Requesting suggestion about my programming future

[Digitizer]

Hello guys,

 

I require a suggestion about how shall I proceed as when I am about to set a goal for my future in programming world, Just so that you could suggest me better, I urge you to please read about a little background history of mine.  And please stay neutral in regards of language, dont say PHP because you are a PHP developer and dont say Java because you are a Java developer.

 

Thanks.

 

I stepped into programming when I was in school (below A-levels at 14, now I am 29) and I started to bunk school and went to internet cafe and would sit there reading sources of HTML pages in year 2000. I would observe their programming styles, I would learn about the tags they used and then search internet (it was IE6 then and Yahoo searching at its peak) so I could learn about it.

 

Years passed, and having my family related to medical professions, I took admission in Pharmacy in University and quit after 2 years and entered working class.  My development slowed down but passion always stayed the same.

 

Now I am in Spain and working as a technician of mobile repairing with a company, but I still have this passion of programming and when I learn that etc etc friend of mine now is working with CISCO in Germany, now is working as a game developer in America, I become really sad. I could have been one of those. But the fact is that I am not. So I restarted again with development and started learning PHP on my work desk using online resources and tutorials and asking silly questions.

 

Nothing I could become but an obsolete language programmer with a mess.

 

Now when I havent been able to become someone, till now, I still have passion and I want to be somewhere.

 

-----------------------------

I am confused for some days now, shall I continue with PHP (apart from the fact that i am a MYSQL learner, haven't learned PDO or MYSQLi till now) or shall I step into Java learning, using the online resources ofCourse, but if I step into Java, It will be a fresh start and I will be able to organize it better on my way with guidance of professionals like you.

 

The Things confusing me: (as I am imagining in my mind)

 

PHP:

A great web development language being used on billions of website, have an extraodinary support, well documented, World is moving online, so future is e-commerce in these terms.

 

JAVA:

Feels a giant to me, and impresses me at times, a myth to me, I am speaking illogical I know, and after android, I see a great potential in this language.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Digitizer

[ignace]

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to make websites and online applications, PHP is a good choice as it's easy to learn. If you wanna become a mobile developer, you want to learn Java or Swift.

 

If you want to make games you need to learn C++ or Lua. So, it all depends on what you want to become.

[jazzman1]

Future? What about your programming past? You don't have any previous experience if you want to find a good job in the industry. You are too old to start programming. Don't let your dreams be dreams! 

[Digitizer]

You are too old to start programming.

It really helped

Thanks

[gristoi]

@jazzman1, you are talking a load of bollocks. I went back to uni at 26 years old to study programming after deciding I wanted a career change, and have been a professional developer in the industry now for over a decade. It does not matter what age you are, and from your comment I would guess you are only young. life doesn't end at 30 mate. I put myself through uni holding down a full time job and with two young children to bring up.

[jazzman1]

Ah.....forgive me...I forgot where I am...this is a programming help forum where age is just a number.

[Jacques1]

Age is irrelevant. I started programming in my mid-twenties without any previous experience whatsoever. I didn't even know how to write HTML. But I loved writing code, so I learned, practiced and played around. And after a few years, I was eventually able to turn my hobby into a profession.

 

Web programming is no rocket science. Of course every programmer likes to think that they're a genius who performs magic, but in reality, the average web application is actually fairly simple. You don't need to be Einstein or have tens of years of experience. You just have to be able and willing to learn.

 

I see absolutely no reason why you should switch to Java at this point. Why give up the PHP knowledge you already have? Java also won't magically improve your code. If you have the tendency to write messy, unorganized programs, then this will be a problem in all languages. So you might as well stick to PHP (unless you no longer like it).

 

I'd rather analyze the underlying problem: Why did you end up writing code which you're not satisfied with? Is it a problem of bad resources? Is there something wrong with the way you learn? Is it a matter of attitude?

 

Since I don't know you, I cannot give an answer. But my impression is that you're too hesitant. You talk about learning PDO as if that was a matter of many years. Why not learn it now? Open the PHP manual, grab your favorite editor and start playing around. Try to establish a database connection. Try to make a simple query and fetch the result. Try out prepared statements. It's really not that hard.

 

When you find out that a certain technique is bad, stop using it. Don't come up with excuses or make plans for solving the problem in the distant future. Solve it now. The only way to become better is to constantly eliminate mistakes and replace them with good practices.

[Digitizer]

I love to be with guys like you here

 

I am cleared now, as @Jacques1 said, why give up knowledge of PHP I already have and Java wont improve my coding skills anyway...

 

So yeah, I am gonna stick with PHP, I am gonna learn PDO, now, actually have started it last night, and I am gonna be good at it... 

 

About being hesitant, well, I have some traces of being treated bad, left in my mind from StakOverFlow, they are bad guys lemme tell u that. So sometime before asking something, i think twice that people are not going to bully me because I opened up... u know...!

 

Once a professor from a well known high repute college told me, Muneeb, We dont take coal and turn them into diamonds, we take diamonds and we polish them.

 

I think he was wrong, diamond was once coal and went through extreme pressure to become what it is now and people want to polish it. The real skill lies in turning a coal to a diamond.

[ignace]

Muneeb, We dont take coal and turn them into diamonds, we take diamonds and we polish them.

You should have said to him: "So, your classes are empty."

 

 

The truth is that the polishing only happens at the workplace not in uni. I have had graduates who I had to unlearn things and teach them the proper way of doing it.

Edited August 31, 2014 by ignace

[jazzman1]

Of course, YES, age is relevant and it's a big factor to find a good job as a programmer in the future. So, after three or four years of self-education in php or java, you will be 33-34 year old trying to find a position for a junior developer? Come on...that said, I believe it is never too late to pick up a new skill but not to be a profession for you (unless you are really gifted) .... but I believe not.   

Edited September 2, 2014 by jazzman1

[deathbeam]

I think you should go with Java, it is probably best language right now (in terms of portability and cross-platform compatibility). C# is also worth trying becouse of Mono (what is cross-platform port of .NET) if you are interested in game development. And... C# is also good for web development (ASP.NET). I personally self-learned C# and now going to learn Java.

[QuickOldCar]

I would have told that professor that most diamonds are not formed from coal.

 

I don't believe age matters at all.

 

It's knowledge and the ability to get tasks completed efficiently and correct that will get you places.

The schooling with the paper helps you land a job.

 

You can go your own route and just do freelancing.

[jeffreyappel]

I'm also not very young(nearly 30 years) for starting coding, but I enjoy it very much, and the only problem for me is lack of time.

[abdul202]

the age has no relationship with programming, i started learn php after the 30 and i'm now 37 and at the begging i thought it's like rocket science, i found it hard at the beginning but with practice and trying to test every thing myself, the PHP language has become very easy to me to do any thing i want with, i started by learning from good PHP books for beginners and then read more advanced books, and you must test what you read by your self

In MHO programming languages are like learning the speaking languages ( French, Italian) you improve it by practising, not just studding 

don't participate in stackovefflow it's aimed for professional programming and if you a beginner you are not welcomed there

[jeffreyappel]

the age has no relationship with programming, i started learn php after the 30 and i'm now 37 and at the begging i thought it's like rocket science, i found it hard at the beginning but with practice and trying to test every thing myself, the PHP language has become very easy to me to do any thing i want with, i started by learning from good PHP books for beginners and then read more advanced books, and you must test what you read by your self

In MHO programming languages are like learning the speaking languages ( French, Italian) you improve it by practising, not just studding 

don't participate in stackovefflow it's aimed for professional programming and if you a beginner you are not welcomed there

Thanks for encouraging, your words really motivate me:)

[abdul202]

Thanks for encouraging, your words really motivate me:)

you'er welcome, really as a good start read a php book for beginner if search amazon and read reviews about the book before you choose it and see what they say about it and make sure it's for really beginner, and read every chapter and test your self every thing and every function and try to play with it, with time you will find your self able to do things you thought they were hard because our brain is like muscles with training  it learn new skills 

and if you find a good small  code or a function keep it in an organized notes so you can return back to it and not to reinvent the wheel

i feel you have the enthusiasm to learn php so i thing one day in the near future you teach us here some php lessons and solve some of our code questions

Good luck

[jeffreyappel]

Nice tips abdul202 . I use try to use next algorithm while learning:

 

- read the theory from one source

- give it some time

- then read from another source the same information

and repeat until I get it.

 

The next good thing is coding mini but real application which will help me in my daily routine. 

[abdul202]

Nice tips abdul202 . I use try to use next algorithm while learning:

 

- read the theory from one source

- give it some time

- then read from another source the same information

and repeat until I get it.

 

The next good thing is coding mini but real application which will help me in my daily routine. 

i used the approach a lot i learned PHP this way

Good Luck