10 Myths about Learning Programming

Technological industry during its existence became cluttered with a large number of ridiculous myths, and the IT sphere wasn’t an exception. Suddenly, programming is considered to be a ‘strictly’ male domain, and if you happened not to know how to hack social media accounts you’re automatically a walking joke for those whose perception of IT is off the map. Knowing how to code is a valuable skill, even if you’re not considering a career in software development or stuff like that. But rookies of programming these days are surrounded by quite a few misconceptions that might make them not want to even start learning. So we’re going to be the mythbusters in this article and dispel 10 myths about learning programming.

I. You have to be great at math

There is a common misconception that for programming you have to know Math well. The reality is — you’ll do OK with basic understanding of algebra during the start-up. Success in learning how to program doesn’t outright depend on you being a Math genius. Technically, programming is writing detailed instructions for the computer on executing certain tasks. It’s like making a recipe for a cake. You need to be able to weigh, count calories, distinguish circular shape from a rectangular, and describe the sequence of actions. No higher mathematics! Programmers don’t write math formulas.

On the other hand, there are areas where math can be extremely useful. For example, to create games you have to master trigonometry, and know how to solve differential equations, work with matrices. But then again — solely 101 will be enough. In fact, for solving the majority of tasks you can use outsourced libraries and plugins. Anyway, if you’ll ever need the additional knowledge in mathematics, you can always take a course, read a book or find the information online.

II. Programming is not for creative people

Although many people might not notice this, but programming is also an art…well, kind of. Programmers dive into the developing of sites, games and apps, the same way as writers can bury themselves into the creation of their novels and essays. Programming allows you to share your creative ideas, thoughts, emphasise on some interesting things in the same manner as music and painting. Besides, technical skills help creative people to extend their own abilities. Thus, professional designer, Anton Lyubushkin, has grown tired of the imperfection of Photoshop and created extensions for it using JavaScript what made Photoshop so much more effective. Anyway, programming is a creative activity capable to significantly expand a person’s potentials in almost any area of his focus.

III. Programming is boring

The impression from doing something depends on your attitude towards it. People who are genially enthusiastic about programming don’t consider it boring. Why would they be dealing with it then? Same stands for any engagement. A person determines what’s boring and what’s exciting for him- or herself. Programming skills allow you to work in a variety of industries: from agriculture to missile production. Your program users can be a narrow circle of specialists as well as a multi-million audience of people all over the world. And how can you call this boring?

IV. You have to know all of the algorithms

Algorithms are the backbone of programming. Some of them are easy, other require special knowledge for their understanding. Nonetheless, you don’t have to learn all of them or even any of them by heart. Real programmer’s work doesn’t need him to write bubble sorting, because all of the fundamental algorithms already implemented and they have very good performance and reliability indicators. They can be supplied as modules that are plugins to the source code, or as part of the programming language itself. Modern programming has reduced the number of routine operations in the software development process which freed the programmer to deal with more important tasks at hand. However, it’s worth looking into algorithms anyway.

V. First you need to learn the syntax completely

The syntax of the programming language — is the set of rules by which the developers write programs. Of course, knowing syntax allows you to fully use its abilities for tasks solving. But it doesn’t have to be perfect. Basic language structures are enough to write simple programs. You can always expand your knowledge if necessary. Practice shows that even years of development don’t guarantee that you’ll know the language from top to bottom.

Programming languages evolve inheriting new features studying of which can be an interesting thing to do, but not an essential one.

VI. Learning ends after the course completion

Studying never ends. If you’ll stop maintaining and improving your knowledge then after a certain period of time the skill you’ve mastered is gonna be lost. Not to let it happen, the theory that you’ve gotten familiar with has be followed up by the continued practice.

VII. I’m never going to catch up with cool programmers

Beginners often ask the question concerning how they can come up to people who have been programming for years. Well, it’s not that hard. IT-instruction is constantly growing and the knowledge of experienced programmers becomes old-news. It’s an everlasting learning and self-improving process to be competitive. That’s why after you master the basic skills you’ll be approximately on the same level as the expert programmer. Furthermore, you’ll even be in a much better position, especially if we’re talking about new technologies. Programmers will hold on to the time-tested and familiar tech until it completely renders itself obsolete. You have an opportunity here to study any area that is just starting to become popular. Let your lack of experience be your advantage.

VIII. I’m too old for programming

You can’t be too old (or too young) to begin learning programming. And not just programming. Fortunately, the desire to succeed is not limited by age. Achieving good results can be possible with the desire to learn and willingness to apply gained knowledge regardless of age. That’s why it’s never too late to start, whether you’re mastering programming or studying the foreign language. Age here is just the number. For example, Masako Wakamiya is one of the world’s oldest iPhone app developers and she’s 82 years old! And she says that as you age, you lose many things: your husband, your job, your hair, your eyesight, the minuses are quite numerous, but when you learn something new, whether it be programming or the piano, it is a plus, it’s motivating.

IX. There is no place for women in programming

Of course, there is a bigger number of male-developers than the female, but it doesn’t mean that women cannot or should not program, especially if they have interest in it. There are many successful female-developers. The interesting fact is that the first programmer was actually a woman — Ada Lovelace. And Marissa Mayer was the first female engineer to join Google. However, not many women are drawn to programming, the same way as not many men want to engage in perfume industry. Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with the complexity of this profession, but most likely it’s the socio-economic pressure and woman’s personal views. There are no objective reasons for a woman not to become a programmer. The career options for a male and a female are completely the same.

X. Programming skills are needed only for programmers

Programming skills are very useful and not only for the program developers, but also for the specialists in other areas, like: biologists, political experts, economists, physicists, and supers. Having mastered the basics of programming and some of the popular libraries they can expend their abilities in data processing and routine tasks’ automation. Like that, a well-known SEO-specialist Alexey Trudov mastered the basics of PHP and JQuery, and started to write small codes to automate his work.

So, as you can see, there is nothing actually stopping you from learning programming. If you have even a slightest interest or curiosity about programming then go start studying it. You’ll see for yourself that all of those previous prejudice were just that…prejudice. I sincerely hope that this article was able to change how you see programming and that the only barrier from learning it is you.