Follow your passion!

My brother (am presuming you are a guy), what you are facing is very normal in the early stages of any career. Infact, your fear to embrace failure is the reason why you would succeed if only you really 'persist'.

Let me give you a bit of my own story: I read mathematics and computer science in one of the universities in Nigeria, but I must confess there ws really nothing like computer science about it --- it ws all mathematics and I was very good at it, I mean I could formulate problems, read and understand ancient math texts that my mates in school could not even understand. My interest in life lies in solving problems and that was even buttressed when i was recruited straight after graduation by one of the leading software companies in Nigeria to become a programmer. Initially it was very tough for me because I had never written industrial codes except for the exam paper codes I solved while in the university; but in all I ws determined to learn the tricks and soon found out it ws not too different from the same level of reasoning I apply to solving problems (whether math, physics, chemistry etc , ). I bought java programming books and learnt everything with little or no supervision and before u could say jack, my company was already using me to train staff on how to program with java. It did not only end at java, I could and can still look at any code snippet, no matter what language its written and tell you what the code is doing --- my point here is that you jst have to be able to solve problems. Think of programming as trying to understand a physics problem and try formulating a solution for it. However, in the context of programming you'll ask yourself (or even people around you) what does language X,Y or Z have to help me compute the cross product of two vectors for example etc , If you can learn these tricks you can code in any language be it C++, java, SQL, etc, To God be the glory am inching closer to completing a PhD in computer science. So my brother, the bottom line is that you should always ask yourself: how do I solve this problem ? Once that is established, you can then ask again, what does a particular programming language offer (I mean syntactic structures, since semantically you would have had a clue by answering the first question) to help me achieve what I want to do?

One last advice: always be determined to solve a problem through; with a degree in physics am sure you are a smart chap. Do you know what the danger of quitting that job is? The answer is simple: you might end-up facing thesame problem (of always quitting) in any other job you find yourself . Live by the tenets of your screen name and always 'persist'.

Guy, am a programmer too,


and I had your kind of experience in my first two months on the Job.

I had actually done a lot of desktop programming but was suddenly thrown into the web app development world.

Infact, it took a lot of encouragement from the MD and near misses for me to catch up.


Anyway the rest is history. In less than two years, I've been promoted thrice and developed apps succesfully for organization
in many fields.



So my advice is simply this, ask yourself one question ?

do you love the Job (level of difficulty aside) ? if you do, then go for it.

With determination there's nothing you cant achieve, forget about the naysayers.

Am talking from my little experience.

I thanks all the poster who have encouraged me on my path.I think I will stick with it for another 2 to 3 month. I Have already being exploring other areas of IT.I started a cisco Weekend class and I have been reading my Unix pretty hard.I guess I am just going to compare and see how it all goes as for the guys who volunteered to help me in my programming endeavor .I will mail u guys.

I have been working on c#, Entity Framework and wcf for the past 2months.

Pls dont quit,except you have some other option. Programming could be very uneasy. But with time,I think one will know how-to. One other thing I know is some ppl dont have the mental ability to write good programs. And some good programmers are weak in other domains of learning. The best programmer in my school is about to leave with a 3rd class. Gbam!

Hang in there if it's your passion. However look for materials/resources to equip yourself.good luck

I think u should follow ur username, PERSIST

I remembered when i started out. I had been posted to ph for my service year and they is a ban there on corps members from serving in industries, every one there had to teach and i was posted to one bush like that.

Anyways, hears of a company looking for a programmer and it was either a bush school with no light, network and civilization or learn programming, get paid and stay in town.

It was tough but then to succeed as a programmer, u just cannot quit. One way to get going to to learn how to read and debug errors, once there, ur problems are almost solved. Nothing is a frustrating as having an error and not knowing what line of code is causing it.

In my case, i studied Engineering in school and the only programing experience i had before then was vb macros, at the end of the day, I became skilled in Oracle, Mysql, php, Joomla, Java etc.

All in all, 2 months is too early to quit, just hang in there, its really frustrating when u are not getting it but nothing compares to the feeling u get when u have successfully developed a program.

All the best sha

persist:

Mistake choosing my first JOb


I am working for a great computer programming company here in nigeria.I started two months ago.THough I studied physics I was given a chance  to prove my self in programming.I Loved the little I used to do while i was in school but now after like two month I fell like hell My head pounds during work and I get scared like shit.I am not even producing good code.The thing seems very stressful.

Please guys I am thinking of quitting with my integrity intact before one boss starts shouting  Useless on me.I am confused should I quit.I feel like I should switch to networking by attending at least a three month course.

NB A friend help me get this job actually and he said if i should quit within 2 months I will look like I cam to siphon some cash and run and also It will give him a bad name in the company since I entered through his recommendation.

Guy what should i do .Should I quit and just change careers?

why on God's earth are u opening 2 threads with the same post? anywhoo, all IT jobs are stressful, i come home with all manner of headache, i am surprised i have not been involved in an accident when driving home because i just leave work drained and totally blanked out . i take alot of Milo like hell once i get home till i feel dizzy. ur problem is confidence, u must remember u have more control than most IT ppl; ur stress will be mainly u, the code and ur computer acting out, in mine, i have to deal with idiots that can't use computers and make major mistakes. ppl that swipe out their contacts from their phone and didn't backup to outlook or mobileme or any other form of back up but some how think i have a magical wand to bring them back. what about when u did everything right and one idiot click or makes a false operation and brings down a part of ur network if not all and its on ur neck to get things up and running immediately. what abt ppl that have to deal with folks that will forget to mention to IT or NOC that they tripped over a loose cable somewhere, some how and half of the network communication is out, and u spend ur life troubleshooting hell for hours and spending half of ur life on google only to find out that a cable is not having proper connection because liz tripped over it without mentioning to any1. dude get ur act together man.

Man-woman biz is a very RAM consuming task.

Even your hard drive will attest to this.

My advice:

Tie down the privates and READ YOURSELF into the work that's giving you headache.

There's nothing most of us are facing that hasn't been encountered by people that came b4 us;

problems and solutions have been documented on the internet for you to read up. No be beans. Read am.

As someone earlier said,  make www.google.com your home page and search away from there.

There's nothing you can't do if you'd only just put your mind to it.

Then, and only after then, can you release the one-eyed dragon.

guysmat:

Man-woman biz is a very RAM consuming task.
Even your hard drive will attest to this.

programming is just like dat.infact,[b]javalove [/b]has spoken a lot of wot i av in mind.
bt guy,it's goin 2 b a MISTAKE if u walk out a job wtout gettin anoda first.
just pray & giv in ur best.& allow God 2 order ur steps.'coz my brother programming pass man o;u need God.

Persist pls quit fast if you think programming is not for you.

If u decide 2 quit. Make sure u have a good backup plan.

Dont quit. If you think you're becomming overwhelmed take a break and hit the books to learn and hopefully refresh your brain. Trust me its really hard when you start because you are trying to prove yourself but it will take time.

And if you are going to quit then you ensure you have a good backup plan. dont want to go from fire to frying pan

Well, a whole lot of people suggest you keep your job and try to get by. In the meantime since it's your source of income you could still hold on to find out if you'll grow to loving it. But if it still doesn't conform to your person dont imprison yourself there and say you dont have a choice cos u really do. You can accomplish more than you ever thought you could. We have one life to live dont live it regretting at the end that you didn't live it with fulfillment. Do what you we're created to do. We all have options. Choose right.

Man, don't quit, hang in there and ignore your fears. My story will inspire you, I hope. I personally don't have any college education, I never stepped into any sort of training class. I don't even have a high school training. Started out as a cleaner in a cyber cafe and would play computer games whenever the boss was not around. I later decided to use that opportunity to better my life by learning a thing or two on a daily basis. Bought computer books and would learn at home then experiment at work on my own. In few months, I was already able to troubleshoot computer related issues. My boss was amazed when I single handedly repaired systems problems one day when our technician wasn't around.

He promoted me from a cleaner to not only as an attendant but assistant technician. With determination, passion and interest, I studied more and more. It was really hard for me as didn't have any educational background beyond primary school (Kenya). Things got even tougher when I got a web programming project from a client as I had started freelance jobs. I remember studying and working all night long. Unfortunately, that first project ended up miserably, as the client was really pissed off by my delay. He kicked me out of the project.

This only strengthened my resolve, I went out for web programming with my all, stopped at nothing, and tell you what, it's now 7 years and am now one of the most successful web programmers. I have mastered quite a lot, have been developing stuffs in Joomla! CMS that wows many. But still so far, no one in my country knows about my educational background, as one thing is clear, they will only discourage me if they happen to know.

Right now, I have a load of projects and am pulling them one after the other with ease. SO!!! if a primary school drop out can do so much, how much will a physics degree holder DO??

I don't think anyone would expect a non-IT graduate to be able to write good code in two months. I would suggest that you stay there for a few months and see how you get on. You'll need to do a lot of studying and practising in your spare time. In about 4 months, if you find you are not making any progress or are still struggling with the job, then you can consider changing careers.

However, if you have problems with logical reasoning, then programming may not be the career for you.

When I first started as a programmer, it took a lot of practice, patience (for debugging code), paracetamol, coffee and studying for me to learn how to write decent code.

I'm in the I.T. field myself, but not in the programming stuff.

Well, I have 2 advice for you. The first is that if you love the job, look for someone who has experience and skill, let him put you through, who knows you may be another great world renowned programmer.

Secondly, if you have no love or passion for the job, instead of working in pain and feeling like the next day should not break so you won't go to work the following day. then, I think you better quit and look for a job that will give you joy and satisfaction.

Hee. Your username on this forum is persist. So persist to get better on the job.

Good luck to you as you persist.

no

yhello, dont bother to quit ya programming job thats hw its going to be jst kip ya head straight and forge ahead sinc thats what you have choosen to embark on. it ia always like that and dont let anybody push u, u ve got to make it. am also a programmer that build, develop, web application,standalone web n projects and the likes with a lot of challenges, jst tak what u r facing as challenges n blives that u'll overcome it. cheers

what u need is to pray if u are a christian or muslim ,pray and fast,
when u get to office in the morning ,before u start working at all,make sure u pray ,commit ur jobs into the hands of the lord,
cos God is the best programmer and he will lead u right,this thing has happened to me also but i overcame it

clementcro:

what u need is to pray if u are a christian or muslim ,pray and fast,
when u get to office in the morning ,before u start working at all,make sure u pray ,commit ur jobs into the hands of the lord,
cos God is the best programmer and he will lead u right,this thing has happened to me also but i overcame it

Until such a time as God comes from wherever he is to help people write their code, I would suggest that the OP adopts a more practical approach.

@OP
Firstly, I dont like programming. I feel it is the peak of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. That being said, if you like programming, feel  free to pursue a career in it. I have several friends who are programmers and are quite successful at it,

On to your problem. You need to be clear on what your priorities are. Your priority is to see to it that your career is developing as you wish (salary, job responsibility etc), while your employers should be left to worry about if your productivity is commensurate with your remuneration. There is no need for you to over criticize yourself, cos believe me, the moment your productivity is below expectation, your employer would let you know. So all your self condemnation is a waste of precious time.

As to the challenges you face with your job, there are two parts to programming: The problem analysis and algorithm development, and the actual translation into code. The latter is the easier of the two IMO, and you would get better the more time you spend with the language. The former part is a bit more challenging as it would depend heavily on how developed your analytical skills  are. Whichever, you can develop both areas with time. Invest time in developing yourself and make friends with those who have the skillsets you desire.

For the short time solution, I would suggest you find yourself, a programming benefactor. Someone outside of your office, who is quite capable in the field, and who you can ask questions and bounce ideas off, possibly willing to act as a private tutor. You should also join a tech forum where you can post questions and requests. You will be amazed at the amount of free help that is available on the internet. Do not be surprised if most of the problems you find challenging have already been solved by others. This will give you time to develop an expertise in the field. Make sure you have internet access both at work and at home. The internet is the best friend to a programmer. Also work on your google-fu. Searching with the right keywords on google could save you several sleepless nights and instead make you look like a wunderkid.

You need to have confidence in your own abilities, while recognizing your shortcomings. Dont let anybody intimidate you with their profiency in programming, as they were all like you at one point in time. Everybody likes to look smart, but the corporate environment is full of ducks on a pond - they look calm on the surface, but are paddling like crazy underneath just to stay afloat. Nobody get two heads, if you put in the effort, you will see the result. Nobody is born a programmer, it is an acquired skill.

So in summary, dont quit.

If you are not confortable with it quit before temptation overfull your head and mind not whatever anybody would say cause they will neither work/stay with you there. Follow your mind and God will help you.

Ew! U guys are getting me scared! I jurt secured an I.T job and my job comprises of programming too. How will it be for me to be given a deadline to complete a program and if any error,my new job is at stake!

Phew! U guys shud pls ginger and encourage the poster, u may not know how many lifes/jobs you could encourage/discourage . People like me .

@Poster, pls dont quit o. What makes you think the next job you will get wont be harder than this? Me,i believe you are being "brewed" to get stonger. And Believe me,so people wish they were racking or even cracking their brains programming like u. ABEG B STRONG AND KIP D JOB!

I think you should follow your heart - its more than pressure - maybe you should backpedal instead of trying to "prove yourself" . it may not be that your inefficient but
that your brain has to "ripen" naturally. there was a problem i was working on for
months- a simple program - to others but as a hobbyist i was taking way to long.
what did i do - i stopped coding and chilled , thinking of the problem without any respect
to time, months passed by when i finally got back to solving the problem , it was a breeze, i redesigned the entire program because i could now "see" the relationship
in my mind.
its like trying to get a primary school kid to understand university level studies- the kid
may b very smart but telling him to prove himself may burn him out.

so, mayb you should back pedal, keep up your recreational coding for say 1 year,move into another role, and when your done with your self projects present them to your boss or sell em to your boss' company.
A programmer should never be rushed.but if you can stand it fine - let your brain mature. i can't stress that enough.

Thanks guys for the contribution . I quit my Job and I got another as a programmer . I learnt a lot @ this second role with Little to No pressure for the first 2 months. I guess it was more of an environment and shock thing of the first job. I had the MD of my first Job telling me I have my eyes on you on the day he was recruiting I guess that got me edgy too. All the same thanks guys

good to know u are still coding. .

sir t: @ poster,

The key word here is persistence. Dont quit, cos if u do, u may live to regret this for the rest of your life. I will advise you arrange for personal trainig during weekend, do a lot of research on the net, relate with senior colleaques at work and open your heart to new innovations. Ori gige ko ni ogun ori fifo ( i.e cutting ones head is not solution to headache)

Belief in your self that u can do it, and be prayerful.

Mad ass quote, I going to print this on a tshirt.