A good programmer has many skills and assets. Find out what you’re good at, then apply it to your programming career path. You’ll realise you’re further along the road than you may have realised.
Summary
This tip is simple but is a great boost to your progress and self-esteem. Get a pad and paper, or your phone (you technical whizz!) and compile a list of all the things you’re good at. Dig deep, be vague, be specific, whatever floats your boat.
I’m hesitant to prompt too many answers for you but they could range from solving crosswords, doing magic eye puzzles, sorting and putting away your underwear, climbing a ladder, remaining awake at work meetings, being a morning person, always finding something to moan about, to identifying rare types of cabbage. It doesn’t matter, this list is for your eyes only, so if you think of something you can do, and do it pretty well, jot it down!
I hope you notice that you’re good at a hell of a lot of stuff! If your list is short, it shouldn’t be – we’re all talented human beings even if we fail to see it.
Some skills will be instantly recognisable as a great asset to your new role as a programmer, such as: mathematics, computing, following/interpreting/explaining complex documentation, algebra, and analysis of data. Essentially anything that brings focus to your ability to solve problems.
Others will be more vague but, with some digging you’ll see that they can still be relevant. You may chortle but isn’t organising your underwear a method of sorting data? Identifying cabbages is a method of analysing data?
I know they’re silly examples but seriously, I’m sure you already have many skills that will lend themself to your new journey. It will also reaffirm that you can make this change. Your findings will also help you when you tweak your resume for programming roles as you can highlight skills from your current role(s) that are applicable to your prospective role. Capeesh?