- it's not for everyone, you sit for hours in front of a computer not socializing
- it can be a very rewarding career, there are many tracks one can go down
- it requires a mindset that learning never ends, many people have stopped learning, so restarting that process is difficult
- that switching careers typically takes full time effort to be successful.
- to checkout the Grasshopper app to get a taste of programming
- try an online course before spending significant money on a boot camp
- bootcamps are a better path than self teaching, but to be very careful when selecting, top ranked and widely know is the way to go
- sometimes it can be better to learn a little programming to automate processes in your current role, rather than switching careers to become a full time programmer
1. My number one suggestion - have intellectual curiosity to the point of obsession. You can succeed without this quality, but you won't be as forward looking and will be doing what is required by the task at hand.
2. Heathcare has been secretly booming for the last 10 years without very much attention at all. The convergence of regulation and technology leaves a _huge_ opening for innovation right now. Specifically, as of this year the patient will own their data and can use whatever application they choose to ingest and utilize that data. It's a big deal. I wish I was in a place where I could be part of the end-user experience.
> there are many tracks one can go down
I think this one is very important - both for the person giving and receiving advice. There are so many paths just for software development specifically. The paths absolutely endless. And that might be exciting or present opportunity. But it's also a responsibility of someone giving advice to make the person aware of the vastness but also to help them navigate it all.
Yes there are three or four major languages, but you could find yourself working in one of hundreds. There are many support technologies - front-end, back-end, api specific, frameworks, hosting, data storage and models.
And related to but not specifically software development, there is QA, devops, project management, and many other support fields that require an understanding of how software works.
- it's not for everyone, you sit for hours in front of a computer not socializing
- it can be a very rewarding career, there are many tracks one can go down
- it requires a mindset that learning never ends, many people have stopped learning, so restarting that process is difficult
- that switching careers typically takes full time effort to be successful.
- to checkout the Grasshopper app to get a taste of programming
- try an online course before spending significant money on a boot camp
- bootcamps are a better path than self teaching, but to be very careful when selecting, top ranked and widely know is the way to go
- sometimes it can be better to learn a little programming to automate processes in your current role, rather than switching careers to become a full time programmer