Struggling With Programming? Read This Now!
This was posted originally as feedback to students in my Java course, but I figured it might be valuable to post on the blog.
Programming can be quite difficult to start. Some people find it completely overwhelming. They struggle learning the language, figuring out how things work, and wonder if they can ever really succeed as a programmer.
Others say they can understand the training (books, videos) they go through, but when they come to write their own programs they freeze up, or can’t seem to work things out.
Are you feeling like that at the moment? Are you ready to throw in the towel? Let me tell you that this is a common thing to feel early on when you are learning to program.
PLEASE READ THIS THROUGH, RIGHT TO THE END! TRUST ME, THIS WILL HELP YOU IF YOU ARE FEELING LIKE THIS AT THE MOMENT!
I’m not here to tell you programming is easy. If it was a simple thing to learn, everyone would be doing it. It takes time, dedication and persistence to become a programmer.
You are not going to suddenly wake up and be a fluent programmer overnight. If anyone tells you that, I am afraid they are not being truthful.
However, I believe that almost anyone can become a good programmer if they stick with it. In my experience the number one reason why people become good programmers is persistence. They don’t give up. They work at it. If they don’t understand something, they research, re-watch the video, re-try the exercise, etc – Sometimes 2,3 or more times!
They type in the code they are having problems with. If they find an error, they paste the error into Google and see if they can figure things out.
They experiment, they ask questions (in the support section if they bough an online course, otherwise a forum). They share with other students of people doing what they are doing, or taking the same course.
In other words, they don’t give up. They realise (correctly) that it’s up to them to work the problem, and to be persistent and doing that gives them a vastly increased chance of success.
Let me tell you again. Persistence is the number one skill you need to become a programmer. If you persist, the chances are really high that you will succeed.
Now let me give you an example of how this works. Bear with me as I explain this, you will be glad you did if you read through.
I am a gamer. I play computer games. It’s my way to relax when I am not programming, or creating videos.
Earlier this year I bought a game called Middle Earth – Shadow of War.
I’ll leave you to Google more about the game if you are interested, but I want to tell you about my experience with the game, and how persistence was the main reason I managed to complete the game.
When I started the game, I had no idea what to do, and when I met enemies (even relatively weak ones) I got defeated easily. I got flustered and was clicking the wrong button at the wrong time so that I was not blocking their attacks, or not attacking them when I should.
Or moving in the wrong direction so I was getting hit in the back! I was getting defeated a lot!
Did I understand the game at that early point and what I was supposed to do? No!
Did I instinctively understand the controls at the start of the game, so that I could press the appropriate button combinations to defeat the enemies? No!
Was I enjoying the experience of getting defeated again and again? Not really!
I was getting frustrated, and annoyed. More than once I have to say I did a ragequit – Gamer talk for quitting the game because of my frustration at being defeated.
Did I give up though? No!
I persisted. Sure I may have left the game a few times frustrated, but the next day I was back ready to take on the forces of Mordor again.
And a funny thing happened. Well, it’s probably not funny, its actually quite a common experience for anyone learning a new skill.
And playing games is a skill, just like programming.
What happened? I got better at the game. I started to understand what my role was in the game, I found out that my fingers start instinctively pressing the right buttons at the right time, without any clear conscious thought on my behalf.
At the start of the game I had to continually think “Oh which button is the attack button again?”. Or, “How do I upgrade my weapon?”, and so on.
In other words, each step I took in the game required a lot of manual thought, and things seemed to take a long time to make any real progress.
But I then found myself thinking about what I wanted to do, and not how to do it. In other words my thoughts when playing the game turned more into the outcomes I was looking for. e.g “Oh if I defeat those five Orcs over there I can get to that next point in the game”, rather than “Oh what is the attack button again?”.
My brain took over the controls for me. I didn’t have to think of the controls anymore, I just focused on what I wanted to achieve in the game. My brain subconsciously took over the controls so I could focus on outcomes.
No different to learning to drive a car, right? If you are a driver now, do you remember the first time you ever drove a car? Compare those early experiences of drive with taking a drive today. Do you have to think about turning on your indicator when moving into the right lane? Do you need to remember which pedal is the accelerator? No, the brain subconsciously does it for you.
You probably are not even thinking about driving. But probably about whats for dinner, or which programming course you will be studying tonight. 🙂
But back to my game experience, briefly.
At the start of the game, I struggled to defeat even a single Orc. But now I was finding myself in a battle with ten, or twenty Orcs at once, and winning. Easily…
Towards the end of the game, things really get difficult, but I was taking on the best that Mordor could throw at me, and I was despatching those forces of evil, quickly and efficiently. Sure there were some hiccups along the way, but it became rarer for me to be defeated, and more often than not, I was winning battles.
No more ragequitting – I understood the game, the controls were instinctive, and it was fun. I got to the final two “boss fights” and completed both successfully.
I won the game (although there are now other missions available for purchase, should I decide I want another challenge).
Can you see a parallel to learning to program here? I hope you can.
When you start out programming, you don’t know the language that well. When trying to solve challenges, or write your own programs, you may struggle because you are focused more on the “controls” – e.g. “Which keyword is used to exit a loop again?”. Or, “Do I put a semi-colon at the end of the line that ends in a left curly brace?”. And so on.
But as you persist, the right keywords come instinctively. You start thinking along the lines of “ok, so I have to exit this loop if the calculation has completed, and then I have to save the results to a file”.
Your brain instinctually tells your fingers to type “break;” to exit that loop, and remembers not to put a semi-colon on a line with a left curly brace, because thats a code block, and you don’t put semi-colons there.
If you are frustrated, or worried, or ready to give up, it’s likely you are at the “start of the game” when it comes to programming.
You don’t know the story, or the controls well, so you have to think hard about each and every thing you do. Maybe you have done the equivalent of ragequit – e.g. Closed down the IDE in anger. We’ve probably all done that at some point!
I want you to realise that most people go through this phase. If you persist, you will get better at programming, and then the fun really starts!
If you have taken one of my online video courses (or any online course), think back to when you first started it. Have you learned anything along the way? You would be surprised if you remember where you were at when you started the course. It’s highly likely you have already learned a lot and got better as a programmer, without really realising it.
You’re probably more focused on what you need to learn, or how you don’t understand this latest video, rather than what you have already learned. It’s normal, we all do it from time to time.
But don’t forget to remember the progress you have already made, because this will help during those times where you may be discouraged or frustrated. Realise that if you persist, you win!
I want to assure you that if you are persistent, and keep working towards your goal to become a good programmer, and keep at it, and don’t give up, the chances are high that you are going to succeed.
Any skill takes time to learn, and more time to master. Be persistence, and keep moving forward.
I’ve seen so many students start one of my courses, and go on to getting their first job, or a new and exciting promotion. In all of them I saw that common trait, persistence.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Celebrate your successes (even minor ones). Just know that the key to your success is persisting, not giving up, and moving forward each day.
I hope this helps you see that you can do this. You’ve got this! I’m here for you, cheering you on to success from the sidelines!
One final thing, I’ve just posted an answer to this question. Do you need to have a degree to get a programmers job – you might be surprised by the answer. Google and Apples have recently updated their hiring policies about this.
So don’t give up, keep at it! There is even more reason to push through and learn how to program.
Happy coding!
Cheers
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225 Comments
Good article Tim, definitely highlights the difference between a fixed and growth mindset of students. Being a teacher myself I’ll be showing my students this to help them relate gaming to not only programming but all aspects of their schooling life.
Cheers mate!
Thanks David – Appreciate you dropping by!
Ah, maybe this advice do wonders. I try to program for years. Had to quit my bachelors in IT because I simply could not grasp the high tempo in which we where required to learn the programming languages. So trying again, God willing this time I will get trough and will master JAVA!
Keep at it, Abid! You can do this – persistence is the key!
This is a very good article and I just started programming one month back and I was stuck at an pattern problem but only thinking ,not getting distracted and not giving up I was able to solve it. When you solve something which you can’t it feels like a great achievement and also act as an motivation
Hi Aakash,
Thank you for the positive feedback about Tim’s article. It really is important to isolate the feelings of frustration and getting overwhelmed and confused and so forth. That’s a typical thing that you’ll come across when you’re learning to program, as Tim is always saying.
Furthermore, what you said about solving something is correct. When you come across a difficult problem or assignment that initially appears insurmountable, the experience of finally figuring it out can be quite fulfilling. It’s a huge accomplishment that demonstrates your perseverance and problem-solving ability.
Keep up the enthusiasm, and we wish you every success!
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
I really like you and your course! I am totally new to this, i dont even like computers that much, but i got inspired to start this course(even i had doubt that i would like it) i followed my inspiration and i find that i love it:) And you are a good teacher and really grateful for this excellent course you created! But yes i get a little frustrated at times and some times feel im slow, but then im thinking what was overwhelming first, now makes sense and are more like “of course”, and then i move on to next challenge:) But i have a positive focus and celebrate the braketrues i have and enjoy the ride. I am seeing the goal in front of me, completing this course and to have a great understanding of it. At the same time focus on enjoying the ride to this goal;) Thanks for teaching me:)
Thanks so much for the kind words, I appreciate it. Yes programming can be frustrating at times, thats just how it works!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve been working on learning Python, and while I hate quitting, it is a bit discouraging having such a hard time with the simple stuff. This was very timely.
Thanks RC – Keep at it, and in time it will all start to make sense!
Thank you for this article, Mr. Buchalka. You are definitely SPOT ON whit everything you mention in your article.
I enjoy taking your C++ course, and although I paused it to dive deeper into Python, JavaScript, and NodeJS (for employment reasons), I do intend to come back to your course as well as buy more because your teaching style is amazing to say the least.
This article made me feel better about myself because I was at that point many times.
Thanks once again for the article.
Awesome Pavon, thanks for taking the time to swing by and leave a comment.
Sounds like you have a great plan for your future employment. I hope you continue to enjoy the courses!
Thanks for your words of wisdom Tim.
I really enjoyed the example you gave and description on how you became good at the game Middle earth – Shadow of War.
I have no experience in coding, got your Complete Python Masterclass, and some days (almost everyday actually) I do get frustrated but I know it is part of the learning process. As you said, little achievements are to be celebrated, and soon myelin will be wrapping that particular newly formed neuro-circuit for that particular coding/programming skill.
I still have a bit to go with your course so will let you know how it all goes in a few weeks or months.
Cheers,
And happy coding & gaming dear friend!
Marc
Hi Marc,
Thanks for that – I really like the gaming analogy because it’s just so true – the complex becomes the easy the more practice you get.
Please do stay in touch and thanks again!
Sir i love programming, and i am learning your c++ course but what i do for more advanced c++ course.🤔
Hi Vibhanshu,
For Advanced C++, before Covid-19 hit, the plan was to release the advanced course last year. Now we hope to release it this year. Frank has always been unwell which has contributed to the delay.
We do want to release it but don’t have an official ETA yet.
Meanwhile, you might want to check out other courses here:
https://learnprogramming.academy/
Stay tuned.
All the best,
Tim
Thanks Tim for such a motivating blog. It inspires me a lot. I am also in the way of learning java. Yeah I am facing various rejections in job interviews of java. But I do not lose hope that i can’t do this. I am still trying my best to cover every concepts as much as possible.
You can do this Vatsalya, keep at it and your will achieve your success at interview time!
I’ve worked in the industry as a sytems admin (unix, websphere, jboss, etc) and embarked on your courses 2 maybe 3 years ago. I’ve stopped at times out of frustration (similar to your article), tried different things and have come back.
Only recently (the last month or so) have things been catching on and I can definitively say I get it. I could add more but I need to get back to studying but I wanted to type that to say you’re spot on about persistence.
Yes at times you feel like you’re not getting anywhere but just hearing this (I do tend to have a persistent mindset but at times even I get discouraged) does validate things are going just fine. So thank you.
You are welcome. I have seen so many people succeed purely because they were persistent. The fact that you have not given up and have come back to try again really does show your persistent mindset.
Keep at it! 🙂
Thanks for the post Tim! Had I not persisted at programming I’d have already lost my job! Lol! Persistence really a key element. It’s always good to be reminded of that, and in the end, any endeavour we pursue has higher chances of accomplishment when we choose to have an appropriate mindset.
Thanks for letting us know Miguel. It really is important to keep in mind.
I’m glad to hear you have obviously mastered the art of being persistent.
Hi, Tim. I’m working through your Java course last 6 months and along the way even got a job as Java Junior Developer, so it’s awesome to read here, that I’m on the right path 🙂
I have 20years old dream to create a game like Dungeon Master and similar and this dream needs TONS of persistence, because of its very challenging task. Even while knowing it will take so much work & learning before it happens. Your Java course is good practice, both in learning programming techniques and in persistence, because it’s so crazy long 😀
Congratulations on getting a Java Developer position, you must be very happy. You are on the right path.
Oh I loved that game – There is no reason why you cannot write a game like that. It will take time and persistence, but if you like gaming it will be a fun experience as well as teaching you more about programming.
Keep up the good work!!
That’s wonderful peace taught, it is very helpful and it has clear the confusion in my mind. Thank you for this.
Thanks a lot Tim. This seems to be my case as i was also getting frustrated not able to complete the challenges in the first time and trying to refer to the solution’s. And many a times making silly mistakes. And i took a break for sometime as i couldn’t get along with the frustrations. But this has really motivated me to go back again and keep on trying and start winning the game.
Great to hear from you – we all need to take a break from programming from time to time.
Even if you don’t complete 100% of a challenge, if you do some of it, and then study my solution it will help you as you progress forward as a developer.
It sounds like despite the occasional frustration, you are making good progress!
This is one of the best article I ever read. Thanks, Tim. It’s not hard for me to agree with you 100%, because my natural disposition (on persistence) is exactly what you advised.
But I have a different problem. My problem is that the more I learn, the more I realize that I have learned so little in the past. Am I being too harsh on my self? Let me explain. Recently I started your online Java course. I have made two attempts on Java in the past without real success. But this time, my experience is so amazing. For the first time in my 14 years programming experience, I feel I now really understand what OOP is. So, I kept wondering why have I been spending my time on QB, VB, Fortran, MATLAB, Python and not simply Java all these years? Please, get me right, take nothing from these great languages, they may even have their edges over Java in some areas. But in my experience with learning Java so far, I think it’s impossible to write Java without OOP.
Now this is the problem that sometimes tempt me to Quit: the industry is soooo wide! The more you go in, the more u see its overwhelming width. While I’m on Java 8, I read they have released Java 10, and am still wondering if I can ever finish Java 8 in my life time! And simultaneously, I read that Microsoft has acquired
Zamarin – great news for developers. The other time I read, if you are a programmer and you haven’t tasted the R side of programming, it’s a sin. Wow, aren’t we going to die someday learning new stuff?
This is my problem. Where do we stop? Or should we never stop? Take python, then take Java, take R, take C#, take C++, and don’t forget PHP and ASP. Net! Like you, Tim, I don’t know how many of these stuff are in ur head. Should I stop trying to be like you?
Should I just focus on one language and leave the rest? Did you do that at some point? A couple of days ago, I stopped over and spent an hour or so to look at R. A bit similar to Python. Is that a stupidity on my part, because I haven’t finished my Java course? Can I ever finish everything about Java, for example.
Smiles, just thinking aloud.
Thanks for the kind words, I am happy you feel this was a good article to read.
You experience about wanting to know which languages to choose is an interesting one – I just wrote an article that might help so take a read here.
https://learnprogramming.academy/career-guidance/what-is-the-best-programming-language-to-learn/
It’s all about what you are trying to achieve in my opinion. Unless you just love learning new programming languages, I’d suggest you put a limit on the number you learn.
Get to a certain level of expertise with a language before moving on is a good idea because you get value out of your learning experience.
Even though you look back at some languages and maybe think oh I wasted my time on this, its most likely you didn’t entirely waste your time.
You learned some things in that language that helped you become the programmer you are today.
To give you an example, apart from Basic and Z-80 Assembly language (a weird combination I know), one of the other languages I learned fairly early was Pascal.
In the case of Pascal, I had a really hard time understanding Linked Lists, but I kept at it and eventually understood what they are.
Today, I believe Pascal contributed to the programmer I am today because I came into Java knowing what Linked Lists were.
I am sure there are other examples of concepts I have learned in other languages that I am not even are of that have helped me.
So don’t worry about what you studied in the past – think about what your goals are moving forward!
I am at the same situation nowadays. Have done my master in Computer Science and cannot find my dream job or somehow have not found my passion in programming. Now it is time to be persistent. Hope it will help me somehow.
Yes Eid, keep at it and keep working towards your goal. If you keep at it then it will become a reality over time.
Hi sir,
I am doing your python course through Udemy. Before I was too allergic towards coding, but now after learning through your course I am very much interested in it, and almost become addicted to it hence I am very much thankful for you. Further I prefer to get into artificial intelligence field, what will be the next step for me to continue after python?
Wow! that’s great to hear Vijtay! I’m glad that the course has proven helpful to you. Thank you for letting me know 🙂
As for further studies in Python, I suggest you look at our Machine Learning with Python from scratch course:
https://learnprogramming.academy/courses/machine-learning-with-python-from-scratch/
Also, check out my other courses here:
https://learnprogramming.academy/courses/
By the way, I’m working on an eBook which will be a roadmap for many different languages. It’s probably at least a month away from completion. I know it’s important and I’m working to get it completed as soon as possible.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Tim
hi tim, you hit the dot right on! I myself also struggles to learn the java masterclass you created but as I move on I can also see my progress and it inspires me..anyway my background is in VB.net that is why it was way different from java..but when I started vb6 i also started zero knowledge and way back the 90’s there is no videos like yours…(I know you share my difficulties back then hehehe) just books..but i also believed that repetition and persistence is the mother of skills…that’s why I know I’m having a little difficulty in JAVA but it also the salt and seasoning of before you become “Skilled”. BTW your’e a good teacher and after the Java masterclass I will start with your Android class 🙂 thanks mate!
Hi Harold,
Thanks for dropping by – I used VB6 myself back in the day as well and remember it fondly – it was ahead of its time – that and Delphi.
Wasn’t it a fun time without video courses? Not! 🙂
Keep at it, and you will succeed over time – and thanks for the kind words, it’s appreciated.
Waoo… This is just the type of articles I need. I can do it!
Thanks man
You are welcome, and yes, you can do it!!
Wonderful Article. You are not just a teacher but also a good mentor, coach and guide. It indicates your passion about teaching and your endeavour to help every student to benefit as much as possible is simply remarkable and beyond appreciation. You care for your students. Thanks a lot for being there for us, we all are fortunate to have you as a teacher.
Wow, such kind words, thanks so much it’s appreciated – I love what I do and it’s my mission to get 1 million people into programming careers over the next few years, including people just like you.
Great article, and timely to boot. I’m taking your Java course and we just started object oriented programming and it is certainly a bit overwhelming at first. I don’t have a degree from a university, but I am loving learning programming, and want to make it my career. Thank you for all that you do for us, Tim! It does not go unnoticed.
You are most welcome Josh! And the fact you are loving programming tells me you are in the right place, so keep at it!
PS – As my free e-Book talks about, you don’t need a degree from a university to succeed!
Thank you. This article is in the right place at the right time for me now. I think I see light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂
You are most welcome!! Keep at it and you will reach your goals.
Thank you very much for this article Tim. It is always appreciated when you give us example from your experience. I will definitely enjoy more articles like this. good luck always.
You are welcome Khaled, and thanks for the kind words!
Tim, You are awesome ! Thank you for this excellent article.
Appreciate it Eric, thanks!
Hey Sir,
I am your student from the Java Masterclass(Udemy). Two weeks ago, I had “ragequit” from the IDE as I could not figure the fix using conditional operators in the parenthesis of while loop. Just an hour ago I wrote a program with 100ish lines of code(a game, which I want to share with you). your course and support were great. Thanks, Sir!
Incredible, Madhav. It just goes to show you can do this. Congratulations on the game. It’s great to hear that you succeeded.
Thanks for the kind words.
Hi Tim, great blog post and so true. I am currently working through your Python masterclass course on Udemy – it’s a great course and I have revisited some of the video lectures and the exercises when I have needed to reinforce my understanding. I’ve also got your Java, Spring and C courses – these are coming next.
Persistence is definitely the key skill to master in order to succeed – I also (try to) play the guitar and the same principles definitely apply – when you think about giving up because you just can’t do it right, then just try again, go back over the training and the exercises – try the exercises slowed down and gradually increase the speed.
Great motivational words – I’m sure they will help a lot of people
Cheers
John
Hi John,
Thanks so much for supporting my courses, much appreciated.
And yes, most certainly persistence applies to almost any skill – including Guitar.
I appreciate the kind words. Also, revisiting lectures is an excellent way to reinforce concepts you didn’t necessary get the first time you watched.
All the best!
Thanks a lot Tim…That’s very educative and inspiring. But my questing is this, does one has to learn all the methods in the class libraries and perhaps know where and when each is needed? And if so is there a useful reference material that can actually help you with that aside (developer.android.com) site?
Hi Abdul-Rahim,
No, you do not need to learn all the methods – the key to being a programmer is learning the basics and then being good at researching online, and reading documentation.
I can tell you there are a lot of class libraries where I don’t memorise all the methods, but I know exactly how to consult the documentation to find what I need.
Thank you Tim, this one came to the right moment. Just when I started to think that I would fail anyway because I felt lost in regards of doing my own projects. I’m in section 9, almost 10 in your Java Masterclass and this post motivated me to stay on track! Thank you a thousand times! Greetings from Germany.
I’m glad this post proved to be helpful for you! Keep at it and in time you will get through to the end.
Don’t forget to enjoy and acknowledge what you have already learned – getting to section 9 is a lot of material that you have been through already!
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the great blog. I’m so inspired and motived after reading this. I’m taking your Java class on Udemy and it is awesome. Thank you so much!!
Hi Sree,
Thanks for dropping by, and I am glad this post helped! Great to hear that you like my course as well!!
That’s some great insight, Tim. And really inspiring and motivating!
I’ve been an on-again-off-again freelance programmer since the early 90s, doing little side jobs — one or two that I actually got paid for — but never taking the plunge and choosing it as a career (I have a particular like for a roof over my head and food on the table). Indeed, it was through persistence that I was able to complete any of my projects — and it was the lack of persistence that led to more than one abandoned project. I’m currently working on a rewrite of a program I installed in 1995, written in Clipper, but redoing it in Java this time. And your Complete Java Masterclass has been absolutely invaluable.
That said, I’m wondering if you have any equally inspiring insight for those of us not in our younger years just starting out. I turned 60 this year, certainly not the time to be making a career change, but there’s surely something you can share that will bolster our passion for building applications.
Hi Rob,
Nice to hear from you, and thanks for the kind words.
I have fond memories of dBase II and Clipper – I was always amazed how much faster a dBase application was when it got compiled with Clipper.
I think in general, the same rules apply for older people than young – persistence is the key.
As you get older you become clearer in your goals, and have a decent amount of life experience which can be applied to help you succeed. It sounds like you are in the groove now re-writing that app.
I think this topic deserves a blog post of its own – I will get a blog post out about it in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Hello, Tim, thank you for sharing this article on Udemy, as it led me to your academy and thank you again for the article, it’s inspiring! And when I got here and saw your courses,I felt like I got in a bakery with a lot of tasty cakes, that I want to eat all)) I am wondering what do you think about dApp and Blockchain technology? you don’t have any courses of that, but I’m sure that for those who knows deeply Java or other core languages it’s not a problem to build a dApp. I’m just curious what do you think about that, you don’t have a course just because don’t have it yet or you think it’s not necessary to have or you don’t like that in generally? Thank you
Hi Ana,
It’s great to have you here. I am glad you found the website inspiring!
I think DApp/Blockchain technology is going to be huge, and it’s being used more and more and will continue to be – its a great field to get into now before most programmers know about it.
I don’t have any courses on these topics, but expect some to come out in the coming months.
Python and Java are good starting languages – I love crypto in general so I think this is going to be a big growth area soon!
Excellent analogy. I, too, play Shadows Of Mordor and the article perfectly details how I felt about programming (especially Java Spring and React.js). As you stay the course through patience and perseverance, things start to just happen. Thanks Tim
Great to hear from you Branden, and I am glad you feel the same way!
Thanks for this sir, I easily got frustrated in small small mistakes. I hope this will give me some confidence to go through the course(java). Hoping more articles from you to encourage us. Thanks you sir
Hi Pavan,
I hope it will give you that confidence – my advice is to keep at it, and over time things do get easier!
I love this analogy between programming and games. I’m a huge gamer too, I love story-driven, stealth/action type games like Assassin’s Creed.
Assassin’s Creed is a good example because with persistence – you can learn how the aspects of the games work. With each new game they make, certain things change – but thanks to persistence, I can quickly adapt without being overwhelmed, and often find I can either like or dislike these changes.
This is pretty much the same for a developmental change in the way we may write in some languages. They change over time. Once you learn a lot from a language, you can adapt to these changes with ease (and still find yourself liking or disliking the change).
This is a great article. I can totally relate!
Hi Chris,
I love Assassin’s Creed as well, and you are right another great example of persistence. The first time I played a game in the series I was totally overwhelmed but once I got the hang of it and (that word again) persisted, it all got a lot easier.
And yes, the analogy works well with programming languages as you point out.
Thank you for the article, really inspiring!
I find myself sometimes thinking that this might not get me where I want to go (find a job as a programmer), mainly because I leave in a country that really gives importance to a college degree when it comes to finding someone for a job, but oh well, let’s see where is takes me, maybe I get lucky.
And I will take the time to thank you for your amazing job in the course, so far I’m loving it, really well done, well explained!
Cheers
Joaquim
Hello Joaquim,
Keep in mind that its likely your future employer may not be from your country if you decide to work online – and most places actually prioritize skills over a degree. But it is hard to get that first programming job.
I am glad you are enjoying the course, my advice is to keep at it!
Thank you fro that great motivational post. It was really aplicable to my case. I play Unreal Tournament really well, and when I transfered to Quake Champions there are some similarities, but it’s a whole lot of different game espetially at movement. I do rage quit many times, and try hard to move as I should. I think now, that is like that with everything and I just need to practice more. Just like with my programming skills. I do really suck at algorithms, and now I think when I’ll do more codewars and such on I’ll get better. Thanks man for that. 🙂
Best regards,
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
You are spot on – keep at it and you will get better at Quake Champions and programming!
HI Tim, after reading this i feel calm because now when i relate myself as a gamer good old days , its true , i was not able to finish a hard level in one time i used to play again and again but after some time i got through this , recently i’m doing your paid java course i really scared of memorizing the code block and syntax and then logic’s i stuck in. I got your point and motivation also thank you Tim for this beautiful article and course as well.
Hi Mazhar,
You are correct – you can get through this, just keep working at your goal and you will get through it!
Hi Tim,
Thank you for sharing that. After reading your post, i feel like the missing piece in my long journey as a programmer has been found.
Cheers.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for that, I appreciate the kind words, and I am glad the post has proven to be helpful to you!
I got your Java course and because I liked it so much and I want to become a Data Analyst, I bought your Python course too. I’m definitely “in the beginning of the game” though lol. I appreciate this article so much Mr Buchalka. I’ve been playing video games for almost two decades now and I’m a veteran at them. I can pick up and play a complex game like it’s nothing because I’ve seen so many iterations of the same or similar mechanics I have a natural understanding of how they work. I actually bought Shadow of Mordor and was immediately good at it and eventually great through training, losses and persistence and because of the wonderful analogy you used, this concept truly clicked for me. I was telling myself this exact same thing for the whole month that I’ve been training so far with your courses but to hear it as validation from the teacher is so much more assuring. Thank you.
Thats awesome to hear Shaquille! It sounds like you have made great progress – Java and Python are great courses for a Data Analyst to go!
Keep up the good work and game playing!!
Hi Tim, Thank you for sharing this wonderful motivational blog post. I love to do programming and gaming too. I have bought your java course from Udemy. It’s worth mentioning that while solving some complex problems using java I frequently loose my patience and scratch my head .Then after sometime or the next day I think differently and apply the same in my code and it clicks!!.After reading this article I really feel that patience and perseverance really matters in life. And I love playing computer and mobile games a lot .I play Prince Of Persia , then Assasin’s Creed ,Call Of Duty etc. Crossing the levels really takes a test of persistence a lot :)lol. I am just curious about programming languages ,like nowadays many are there Java, Python ,C++ etc. They are syntactically bit different but logics are the same.So should we show persistence in solving problems in only one programming language or learning multiple is a better option?
Thanks for that. I love hearing how you leave a problem for a while and later, when you come back you are able to solve it with a different approach – that time away has allowed your mind to conceive an alternate approach to solving the problem!
And yes, I agree about the persistence with games for sure.
In general with computer languages, my recommendation is to get skilled in one before starting another one.
When I am creating videos for two courses in a single day (which I do regularly) I sometimes use the syntax of one language in another – e.g. Adding a semi-colon at the end of line in a language like Python which does not need one.
So it’s easy to get confused – I believe its a good idea to get a good grounding in one language before starting another.
Thank you very much Tim, to encourage and motivate me.Sometime it’s frustrating when I was stuck. I saw your video same working on your side but not here. Google it. But again not working then I try and quit and move forward.But now I feel motivated.
Thanks Tim.
Hi Arun,
You are welcome! Yes, keep working at it – the more you immerse yourself in code and persist the sooner the success will come!
Im just glad to know that its okay to still play video games even when I have global responsibilities … also, the role persistence plays in becoming a great developer cannot be said enough. Great article.
Hi Tim,
I am sorry, but I don’t agree, fully. Though a very good article, persistence can be an impoverishing act under circumstances.
Without wanting to say one should let go and not be persistent, I hope that this reflection will help you helping others too learn.
I love your work and am studying Java with you currently. Your lessons break down subjects awesomely well. Making it more easy too learn. But once in a while I hit, even with your program, a brick wall (mentally) .
The last one was about the if-then statement. Several teachers had explained the principle to me and I was sure I understood it.
But, did I? Once I tried to test my believe I got stuck. Why, in fact, does it work the way it works? To solve this took me three weeks, off and on.
I understood my problem to be that the words are not referring too logicall if-then statements, but too ‘case-yes or else-no, and no in-betweens’ statements. These are exclusive-or statements in logic. This helped me understand how difficult programming is, in a way. You always have to break things down too the smallest possible distinction, for the machine. Before, I accepted teachers explanations, being a good teachers pet. Now, I have tested my thoughts.
This is an example of being persistent with a problem. But, I couldn’t get on with the lessons. I could not persist with programming, only with the question I had. In that sense I was not persisting with the lessons.
Persistence can even be a bad thing, if you are not able to solve the current problem in its context.
A famous example is depicted in the film Shine, a biographical drama film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown while studying and spent years in institutions. After that he slowly recovered enough to be able to gain insight into why his behaviour could have led too his breakdown. At least this is how I understand the story.
I know of several examples, like these, where people either get into a burn-out situation or need lots of time to recover from some problematic work and learning situation. The situation is too complex and if you believe you should persist you might break down.
Having said this I think your proposition should be slightly altered. One should persistently try and grasp the last problem one knows one has with understanding coding. If you stick with that problem, you persist, and thus bring your mind to it again and again – chipping away at the perceived brick wall. It may take time, but you will gain insight.
If you step over it, you will get stuck somewhere in the future, which happened too me.
A rebuttal would be this:
If you only stick with current problems, there will not be a way to continually learn.
I agree, in part. Some problems should be left alone, until later when you have gained enough basics. So, in this sense your article points out the solution to the problem I am putting forward. However, does this leave ample room for me solving my problem? I don’t think so. I could not trust my thinking and solutions anymore, with the lesson I was trying to fathom.
Which means, that however well constructed or basically developed a course or person, we are prone to somewhere hit a brick wall, for some reason. I agree one should stick with it, but not at all costs.
Be persistent and stay with the problem you know, to try and solve it.
I hope that this reflection will help you and others to keep learning.
Always a joy to converse with you, Tim.
Cheers,
Francis
Hi Francis, thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it, and also for your thought provoking comment.
I still believe what I have said is true.
Persistent means that when you get stuck you continue on, looking for a solution.
If you do get stuck (and it happens to everyone at some point), you will solve it one way or the other if you stick to it – if you give up, there is 100% certainty you won’t succeed – because you gave up.
Learning to programming is a journey that people take in different ways – you mention that you stepped over a problem and got stuck at a future point.
Being persistent here means that you identify that you have a problem and overcome it. It sounds like you identified that and got through that – you were persistent! Your didn’t allow a problem to overcome you.
Being persistent may mean you have to go back and review earlier videos or do something different, or even start again with the training.
Thats ok, there is no one way that people learn how to program.
In general there are no shortcuts to learning a skill – if you don’t understand something then you need to persevere and get answers to that if you want to become a programmer.
Thats what the Q&A section of the course is for. To get answers to anything you are unsure of – Or use Google to help understand, etc.
This is being persistent – you are not giving up and are seeking an answer so you do understand and are able to continue on with your training and journey to become a programmer.
I hope that clarifies Francis, and thanks again.
Thanks Tim: As a beginnner programmer, I am definitely feeling frustrtated. When I got to the Methods Challenge, I could not figure it out. I’ll take your advice and just keep working at it.
Hi Jason,
I suggest you do keep at it, give it time and it will make sense!
It is an immense pleasure being one of your student and to read a highly motivational article like this.
Every beginner should read this.
Greetings from India. Thanks Tim.
Thanks for the support, it’s appreciated!
concrete comparison. great article tim. thank you.
Appreciate that, thank you.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the article.
It really boosted my zeal for learning and not beating myself up for every mistake
I currently am taking your Android Java Masterclass.
At the beginning it was all nice and easy for me especially the xml GUI. But getting to learn or understand the Android Java methods and program makes it a little not-so easy.
Your article has rejuvenated my appetite for developing in android
Thanks again
Keep at it Emmanuel, you will get there. The more time you spend on it, the more it will make sense!
Thank you so much sir. you opened my eyes. Actually i have stopped the course in middle due to my admission process now i got selected in NIT. Surely again i will start the course and i will be a developer. After completing Android course i m thinking to start python course.
Congratulations on getting selected for NIT ! And I hope you will keep your development skills going. android is fine, and I think you will love Python as well!
that remembers me the inspirational speech of a man asking everyone..
When you were a baby and was learning to walk, how many times did you fall, how many times did you hurt yourself in the process ? did you give up ? i’m prety sure that for all of us, in age to read this.. the answer is no.
So when have we lost this tenacity, this skill to endure the echec ?
Hold on thight guys the journey of you life if full of these faillures and you have to pass them, one by one, to become better.
That’s a great quote from a speech. I like it, and it is true! Thanks for sharing.
hi Tim,
THANK YOU ! Timely reminder and encouragement.
You are welcome!
thanks for the article, coming from someone who have failed java structured programming one twice and taking it for the third time. I will save this article to read whenever I feel stuck in programming.
Keep at it Paul – you have got this. I know you can do it!
Nice ! Can you suggest what should I learn Python or Java ? I heard Python is the future? Can you guide me on this.
Take a read of this post – it should help.
https://learnprogramming.academy/career-guidance/what-is-the-best-programming-language-to-learn/
Hi Tim,
Thank you for your great article. This is completely right that persistence is the key to success.
I believe persistence is a first and main skill for every new thing that we want to learn.
Thank you for your great teaching.
You are welcome! Persistence really is the key!
You’re a great source of knowledge for me. I’m deeply indebted to you. Long live Tim. Lots of love from India.
Thanks so much. I appreciate it!
Wow…Tim…your article has been a boost and great motivator…Thank you so much for the post….I am from India working in senior position in Automation (Selenium + Java) and manual testing..Lots of good wishes and love.
Regards,
Ranjan
I’m happy it proved to be motivating for you! You are welcome.
Hey tim.
I hope after the end of my java course i will also be able code of my own.
Keep at it, there is no reason why you won’t be able to do this.
Tim Sir. This is Shreejeet for India. Recently started your python course I purchased way back earlier! This article has motivated me a lot. Thanks a lot sir!!!
Thanks for dropping by Shreejeet. And I am glad this has motivated you!
Very much motivated…thanks for the effort
Glad to hear it Christy!
Mr. Buchalka, you are a good man. Thank you for putting out this bit of encouragement.
You are welcome!
If it wasn’t for the shadow of war example ( I raged quit like million times over some weak orcs too :P), I wouldn’t have been able to connect with this article and the valuable perspective behind it. Thanks Tim. 🙂
LOL – I feel your pain with those Orcs ha ha. I am glad it helped you (the article I mean, not any tips to get good at the game).
Thank you Tim for such a nice motivation that I really needed at this moment. I have known JAVA for long time but now I have not been in touch with it but this post will definitely help me a lot. There was a moment in my life I was about to quit coding for ever but as it is said there is not time to start new things. Will master JAVA and coding one day.
You are welcome. I am glad it will help you – I feel confident you can succeed with Java if you stick with it!
This is truly useful, thanks.
You are welcome Marianne!
I was on the verge of ragequitting my project as I was unable to solve the logic thinking about keywords and loops but thanks to your article. I realized that I should be persistent. Thank you for motivating me.
Cheers,
Lakshmi
That’s great Lakshmi, keep at it and it will become easier and more understandable over time.
Thank you Tim for such a nice motivation that I really needed at this moment. Your motivation makes me put on standby the project I start working a few weeks ago and start to learn java and to become a java junior programmer Thank you for motivating me.
You are welcome! I am glad it proved to be motivating.
Tim,
Nowhere else In my experience have i seen such great sage advice from someone in the know such as you!
I come from university in a business degree context and college in an information tech context, has helped me slowly piece together the basic blocks of knowledge to just blindly navigate my way through software development. your teachings and advice have plopped me into the pilots seat with full confidence.
Coaching many of us in this way, it’s like you are there sitting next to us and guiding us through fully and interactively as much as possible – the beauty of it is we can hit that replay button as many times as we need to drill those key points in and really get them under our belts.
Knowledge like this is gold, and you are the miner, so a huge thank you now and always for all that you do. You are a top teacher!
Cheers,
Name in the paragraphs.
Thanks so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it and I am glad to be able to help!
Thank you so much Tim for the motivation 🙂 I am at lecture 46 of your Complete Java Masterclass at the moment. So far, so good taking it one day at a time.
Hi Leo,
Nice to have you here, I am glad you are finding the course useful!
Thanks Tim for this awesome tips. I have been trying to learn java for over 2 years now but kind of got discouraged. This piece really motivated me. I have a challenge I would like to share with. Is there a way I can download the video? Some times the network is so awful that reading becomes difficult. Where I may get internet network may not be a convenient place to study. Thanks
I am glad to hear that is motivating for you, that’s was part of the plan! Keep up the good work. Sorry, videos are not downloadable.
I can relate to this in many different forms, I am a college student, a bodybuilder (or workout/exercise/understand training), and I try to code on the side. All these things take persistence. No one gets stronger/fit in a small amount of time, it takes dedication in two-fold. In the gym and also in the kitchen (can’t out exercise a bad diet).
Somedays I find it hard to find motivation in any of the above areas. I appreciate your words of encouragement Tim as it gives me hope in coding, and hopefully I can finish your Java course. After OOP, its all new material for me and I hope to receive it well. You do a really good job at explaining the programming concepts.
Hi Conner,
You are correct – I agree entirely with what you have said.
I’m glad this gives you some motivation. Keep up the good work and thanks for the kind words!
If only the world had more people like you. You certainly made a difference in my way of thinking.
Thank you, that’s a nice thing to say!
Hi Tim,
Thank you for this encoring post. I am an Engineer but I did not have to use any coding in my professional life. It was just a hobby for me until now. I always found myself starting to learn a new language and then quit it without getting much better.
Now I am doing my graduate and I would like to work in data science area so that I can use programming in my professional life, too. I am trying to learn python and java at the same time and use them in my projects for graduate courses.
I am really happy that I found your course in Udemy. I have tried many online courses until now but none of them was attractive enough to keep me much longer. I believe I will finish your Java course and then check for other courses that you are giving.
By the way it is nice to see that you are a fan of LOTR, too
Thanks.
Nice to hear from you, and I am glad that my courses are holding your interest. You can do this and I look forward to hearing of your success!
Yes, I am a LOTR fan. I read the books years before the movies came out!
Regards,
Tim
Hi
I’m Addicated to Tim Buchalka’s stuff 🙂
Will you do a Kotlin course some day ?
Thank!!
Eli
Hi Eli,
Yes, I will have a Kotlin crash course out hopefully by the end of January 2019!
I am still new here and looking forward to be a great programmer 1 day
Welcome – keep at it and you can achieve your goals!! 🙂
I being taking a lot of udemy course , a few are from programming acedemy ( java and android ) but many time due to workload in office and family reason , I could not continues to complete the course .I bought many programming courses books but hardly complete reading 50% of the books . I think I am not persistence enough .
Persistence is a very important skill.
For general advice, watch these videos on Youtube
https://lpa.dev/tips/h
There is a video there on persistence and a lot of other things – watching these will help you.
Regards
Tim
This is very great helpful article I have ever read. Sometime, I feel to quit and I ask myself If I am genius enough to be a programmer but finally you remind me important thing. Persistence. Thank you again
You are most welcome – I am glad it proved to be helpful.
Check out other videos I have made on this and similar topics.
https://lpa.dev/tips/b
Regards
Tim
I had a good chuckle when I saw this was written by Tim. His courses are PHE-NO-ME-NAL and I was thinking about how I was going to start one up when I get home tonight.
Thanks so much for the kind words! That is why I create courses – to help people succeed in programming.
Hi Tim,
This was amazing and inspiring.
I was hoping to know whether you have a course on data structures and algorithms based on C++.
Thanks for your article Tim! I have about fifthteen year of experience in telecommunications during which I developed some software but not as developer as main activity. So my approach to development was not structured, anyway I did useful things. Since from one year I’m in the IT and I’m trying to become structured as developer. Attending your Java course, I’m sure that I’m in the right place to do it.
You are welcome! Glad to hear you found this helpful!
Regards,
Tim
hi, very veru good job sir ,this article is very motivating for me and throws away some pressure that i have on my shoulders ,but i have a Q. , how much is it approved and accepted by industry the
certificate of completion for course java Programming masterclass for SW from udemy ?
Hi Mihai,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you like the article and that I was able to help you.
As for the certificate, the certificate you receive from Udemy is a certification of completion. You can add it to your CV to show you have completed training.
What I could advise is to just keep in mind that when you are writing an application letter or applying for a job, it’s all about the employer. What you wanna do is make sure you align yourself with what the employer is wanting to do and what the employer needs.
I have here a video where I give tips on how to do well in a job interview. You might find this helpful:
https://youtu.be/exYjqMeYjsQ
I wish you all the success.
Regards,
Tim
Thank you so much Tim for the article.
I am a lawyer and have been trying hard to acquire programming as a skill through your Java course, with little time to hand (stopping, starting, stopping, starting, etc). My main success until now, is not having given up yet – at least that is how it feels. I look forward to being able to call myself a programmer and am hugely appreciative of your teaching, content and course(s).
Thanks again for the inspiring words.
Best,
James
You’re welcome, James. I agree with you that not giving up is a success on its own. In the same way, the more programming – in any platform or language you immerse yourself in, the better the chance you will succeed. You need to practice, practice, and practice to get better at programming. Don’t give up, keep at it.
I’d say it was likely the same for you when starting out as a Lawyer as well.
I have here a video where I talk about persistence as being the number one skill in programming:
https://youtu.be/vsg5P40x8xo
My advice is to take the time to really understand the material. In general, you have to learn the concepts, study, apply what you learned, and so on. It will help with your existing skills.
No one is born good at programming. It’s a learned skill. The more time you spend programming, the better you get at solving specific problems and that’s because you’re actually going through the process of solving problems.
I also have a video here that will help you get better at problem solving and challenges:
https://youtu.be/2lYApDl3JC4
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Yes, my experience with ‘lawyering’ was the same actually :).
Thank you again for the very encouraging words – extremely helpful.
I should state that thanks to what I did learn from you I already was able to communicate much better with my ‘Java Developer’ friend, and actually worked on building a legal tech app with him (automated data processing agreement) 🙂 – I even got to code a little (very little :)) although most if not all my work was in XML (dpabot.com). That project actually got in the way with my course with you – am back on the course again now.
Wow, excellent stuff – I did not realize you already have so much online video material. Thank you very much for the links.
Looking forward to learning more!
Best,
James
You’re welcome, mate. Yeah I have a lot of online material, about to start ramping up to create more.
Cheers,
Tim
Hi Tim ,
Thank you for sharing a such a great article
It gave me motivation to keep my journey towards learning programming. I’m pursuing my graduation and I wanted to upgrade myself during this lockdown
Thank you for sharing such a great information to keep my motivation up
I am glad I was able to help you, and thanks so much for that wonderful feedback and support! It helps keep me wanting to improve my courses when I hear great stuff like this. I appreciate it!
I wish you all the best!
Regards,
Tim
Thank you so much for this wonderful article! I’m literally at that point where I’m feeling utterly useless at programming and feel like throwing in the towel.
As a 41 year old searching for a fresh start so late in a career – that involved absolutely nothing to do with coding (I’m a photographer), learning to code in my own free time has proved to be quite challenging.
As a fellow gamer however, your analogy made perfect sense to me and I think that stumbling across your article came at the perfect time. I really appreciate your motivating words. Thank you! I so needed to read this 🙂
Hi Trish,
You’re welcome!
I’m glad you appreciate the article. It keeps me motivated to write when I read stuff like this, thank you. 🙂
It’s not too late to learn something new. As Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
I always tell my students that perseverance is the key.
So, keep on persevering and you will succeed.
I also suggest you check out my Youtube channel here.
https://lpa.dev/tips/h
Lots of practical programming tips, career advice, etc.
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thank you for the wonderful inspirational post. I recently completed your Python Masterclass on Udemy.
It took me quite long to complete the course and also rather challenging at times. You mentioned in one of your articles about GitHub. Would you be kind enough to guide me as to how I can participate in one of the Python projects for beginners on GitHub to gain some experience.
Thank you and regards,
You’re welcome, Dhirendra. I hope the course has proven useful to you.
As for your question, github.com is a great site to find open-source projects to be involved in and to get inspiration and ideas. That will help you brush up on your existing skills. I don’t currently have a Github tutorial available at this time, but hope to add one to the website in the future.
Cheers,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Very timely and encouraging blog post! I learned C++ whilst in college over 20 years ago, and though I chose a different career route and did not pursue computer science, I always found myself returning to it in one form or another. I have now decided it is where I want to be, and you are absolutely correct, persistence is a necessity to be a developer!
When I was learning to code I hit that phase where I felt like I couldn’t do it, that there was no way I’d be good enough to work in the industry, so I gave up. I dropped out of school and “fell into” another field. Many years, trials and tribulations later (not to mention a wife, two children and a mortgage!) I now have that persistence and determination to finish. Nothing will stop me now! Your post above really hit home as I felt all of those same emotions. As uncomfortable as it is I believe those stages are necessary. They make you stronger and better.
Thank you for your website, courses and blog. I’m looking forward to taking more classes and I’m sure they will continue to be very helpful to me as I pursue my new dream.
All the Best,
Ben
Hi Ben,
Great to hear from you! Totally agree with you, persistence has served me well in my career. I’m not the smartest guy or the most gifted programmer, but I am persistent and that helps me succeed!
Congrats on going back to your passion, and I wish you all the best.
Regards
Tim
Excellent post. I certainly love this website. Keep writing!
Thank you, David! I appreciate the positive feedback.
Cheers,
Tim
Respected sir,
Thank you so much for helping in so many ways.You tried so many ways to help your students so that they become more consistent about what they are doing.This blog helps me a lot, because these same things happens to me before I read this blog , I was thinking that “Could I able to program or not?”.Because whenever I start to write my own program I became freeze about where to start.But now after reading this blog I just like to fail and then win by my own using the key called persistence(the most important key you said in this blog to become a successful programmer).
Thank you so much for all the efforts you take to reach your students who need it.
I also want to ask one question to you…..I am learning Your Python Programming Masterclass Course on udemy…..But in that I got difficulty to understand functions, list comprehension,and timezones part.
Please tell me what to do for that….I want to learn all of that….and I am fresher in programming I don’t know other languages…So it may get more difficult for me to inherit the classes and all.
Thank you.
Hi Anuja,
You’re welcome! I’m glad my blog has proven useful to you. Thank you for the wonderful feedback. Whenever I read stuff like this, it keeps me motivated 🙂
As for your question in Python, I encourage you to post questions in the Q&A section of the course. There are a number of reasons for this:
1. You can upload screenshots, making it easy for us to visually see the problem.
2. You can copy and paste code, direct from IntelliJ into the Q&A section. This code is nicely formatted and even color-coded.
3. Other students can also see your question, and may even reply to it before we see it – meaning you get an answer, faster!
4. Your question (and the answers I or other students give) are searchable for all students in the future.
As you can see, it’s a much better experience for both us and you.
For more practical programming tips, career advice, etc check out my Youtube channel:
https://lpa.dev/tips/h
Don’t give up and you will succeed.
Regards,
Tim
I like that you said that any skill takes time to learn. My brother wants to learn to program because he thinks it would be a safe career choice. I will have to tell him to be willing to put in the time and to take the right classes.
You are 100% correct, Michaela. Building skills in any field takes time. I do tend to agree with your brother that it’s a safe career choice (there are plenty of jobs and with the way the world is, many can be done from home). However, safe does not mean easy – it takes time to build skills.
Regards,
Tim
Dear Tim,
Hi, Tim, my name is Bryan, just want to say thank you so, so much for your wonderful inspiration to encourage us and your game analogy it really does inspires me to become a professional programmer, I had taken up your course in Python Masterclass course at Udemy 13 December 2020 and before I start your course my fundamentals in programming wasn’t that strong and therefore I had a lot of troubles when I do it in school and ever since I had follow your course, I can see myself improving a lot in terms of the fundamentals and somehow naturally I understand your course bit by bit and there times where I a bit lost and not sure what my next move is writing the code like for eg: how to remove backwards sequences in a list and lastly, if I’m stuck at some code or don’t understand and really can’t provide solution to the problem is there anyone will reply in the Q and A section of Udemy? Or should I keep re-watching the video and the previous section of the video until I understand. Once again, thank you for your inspiration quotes and message. Looking forward to your reply.
Best regards,
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
Keep at it! We answer questions in the Q&A section of the course, so post questions there if you are stuck!
Thanks for the kind words and good luck with the course!
Regards,
Tim
I really like the part where it says ” Celebrate your successes (even minor ones)…”. I just completed the Java Master course, and began to feel like I was not yet productive. But then, I looked back at when I started, I didn’t even understand a statement, even the simple ones. Today I listened to one of the past lectures of the Java Course and found out that I understood it and could even read the purpose of lines of codes. I never knew I had greatly improved.
I surely want to move forward and I am glad that I have you guys with me. I am presently going through the free e-book course guide to know what steps to take next. I failed in many things in life but I refuse to fail in this one. I must succeed!
Thanks for being there.
That’s great t hear, Oscar! thank you for the positive feedback.
Don’t give up and you will succeed!
All the best,
Tim
Thank you for your words Tim, I will start today my learning track on your Java course… With my 30 years old I hope it’s not to late to learn 🙂
Best Regards,
Nuno Freitas
You’re welcome, Nuno.
It’s not too late to learn something new. As Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
I always tell my students that perseverance is the key.
Regards,
Tim
I love this, very inspiring. I also like to remind myself that my brain is still processing information even when I walk away for a short break, and often times when I come back later I have a better understanding. If I don’t fully understand it yet I at least have an idea of where to start with a test or exercise to play around with something I learned. Taking breaks and breaking things – thats the way I found myself learning the best.
Hi Phillip,
I agree with you. It can take a while (like any skill) to learn and understand programming.
Learning to program in smaller sessions is better than infrequent large sessions.
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks a lot for the wisdom sharing . I had these feelings of anger and frustrations. Also, googling error massages I get out of OpenFOAM.
I am usually persistent and I am pursuing my PhD in CFD. The frustration comes from not finding the material or sometimes the tutoring.
With OpenFOAM ( wish is a free CFD package) it depends on understanding many things in physics and programming (mostly C++) . I am almost finished with C++ course beginner to beyond course but I don’t know what course should I take after that.
My goal is to be proficient in OpenFOAM.
Hi Moaz,
You’re welcome!
I understand where you’re coming from. It’s pretty normal to get bored, tired, and stumped sometimes.
But what you really have to do is isolate the feelings of frustration and getting overwhelmed and confused, and so forth. That’s a typical thing that you’ll come across when you’re learning to program.
As for a course roadmap, aside from C++, you also might want to check either Python or Matlab. They are also used widely in Physics.
Master MATLAB through Guided Problem Solving:
https://learnprogramming.academy/courses/master-matlab-through-guided-problem-solving/
Learn Python Programming Masterclass:
https://learnprogramming.academy/courses/complete-python-masterclass/
Regards,
Tim
Hi Teimoor,
All students in this course have paid for their access. To be fair to our other students and maintain our integrity, we cannot issue a free coupon to you.
We wish you all the best.
Regards,
LPA Team
Thank you tim. This post is really encouraging.
Hi Tim,
Thanks to my Director in the company i was working in before who pushed me to do a degree in IT. Having done a bachelor degree i was a little bit in a blur i must say. But following your courses in Java programming, Java Spring, Python i feel more confident with the languages. I don’t know what the future holds. But i am sure i will make it through the IT world someday.
Thank you for your patience in preparing these courses. I am really grateful. I think you have changed the thoughts of many students or even people with no/little computer background.
Take care
Hi Ritish,
Firstly, Tim says you’re welcome! one of his life’s missions is to help people get better at programming and he really takes it by heart. That’s why he’s able to do the things he does. It’s a lot of work, believe me, but it’s all worth it, especially when students share their positive feedback and constructive criticisms. So, thank you again for sharing yours.
We’re glad you found value in it. Don’t give up and you will succeed!
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Hi Jain,
Firstly, thank you for making Tim’s course a part of your programming journey. Tim and the team are grateful.
As for practice activities, Tim suggests checking out github.com. It is a great site to find open-source projects to be involved in and to get inspiration and ideas. That will help you brush up and sharpen your existing skills.
We wish you every success!
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Hi Ritish,
Please ignore the previous message. A minor glitch in the system occurred, hence the wrong message.
Sorry.
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Thank you for this article, Tim. I read it at the right moment.
I am now at your course Learn Python and it is just the same feeling. I understand when you talk and explain the matter but when it comes to exercises it is a hard time. I can imagine what I should write to complete the task but often I get stuck and cannot write the proper code. Sometimes I leave the task for later or I search for solutions in the net. And what I see is that the code that I am trying to write is much more complicated than it should be .Sometimes the solution is only 3 lines but I am thinking of loops and conditions that happen to be absolutely unnecessary.
May be that is the most difficult to find the smooth and elegant solution.
Once again, thank you!
Vesela
Hi Vess,
You’re welcome! Tim is grateful for the confidence and trust in him and the course.
He understands where you’re coming from. It’s pretty normal to be stumped sometimes – expect sometimes to be thinking man am I ever going to understand this… You will!
Tim highly recommends utilizing the Q&A section. Asking questions there and finding answers to questions will help you learn.
It can often be hard to figure that out when you’re learning to program or getting back from a long absence because what you really have to do is isolate the feelings of frustration and getting overwhelmed and confused and so forth. That’s a typical thing that you’ll come across when you’re learning to program.
Tim has videos that may be helpful to you:
Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome:
https://youtu.be/6vuGRu_YuJQ
Here, Tim talks about persistence as being the number one skill in programming:
https://youtu.be/vsg5P40x8xo
And this one here will help you get better at problem solving and challenges:
https://youtu.be/2lYApDl3JC4
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Thanks Tim! Your Java course has helped me a great deal in understanding what I’m doing and what each term, keyword, or whatever is doing – the more I understand what each line of code is doing, the easier it becomes to actually write code! I owe you much and thanks again for this great article, it is just what I needed to read today as it is not always easy to stay persistent.
Hi Matt,
Tim says you’re welcome, and he’s glad the course and article have proven useful to you.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback. Whenever Tim and the team read stuff like this, it keeps us motivated.
Keep it up!
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Hello sir,I am Ayan Sarkar from India .Recently I have enrolled in your java masterclass course and really liking your way of teaching.This blog is excellent .Thank you for writing the answers about these common type of problems in a beginner programmer’s life.
Hi Ayan,
Firstly, thank you for making Tim’s course a part of your programming journey. Also, Tim appreciates the positive feedback about the blog. That’s why he is able to do the things he does. One of his life’s missions is to help people get better at programming and he really takes it by heart. 🙂
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
Thanks Tim.
I do persist to learn Java.
As an MD, specialized on Internal Medicine and Nephrology, I began to learn Java for two years. And I thank you for your cooperation with your students.
Yours sincerely.
Hi Erhan,
It’s great to hear that you are determined to learn Java. It’s a popular and versatile programming language noted for its platform freedom and large library. It has a large ecosystem and is used in a wide range of applications, including web development, mobile apps, scientific research, and enterprise software.
Tim recommends that you keep expanding on that foundation by digging into real-world tasks and investigating more sophisticated concepts. Applying your knowledge in practice can help you develop a deeper understanding and enhance your programming skills.
To improve your Java knowledge, consider working on small projects or cooperating with other programmers. Check out github.com. Joining online groups, taking part in coding challenges, and looking for resources such as tutorials, forums, and books can all provide vital insights and help you on your learning journey.
Tim and the team would like to thank you for making Tim’s courses a part of your programming journey. Keep it up!
Regards,
Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
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Hi Ron,
We’re thrilled you enjoyed Tim’s insights on “Struggling with Programming? Read This Now!”. We also encourage you to subscribe to Tim’s YouTube channel for more great content from him.
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Jp
LPA Admin
on behalf of Tim Buchalka
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