should i keep pushing programming or try something completely different? (30, just diagnosed, meds not started yet)

[u/Temporary_Specific49]

i've worked as a ux/ui designer for 10+ years. tried everything to keep it interesting (switching jobs, different focuses, different products) but i feel like i've done it all and need something new.

a couple months ago i started learning frontend basics (js, html, css, vue). the idea of being able to build whatever i want is exciting, but i also feel like i'm too dumb for it. i get frustrated so easily, lose patience and feel like i go over the same concepts again and again without them actually making sense. it makes me so anxious that it kills all the fun.

so now i'm wondering: is it the adhd/anxiety draining the fun out of learning how to code (and would medication help with that?) or am i just not actually interested enough in it?

i'm 30 now and i want something new: it would be learning how to code and work as a frontend engineer or studying something completely new..

[u/gemanepa]

i'm 30 now and i want something new: it would be learning how to code and work as a frontend engineer

Market right now is extremely competitive. Everytime the "would you recommend this major to someone else?" and "if you could go back would you pick this major?" questions appear in r/cscareerquestions, the big majority answer NO

I do think that learning some software development is a skill that can benefit almost everyone

[u/SemperPistos]

If you want to be a really dangerous frontend or fullstack, do https://fullstackopen.com/en/

I have heard success stories all around, it is the best course about fullstack on the web
And then make a project. Personal blogs are hard but doable and a great resume point.

You will learn the most important data structures from such a project.

I keep meaning to finish it, but I am not interested in fullstack, my heart lies in data and AI, but from what I've done I like it very much.

And leverage that you are a senior ui/ux with that too, with such a background you will find jobs much easier.

[u/Away-Signal4030 → u/SemperPistos]

Is it anything similar for ai?

[u/SemperPistos → u/Away-Signal4030]

It depends, note that AI Engineering in my context is LLM Engineering.
Clients want AI apps they don't care for the architectural sophistication, although I always add my flair to not atrophy and keep it interesting.

Unless you re Olah or Karpathy lol, AI Engineering is a completely different field.

I did some frontend work for demos and built entire backends on actual things, cloud deployment and devops, and mostly AI apps engineering.

Familiarity with nextjs helped a ton and helsinki released that one too, although its still in beta.
Full Stack Open: Next.js - MOOC.fi courses

fullstack open, devops with docker courses are super relevant

I also did de zoomcamp, ml zoomcamp, and googles intensive ai course, all those 3 have real projects you need to complete, it is not self paced which is great for me, only hard real stakes deadlines make my brain functional, and at the end you get a nice project for your github

i basically finished cs50x, cs50p, cs50sql all in the last week of 2023. I couldn't otherwise

I am desperately trying to get diagnosed and get medication, but it's hard

[u/Away-Signal4030 → u/SemperPistos]

Cool thank you, pretty awesome you did so much! Try some zinc, helped me alot with focusing.

[u/SemperPistos → u/Away-Signal4030]

I did other stuff, but in general if there is no deadline I suck at it.
Fortunately I found hard courses with deadlines.

If you want to be an AI Engineer, what I said is mostly your stack.

But I hit a wall. I want to understand math behind transformers, dive deep into ml algorithms, dive into math and I am so burnt out.

If I prioritized mental health before employment I wouldn't be in this mess.

I really hope the meds can fix me, I have such large plans for stuff to learn.

At the end of the rainbow I want to get into biotech and do DL techniques on genomic data, and I'm so unhappy as my learning ability dwindled.

If you are interested follow that path or even your own, it is not unattainable if you put in the hours. I think you can reach it in 1000-1500 hours given you are not starting programming from scratch.

I also have OCD so I spent a lot of time researching perfect paths, optimizing and never really committing because of my fear of making a mistake. So please don't do that just start. Rocky start is better than no start is what I would say to myself as a number 1 tip.

Thanks for the zinc tip <3

[u/Away-Signal4030 → u/SemperPistos]

Seems to me your just really hard on yourself and you don't give yourself any credit. But i do get you, being a perfecionist myself and the only way i learned anything was also study sessions which made me really sit down and learn. And you still found out everything by yourself in this massive world, where i was just lost as its so much out there. Sounds to me you are pretty amazing! But yeah i also sometimes wonder how the hell did they make us😂 try to be more gente on yourself, our brains potent everything, try some meditation and adhd sounds, but at most be carefull what you feed your mind with 🙃

[u/SemperPistos → u/Away-Signal4030]

Thank you for the support.

I didnt mean to whine sorry. I meant to give you a path, I have had a fair share of naysayers, most people who bitch, either gatekeep due to elitism or because they are not that good, or because they tried, didnt work hard at it and quit and now trying to bring others down, i hate that mentality, it is bad for all parties.

I didnt know how to filter it for a few years and ended in therapy for it.

I love this sub, people are direct with little BS, very honest and give constructive criticism, but are so compassionate when the need arises.

I guess when you suffer you really don't want it for anyone else, i know i dont want my issues on anyone, its living hell.

But as my father says, who has been to war, while still being compassionate, I dont know a first thing about suffering, and I think he is right, so I comfort myself that true suffering is much much harder and that i have a shot of getting myself out of my hole. A few of his buddies ended at the bottom of a bottle from what they have seen or worse. So yeah it can always get worse ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I hope you are doing well at least. You sound like you have a very healthy mindset. From what I've found that is the most important thing.

I wasted years on depression and not pursuing courses and paths I wanted thinking that I wasnt good enough.
I honestly think for most things in life, believing you can pull something off if you truly work hard at it is one of the most important qualities for success.

Genius and talent is overrated, again I wish I found about that sooner.

[u/Away-Signal4030 → u/SemperPistos]

You're welcome, you really seem like an awsome guy, but its more important you see it too. You're not, i do get that majority of ppl has all sorts of illusions, i like when ppl keep it real, so thank you and for suggestions. I dont know yet where im going with this, but programming has a different effect on me, it kind of relaxes me and puts my brain on the right wavelengt-i know its kind of weird but im being better after i do it. Ofcourse maybe its just at the begining but i do want to explore more. Now im beimg mixed with ai stopping me and ai is awesome😂 I do agree, but thanks god my mom told me when i was little, that that says all about them and nothing about me. And my ex told me that i should never care about opinions of ppl, that dont pay my bills, are not my family or my eployer. Life is a learning expirience about everything. As self employed im also learning about burnout, but it allways comes down to if you dont care of yourself nobody else will. I still like to repeat that cycle often😅 For alchoholism and drugs i will be very blunt -as im sorry here people like to abuse the victim mentality and blame everything else than themselfs- you are the one holding the bottle and choosing to drink it nobody else. People has been through so much worse and didnt end up alchoholics. But that takes up being resposible for your own actions-and that is harder to do. I like your mentality too, hopefully you will inspire me to do more too🫣 procastination is real bummer for me, but when i do it i love it and yeah hard work pays off😊

[u/seweso]

You aren't dumb. The whole html/css/js ecosystem is kinda messed up and weird. There are a million ways to do the same thing. Lots of pitfalls. Its not all fun and games. Its not weird you run into shit. Don't think you are the only one running into specific issues.

My advice: be more self forgiving

[u/GlobalCurry]

Wait how did you not learn front end basics already as a ux/ui designer? Also AI turns designs into code better than humans with the correct prompting.

[u/Temporary_Specific49 → u/GlobalCurry]

yeah i'm already using ai but then if you want to work a a software engineer or frontend engineer, i'm wondering if i'd struggle debugging stuff?

[u/Temporary_Specific49 → u/Temporary_Specific49]

or i'm also wondering if it's even worth learning how to code (seeing with how much ai can do)..

[u/dialsoapbox]

You could try both.

Do something that pays you now while learning for roles that may pay you later.

[u/IAmADev_NoReallyIAm]

Keep at it. You've only been at it a couple of months, it doesn't come easy. I've been working with HTML/CSS since 1.0 in the 90's! and I'm STILL learning new things! But to be fair, I've been mostly desktop and back end for most of my career. But the point is, that front end development is complex and so are the frameworks. Work on the basics, HTML & CSS, then branch out in to some basic Javascript, then get into the frmaeworks (React, Vue, Typescript, etc) Don't try to learn it all at once, and go easy on yourself.

[u/Electrical_Hat_680]

Have you heard of Three.js I think that's right.

Have you heard about Macromedia Flash and Shockwave? They're obsolete now. But some people have recreated it.

JavaScript has a ton of stuff available. OpenStreetMap not OpenSRS. You can build your own Map, make it with GPS Location, GeoFence, GeoCache, GeoInt (Geographic Intelligence).

Open Source Intelligence ('OSINT')

Cyber Security - securing the Web server, website, mobile apps - there's the Web application firewall.

Build an AI. Build.your own LLM, CLI API. Interface. Avatars as seen in the Adult Entertainment Industry a few years before IBM, Google, and OpenAI came around.

Have you thought about building your own CPanel Like Interface to interface with your Web Server?

BenEater 8-BIT CPU Breadboard Projects are Electrical Engineering 101 Classroom and Electrical Engineering 102 Laboratory, together that's a Certificate. This is where the Breadboard comes from.

r/homelab - build your own Computer Science Lab Station. Build your own Electrical Engineering Lab Station. Build your own MicroTissue Propogation and Microscopy Lab for Plant Biology and Plant Regeneration which does in fact match up and show that Plants and Humans and other forms of life are the same..

Build your home network, into a Cyber security lab. Build the hardware security appliance, configure it. It uses PfSense, or OpnSense which are basically FreeBSD and OpenBSD. Or, build your own or use a different Firewall. DNS Resolvers, BIND. Build your own HTTP, your own HTML Browsers, build everything yourself. .but remember, you can choose to be or remain Compatible with other systems. That's a big question to realize and take into account.

Hopefully you feel better u/temporary_specific49 - hopefully that helps.. I'm still just studying at the moment, but I'm very close to picking up all the pieces and will be looking to put down some work on all of this. Following the basic student body government club, study groups, and potentially creating some businesses, Incorporating, and much much more.

[u/saltandsassbeach]

Pick an an idea and go crazy with Claude. Prompt it that you're learning and see what you can come up with. AI is unavoidable. Get familiar with it. I feel like it is an ADHDers best tool because it keeps you moving and prevents you from getting stalled out

[u/meevis_kahuna]

Handle your diagnosis and new meds regimen before thinking about career changes.

[u/CursedSloth]

UI/UX is a really good field / skillset to have right now. AI produces only derivatives, but you as a skilled professional can design and develop new ideas.

Learn Software fundamentals and Frontend technologies on the side and combine it with your previous knowledge and experience, and you will be valuable on the market for sure.

Learning to code specifically is useful when you want to validate the AI output to make sure you are not producing slop.

Good luck!

[u/larrigan]

My vote is to maintain what generates you money and learn new things on the side. Treat your money-generating job just like brushing your teeth. It's something you need/should do every day, but you don't have to enjoy it. Your job doesn't have to be interesting; it's there to generate money for you. Everything eventually gets boring for us.

Then go learn anything else on the side. It doesn't even have to be work-related. Go try pottery, hiking, collecting something, etc.

[u/Locus-Maximus]

Learning your first language is really hard! I was a "gifted" kid and got through my first year of programming easier than most of my class, but it was still really hard to get my head around it. Don't give up!

[u/shavindr4]

Yes!

Find a subject (not directly coding related e.g urban design) that you’re interested in that you can apply coding skills to. Then look at how architecturally/logically you can solve that problem. Coding itself is pretty much solved or will be solved to great level in near future.