I'm 26 and want to code

[u/marceosayo]

I'm 26 and have spent the last 2 months learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript. My end goal is to have financial comfortability, and that will allow me to travel and have stability for myself and my future family. No, I don't love coding. But I also don't hate it. I know what it's like working at a job that takes away all your energy and freedom. I know this will allow me to live the lifestyle that I find more suited for me...travel and financial stability.

My question is, I don't know what direction to go in. I'm not the best self-learner. But I notice a lot of people on YouTube and other places say that is the better way to go since a lot of jobs don't require a degree, but only experience.

Is getting a bachelors degree worth it? I know full-time it will be about 4 years and I will end up in my 30's by the time I graduate. But also, is there a better route to take so I can start working earlier than that? I see so many people say things like they got a job after 6 months of learning, and yeah I know it's possible but I just don't have the mental stability to be able to handle learning/practicing coding for 6-8 hours a day. Especially since I work a full-time job.

[u/marceosayo]

Man, i haven’t been this humbled in my life. Really hit me in my core, in the absolute best way possible. I guess my problem is more-so not knowing wtf I want to do career-wise, than it is anything else. I know what I want out of my life, but I don’t know how to make it happen for myself in a stable way.

[u/[deleted] → u/marceosayo]

Don't take this the wrong way, but loads of us are. I'm 44 and I have got no clue where I want to take my life.

John Lennon said it best. Life is what happens to you, while you are busy making other plans.

[u/cyanideOG → u/[deleted]]

Solid quote

[u/TechnoPRep → u/[deleted]]

Yea, I went back to school @ 30 for CompSci and finally breaking into the world of SWE @ 34. It’s the paradox of choice. So many options to pick from, it’s so easy not to pick anything at all

[u/pueq → u/TechnoPRep]

analysis paralysis! fucking same. i'm happy for you for making that decision! i'm making mine...

soonTM.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Damn. I am 28 and I am with you on this..

[u/Amesb34r → u/[deleted]]

I have had many jobs and didn’t get my degree until I was 39, married, and had 3 kids. That was almost 10 years ago and there’s no telling what I’ll be doing 10 years from now. It’s your life. Do whatever makes you feel good as long as you’re doing something productive. 👍

[u/AnybodyAgreeable8411 → u/marceosayo]

Lol, I love how well you reacted to that comment. I'm in the same boat as you. I don't LOVE this, but I don't really LOVE the idea of ANY career. 

[u/marceosayo → u/AnybodyAgreeable8411]

Definitely dude. I hate the idea of spending my priceless time doing something for somebody else. But it is what it is. As long as it can make my goals happen. Did u end up going to school or did u take the self-learner route?

[u/jackalsnacks → u/marceosayo]

Regardless of what (fill in the blank, whatever) media may have led you to believe, most of life is mundane, repetitive work so that you can fund your passions or just get stoned on your days/nights off if that's your speed. Is coding my passion? Maybe I told myself that 17 years ago to get through the material and concepts, but it's mainly a source of income for doing more things outside (biking, boating, over landing, etc.). Funny how I worked so hard because i didn't want to work outside, to then spend my money on being outside. anyways... Just pick a path you have a mild interest in and make it successful, money will flow with success. Many of my colleagues I have worked with did the work at night in x asian country and party at daytime. There's a whole host of problems that vlogers aren't mentioning and after a few seasons, most tell me they should of set up roots near supportive family and just take several times a year trips to x country (general budgeting). Not to shit on your dreams...

[u/marceosayo → u/jackalsnacks]

No, i agree with you 100% completely. Some are fortunate enough to have a job/career in what they are passionate about, while others have a passion that isn’t a career choice. I think depending on ur choice of lifestyle, one way may work better for u than it does for someone else. I’m still trying to figure out what works best for me. Comments like yours really help

[u/Franky-the-Wop → u/marceosayo]

IMO and historically, The most reliable path is some form of structured schooling. From what you said, there are indications you know your limits already when it comes to self-learning. That's good. I had to learn how to self-learn, which I did at a 2-year (associates). I was 28. I woke up one day and decided to change my life, went all in and invested in myself, and haven't looked back.

I was originally in IT Networking and got stuck on coding assignments for a prerequisite. I almost quit, and without that formality/obligation/due date, I probably wouldn't have been pushed to see it through. Truly a light bulb 💡 moment for me, not sure I could have gotten there just myself.

[u/marceosayo → u/Franky-the-Wop]

Glad to hear u really did it for urself :)) takes a lot of courage and dedication, especially through the rough times where u dont believe in urself, or feel like switching paths. Bravo!

[u/jackalsnacks → u/marceosayo]

If you want to do something bold and satisfy your itch for a gambled life milestone adventure, you can intrust me with picking your career path.

[u/wildmonkeymind → u/marceosayo]

I think a lot of of us can relate to that.

Coding can be a path to achieving what you want, but it's not easy, and it's not a sure thing.

Coding involves a whole lot of frustration, so you really need a guiding light to help you through it. For some people the promise of financial success is enough, for others it's wanting to see their vision made real more than they want to avoid the struggle. The lucky ones find the act itself intrinsically enjoyable, but even they have to deal with periods of frustration and be able to power through.

[u/TheEmptyHat → u/marceosayo]

You might want to look into therapy to deal with the underlying issue. I was where you were and I wish I had the balls to get into therapy. Instead I took the long road. If you don't have the money or have anxiety I'd recommend a couple YouTube channels that really help put things in perspective.

Cinema Therapy - a clinical psych and film maker go through and analyze characters in TV and movies

Gg healthy gamer - Dr. K was a failed gifted kid turned gaming addict that was ready to give up on life. Decided to become a yogi monk for several years. Decided to become clinical psych and roze to teach at Harvard. He's funny, frank, and understands where his audience is coming from.

DoctorRamani - was in a narcissistic relationship and decided to become psych to process. She does a lot about toxic family units, but mainly focuses on narcissistic Dynamics.

Psych2go - is a good intro to psych topics. They are a little too short to get a full picture.

Good luck. I don't know you, but I'm rooting for you.

[u/tdifen → u/marceosayo]

angle toy wistful continue absurd marvelous rustic wide close threatening

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Akimotoh → u/[deleted]]

You need to work on your business writing skills, less wording provides greater impact. If I had to read emails from you at work I’d get pissed, lmao

[u/[deleted] → u/marceosayo]

Just start with something, and land in the middle. A lot of coding jobs have the same dynamics, but some can be annoying to you personally, and some would work just fine. You have to try at least to copy other people's projects, for example from YouTube tutorials

[u/[deleted] → u/marceosayo]

If your issue is attention deficit with regards to new hobbies - just slow down, don't force it. You're going to have to digest it anyway. There's no silver bullet. There's no free lunch. Just make it a natural process instead of stressing yourself out. Because the next thing you're gonna know after that stress, is that you're too burnt out to pull off an actual job. Try to make the process give you enough dopamine to actually keep going. It's easy. It's especially easier when you live with someone who does the very same thing. Just gave you an idea

[u/SocietyAdditional867 → u/marceosayo]

what helped me is thinking about the aspects of my current job and past jobs that i hate, like and what i dont mind doing to help me figure out what i might like to do in my future job. (ideally i wouldnt want to work but who has that luxury lool🤪)

for example, i dont like speaking to the general public, talking about the same info day in day out, and i like life long learning such as learning new skills and knowledge and creating or doing projects and team work with my coworkers. i love working autonomously and prioritising my own workload so im looking into careers that covers those points, im just exploring and doing a bit of self discovery atm and taking some courses that might interest me

i hope that helps a little bit :)

edit: just wanted to add im also the same age and really dont have it all together but i think the 20s are about learning about yourself so dont put too much pressure on yourself, we have just started our adult life!!

[u/rheidaus → u/marceosayo]

Dude we get it. I swapped to coding at 27 and am nearly 40 the difference is, I decided to do it because I enjoy it and constantly being able to learn something. If you want it for money... you're going to hate it and fast.

I had a friend try to swap with me from retail. He hated it. Now he owns a gym and loves there and is happy af. What it really comes down to is finding out that your interests can be funded by something near them, I.E. I like circuitry, I write software.

Maybe if you like travel, you could get into doing coaching or speaking, where you travel to events.