Just heard a guy at the coffee shop say 'you can't learn to code without a computer science degree'

I've been teaching myself Python for six months with free online courses, and that comment made me realize how many people get scared off before they even start. What's the most wrong piece of advice you've heard about learning to code?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade323d ago

Man that attitude drives me nuts. I know so many people making good money as self taught devs. The worst advice I ever got was that you need to memorize everything before you build anything, which just leads to never starting.

betty_reed613d ago

Wait, is it really that big of a deal? People get so worked up about the "right way" to learn. Sure, memorizing everything first is bad advice, but some folks do just fine with a bit of structure before they jump in. It's not like one path works for everyone.

spencer66423d ago

Totally get where you're coming from, @jade3. I used to believe you needed a formal degree to be taken seriously in tech. Hearing stories from self taught people who are doing great really changed my mind on that. That advice about memorizing everything is such a trap, right? It just makes the whole thing feel impossible before you even begin. Building real stuff, even messy stuff, teaches you way more than any textbook ever could.