Programming is Really Hard – But Don‘t Give Up

Learning to code is incredibly rewarding, but it‘s also incredibly challenging. As someone who has worked as a full-stack developer for over a decade, I can attest that the struggle is real. Even now, I still have moments where I feel completely lost and want to throw my laptop out the window.

But I‘m so glad I never gave up, because programming has given me a fulfilling career, the ability to build things that help people, and the power to bring my ideas to life. It‘s opened up so many opportunities and pushed me to grow in ways I never expected.

If you‘re in the trenches of trying to learn programming, I want to reassure you: you are not alone. What you‘re feeling is so normal and so valid. Programming is really hard. It‘s okay to struggle. In fact, it‘s a rite of passage. Every programmer I know, no matter how experienced, has been there.

Why is programming so insanely difficult?

Programming is a uniquely challenging skill to learn for a number of reasons:

It requires a specific type of abstract thinking and problem-solving. You have to train your brain to break down complex problems into clear, unambiguous instructions that a computer can follow. This "computational thinking" is a skill in and of itself. Internalizing concepts like loops, conditionals, variable scope, and recursion takes a lot of mental flexibility.

I remember when I first learned about recursion, my brain felt like it was melting. Trying to trace the flow of recursive function calls was dizzying. It took a lot of practice and examples for it to finally click.

Each language and tool has its own intricacies, conventions, and gotchas to learn. Programming languages are much more unforgiving and persnickety than human languages. Misplace a semicolon, and your entire program breaks. Accidentally use an assignment operator instead of an equality operator, and suddenly your code is doing something completely different than you expected.

And it‘s not just the language syntax – it‘s all the different tools and technologies you have to learn to be an effective programmer. Just when you think you‘ve got a handle on the language, you realize you also have to learn things like version control, the command line, databases, deployment, and more. The learning curve feels endless sometimes.

Debugging is constant trial and error. Inevitably, your code will have bugs. Figuring out why it‘s not working the way you expect is a constant, often frustrating process. Some days I feel like a detective, combing through lines of code for clues and coming up with theories to test. Other days I feel like I‘m just randomly changing things and praying.

Especially when you‘re a beginner, it‘s hard to know where to even start with debugging. Error messages can seem cryptic and intimidating. But with practice, you start to develop a sixth sense for where the problem might be and a toolkit of debugging strategies to try.

The field is constantly evolving. The languages, tools, and best practices of programming are always changing at a dizzying pace. It‘s impossible to ever feel like you‘ve "arrived" or mastered it all, because there‘s always something new to learn. Staying current and continually updating your skills is a career-long challenge.

When I first learned to code, jQuery was all the rage. Now it‘s all about React and Vue. I‘ve lost track of how many build tools have come and gone just in the past few years. Sometimes I feel like I‘m playing an endless game of catch-up.

Imposter syndrome is rampant. With all these challenges and constant changes, it‘s no wonder so many programmers struggle with feeling like frauds. We‘re often our own worst critics, comparing our behind-the-scenes struggles to others‘ highlight reels.

When you see someone else‘s elegant, clever solution to a problem that took you days to solve with messy code, it‘s easy to feel inadequate. But the truth is, every programmer has gaps in their knowledge, insecurities about their skills, and moments of self-doubt. It comes with the territory.

The struggle is real – and normal

If you‘re feeling discouraged and wondering if you‘re cut out for this whole programming thing, I want you to know that you‘re not alone. The struggle is so real, and it‘s so normal.

Statistics show that the average person attempts to learn programming seven times before they stick with it. A study by the University of Helsinki found that nearly 40% of people who try to learn programming give up within the first month. The top reasons? It was too difficult and they got stuck on problems they couldn‘t solve.

Even professional programmers who have been coding for years or decades still face plenty of challenges and moments of frustration. In a survey of over 64,000 developers by Stack Overflow, 84% said they get stuck on problems at least once a week. 47% said they get stuck every single day. And over 80% said they feel a sense of imposter syndrome sometimes or all the time.

Struggling with learning to code doesn‘t mean you‘re not smart enough or not a "real" programmer. It just means you‘re human. The myth of the 10x rockstar ninja wizard developer who never struggles is just that – a myth.

Why it‘s worth pushing through

So with all these challenges, why bother? Why not just quit and do something easier? Because as difficult as it is, learning to program is immensely rewarding and empowering.

The opportunities are endless. The demand for programming skills just keeps growing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment for software developers will grow 22% from 2020 to 2030 – much faster than the average for all occupations. The median annual wage is over $100,000. And that‘s just one job title – programming skills are valuable in countless industries and roles, from research to design to entrepreneurship. Practically every company has a technical aspect these days.

Learning to code opens up so many career possibilities and gives you the power to work in whatever field you‘re passionate about. It gives you the freedom to work from anywhere, in many cases. And it‘s a skill that will serve you well no matter what the future holds – you‘ll always be able to create your own opportunities.

It‘s immensely empowering. Programming is a superpower. It gives you the ability to build tools that solve real problems for real people. You can automate tedious tasks, create beautiful, interactive experiences, uncover insights from data, contribute to innovative technologies and so much more. You can bring ideas to life and make things that help people. It‘s an incredibly creative and rewarding pursuit.

It pushes you to grow. Learning to program isn‘t just about the technical skills – it‘s a catalyst for personal growth. It pushes you to become a better problem solver, to break down complex challenges into achievable steps, to learn from mistakes and persevere in the face of frustration. The process of struggling, making progress, and having those lightbulb moments when things finally click is so satisfying. It builds grit, resilience, and confidence.

The community is amazing. One of the best things about programming is the incredibly supportive, generous community. Programmers love to share knowledge and help each other learn. There are so many free resources, tutorials, and open source projects to learn from. Developers gather in forums and chat rooms to ask and answer questions. At conferences and meetups, you‘ll find a warm welcome and an eagerness to teach and learn. When you‘re struggling, this community is an endless source of encouragement and inspiration.

Tips for when the going gets tough

Learning to program is never a smooth, linear journey. It‘s full of ups and downs, breakthroughs and setbacks. Sometimes it will feel impossible and you‘ll want to quit. Here are some things I‘ve found helpful for pushing through the tough times:

Celebrate small wins. When you‘re deep in the weeds of a challenging bug or complex concept, it‘s easy to feel like you‘re not making any progress. Make a point to celebrate the small victories along the way. Wrote a function that does what you want? Awesome! Figured out what was causing that pesky error? Amazing! Got your code to compile without any errors? You‘re a rockstar! Acknowledging these small wins builds momentum and motivation.

Say "I don‘t know… yet." No one expects you to know everything, especially when you‘re learning. Give yourself permission to not know things. Adopt a growth mindset and add "yet" to the end of "I don‘t know." Embrace the opportunity to learn and grow. With time and practice, the things that challenge you now will become second nature.

Break it down. When you‘re feeling overwhelmed by a problem or project, break it down into the smallest possible pieces. Write pseudocode, sketch out a plan, and tackle it one tiny step at a time. It‘s much less daunting to solve a small, concrete problem than to stare down a big, vague one. Breaking things down into achievable chunks builds momentum and confidence.

Experiment and play. Make time to experiment and play around with code outside of tutorials and assignments. Build small, fun projects to apply what you‘re learning. Explore and tinker with new libraries and tools that pique your curiosity. Not only is this great practice, it‘s a reminder that programming can be really fun and rewarding. You‘ll make mistakes and break things, but you‘ll also have lightbulb moments and surprise yourself with what you can create.

Leverage the community. The programming community is incredibly generous with their knowledge and support. Don‘t hesitate to reach out and ask for help when you‘re stuck. Post in forums, join chat rooms, go to meetups and conferences. You‘ll be blown away by how willing people are to help and how much you can learn from others‘ experiences. And when you have the opportunity, pay it forward and share your knowledge with others. Teaching is one of the best ways to solidify your own understanding.

Take breaks. When you‘ve been banging your head against a problem for hours, continuing to stare at the screen won‘t help. Take a walk, do something completely different, and come back later with fresh eyes. Your brain needs rest and variety to function at its best. Counterintuitively, taking breaks will actually make you more productive.

You‘ve got this.

Learning to program is a marathon, not a sprint. It‘s an iterative process of struggling, wrestling with concepts, breaking through to understanding, and repeating again at the next level. The challenges are what make it so rewarding.

So when you‘re deep in the valley of despair, remember:

• This is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
• You are capable of hard things. You have tackled challenges before and you can do it again.
• Struggling means you‘re growing. It means you‘re pushing at the edges of your ability.
• This feeling is temporary. With persistence and practice, the fog of confusion will clear.
• One day, the things that seem impossible now will feel easy. Keep going and future you will be so glad you did.

And above all, be kind to yourself and don‘t give up. The tech world needs more programmers like you. You have so much potential to create, solve problems, and make an impact. I can‘t wait to see what you build.