know how to do and need to learn. However, on a day-to-day basis, it is actually a pretty easy job to do.
Now let’s pause for a second. That’s not to say that I always thought programming was easy. As a self-taught developer, I was completely overwhelmed when I first started to learn how to code. I couldn’t even wrap my head around how a function worked!
Yeah, I was bad. I was honestly embarrassed that other people seemed to just get it and I didn’t.
Fast forward 6 years and I have been working as a frontend engineer while creating full-stack freelance applications as a side gig, and writing for a blog to teach others how to code. How did I end up here?
Well, although I spent a lot of sleepless nights learning how to code and constantly told myself I would never be a great programmer, I decided to keep going. All it took for me to get here and be confident in my skills was to put aside my insecurities and stop listening to the other insecure voices on the internet saying that programming was just for intelligent people that started coding when they were 3 years old.
The Top 3 Reasons Programming Is Actually Easy
1. Learning Programming Is Easier With Time
Programming requires a lot of patience. In my first few months of programming, I was really bad. Like, really bad. It felt like I was progressing at a snail’s pace and I got easily frustrated and tired within an hour.
The trick with programming, similar to most skills, is that you need to give your brain time to absorb the material and recover. Learning how to code in a month is hard. Becoming a decent coder by practicing and challenging yourself every single day for a year is easy.
The trick is to think of learning how to code just like learning any other skill. No one can learn a new language in a day, but you can make strides in just a few years. Programming is no different.
And yes, it is totally possible to learn a new language as an adult. Even I’ve done it!
So the next time you think that programming is too hard, stop and think. Am I giving myself an adequate amount of time to learn? Have I made progress [even a little] in the past few weeks, months, or years with consistent practice? If the answer is yes, you’re doing just fine.
2. Learning Programming Becomes Faster & Easier With Experience
As you might already know, you will always need to learn something new while working as a programmer. Whether it is a new framework, a new language, or a new company codebase. You will never stop needing to learn as a programmer! So don’t make get overwhelmed by the amount of material you need to learn.
This can sound discouraging as a beginner because you struggle for so long just to learn the basics. So you’ll struggle to learn other concepts, right? Wrong. The good news is that each time you learn something new in programming, it helps you learn concepts in the future.
This is also the reason why I never recommend a beginner to try and learn multiple programming languages at once. It’s confusing and you end up just relearning the basic syntax and not implementing advanced applications of the language. However, once you become more adept at programming, you can easily get the basics of a new language down and understand its strengths in just a few hours!
In fact, I was recently offered a freelance project building an e-commerce store in Vue. Despite only knowing React as a frontend framework, I decided to take the job. The result? I learned how to use Vue in under a day and completed the project with minimal difficulty.
So what’s the lesson in this story? Well, if I had no experience writing applications with React, it would have taken me months to learn Vue! However, since I already knew how React worked, I could use my knowledge of that frontend framework and JavaScript to build the project in another.
So no matter how hard you think it is to learn programming now, remember that it will become significantly easier with practice and experience.
3. It Has Never Been Easier To Find High-Quality Coding Resources
Finally, the reason coding is so easy in 2023 is that learning how to code has never been so accessible. There are a plethora of coding resources to help teach you how to code. Whether you want to get into AI & Machine Learning, Web Development, Mobile Development, or any other Computer Science field, you can find it all online without ever stepping foot in a classroom! Even if you do go to college for programming, I suggest you make independent learning a priority.
Below I am going to share some of my favorite resources that helped me a lot while learning how to code that I wish I had access to.
Resources To Help You Learn How To Code
Coursera: Best University-Style Courses
If you want the same quality and structure of university and college-level courses, then Coursera is for you. Coursera offers courses from top universities like Princeton, The University of Washington, and The University of Michigan. All of which are well-known schools for their Computer Science programs.
They also offer specializations in certain fields from tech giants like Meta, Google, and IBM.
Better yet, many of these courses are free or can be audited [take the course without the certificate] for free. I personally found this free 3-part course on programming languages very useful for understanding the interrelation between different coding languages. I also loved this course as an introduction to computer science.
If you want to browse some of Coursera’s courses, you can check them out here.
LeetCode: Best Online Coding Platform For Interview Prep
If you are looking for a way to ace the coding interview, look no further than LeetCode! LeetCode is a coding platform that hosts many common challenges in data structures and algorithms. It is used as an interview prep tool for people interested in working as a developer professionally and has become the industry standard for coding interview questions. Even top companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon use it to gauge the talent of their interviewee!
If you want to check out our full review on LeetCode, you can read it here. We are also strong advocates of the premium features of LeetCode. If you want to check out a few ways to get LeetCode Premium for free/cheap, check out our recommendations here.
Udemy: Best High-Quality Courses For Video Content
Finally, if video content is your thing, we highly recommend checking out Udemy. Udemy is highly regarded in the tech industry for providing quality premium video content that includes topics in programming languages, frameworks, computer science topics, data science, and pretty much anything else.
I have personally used Udemy quite a bit and it has helped me to learn how other people code applications in a structured and easy-to-follow manner. They also always have deals going on so it’s not unlikely you will find a course for 80% off or more!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is One Year Long Enough To Learn Programming?
If you are consistent about your learning habits and continue to push yourself, you will see a huge improvement in your coding skills within the first year. You may not be ready to begin working in a professional environment, but it is possible. Especially as a junior developer.
Ultimately, how good of a programmer you are after one year depends on your learning strategy and how much time and effort you put into perfecting your craft. If you work hard, you will learn a lot in one year. If you don’t, you likely won’t get very far.
Is Coding A Stressful Job?
Generally speaking, no, coding is not a stressful job. If you have experience working at a particular job, it’s usually pretty easy and even fun!
However, there are certain exceptions that can make coding stressful at a job. For instance, if a bug shows up in production and you need to solve it quickly, or you have a closely approaching deadline, coding can be stressful. Also, coding can be stressful in new environments or if you lack the experience of a mid-senior level developer.
If you don’t find yourself in these scenarios, you will likely not experience much stress in your job. So don’t sweat it!
Does Coding Involve Math?
Yes, coding does involve math. However, depending on the area of programming you work in, you usually only need basic mathematics skills. I personally never thrived in my math subjects in university and [luckily] was still able to learn how to code.
That being said, math can be a really helpful tool to improve your programming. Math opens up a lot of opportunities to do creative coding and work in fields such as machine learning and AI. Not to mention, it would also open up higher-paying software engineering jobs!
So yeah, if I was to start all over again, I would have paid a lot more attention in my math classes.
Closing Remarks
So there you have it, programming actually is pretty easy. Although the learning process can seem frustrating, given time and commitment almost anyone can learn how to code.
So the next time you think programming is too hard, think to yourself. Have I given myself adequate time to learn this topic? Am I improving at all, even a little bit, every few weeks or months?
If the answer is yes, great! You’re on the right path. If the answer is no, then you just need to switch up your learning strategy and try some different material.
As always, good luck & happy coding!
