proud n00b

1 year since I quit my job to learn how to code

It has been 1 year since I left my job to learn how to code full-time. While I loved every minute of it, here is a final post on the transition, the lessons I’ve learned & the risks I took to get it done. (Note- I do not recommend everyone to go a year without health insurance. Just throwing that out upfront. If I didn’t, my mother would kill me.)

Do you have enough $ saved?

Upfront, I think the financial risk was the biggest hurdle. In total, I’ve spent $15- 20k (rent, food, & taxes being the largest expenses). If you have enough money for a barebones existence then you are honesty set. This does exclude health insurance - which I haven’t had in a year. The cost was just too much to fit in with my meager budget. Other things I went without - new clothes, nice meals out, basically all discretionary spending. “2 Buck Chuck” was honestly my biggest gift to myself. 

*One point, because of how little money I made last year, I didn’t think I would have to pay taxes. I was wrong. Check your tax situation upfront to know whether or not you will be on the hook.

*Second point, I didn’t try and get any unemployment benefits. There are people much worse off than me so I risked draining my savings since the worst thing that could happen would be to find a job (more on that below).

Force yourself to act. 

Like most people, I can get into lazy spells where I just want to veg & relax. The blog forced me to get up and act. Some people say, ‘If you say what you will do before you do it, then you are less likely to act.’ I’m on the opposite side of that argument. I think - the more vocal you are with your actions, the more likely you are to act because you do not want to look like ‘the boy who cried wolf.’ Say what you want to accomplish, and go do it. 

Blog your struggles. Don’t be afraid to look stupid.

When I started proudn00b, I thought someone may find it and want to lend a helping hand - I didn’t realize so many people would want to help. Everyone starts somewhere - so I think that is why people are so receptive to openly acknowledging your roadbumps. If you are thinking about learning a new skill, definitely blog about it.

*Thank you to Hacker News for all of the help & support. 

Everything you will need is free & online. 

There are free resources for learning absolutely anything. The first place I would turn to if you are interested in learning Python, Learn Python the Hard Way. As you get going, then turn to Google App Engine (GAE) to launch, free little sites without having to worry about a server. With my roommate, we built Dotty-dots on GAE which has had hundreds of thousands of visitors, and we have yet to have to pay a penny. Finally use Stackoverflow. Post your problems on there - it is truly an amazing resource. Have a question on anything related to to code? As long as you properly word & describe your problem, you will get an answer in less than a day.

Nothing beats local support

While the blog & online resrouces were incredibly beneficial - nothing beats emailing or iming two of my friends (Jon & Mark) who already knew Python and could point me in the right direction.  Every week I get emails from people who are thinking about learning how to code. My biggest piece of advice - learn the language your friends know. If you know someone that knows Ruby, learn Ruby. If a friend knows PHP, pick PHP. You’ll want someone to bounce questions off of that person when you’ve extinguished all other options.

A new network of friends

One unexpected result was that I also got a whole new group of friends. 90% of the people I currently chat/ tweet/ email with, are people I have met in the last year.  That has been the biggest benefit to this experience - those relationships. One interesting quote I heard over the last year - “you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Just think about that as you evaluate your current stage in life, and what you want to become.

Results - Pretty good Django developer -Python, HTML & CSS. n00b JS.

I don’t know what I don’t know. 

This is the biggest hurdle I am facing right now.  I do not know what ‘bad habits’ I have.  I’d akin this to watching your roommate cook - you know it will taste good, but the kitchen is a mess. Until I get a job/internship/coding opportunity in a progressional setting, I won’t know what exactly I am doing right or wrong. 

It is tough to find a job with 1 year of experience.

In the last few months, I have applied to at least ten places as I evaluated my next steps. I was able to get 4 phone interviews, 3 coding challenges, and 0 offers. This goes back to the point above - I have a good understanding of how to code, what goes into a website, and the logic involved. Regardless of how successful I have been at building a community around proudn00b, press, and a bit of internet notoriety, at the end of the day, companies want someone who can write good code. Most likely, an internship is the route to take- get some experience and find out exactly what I don’t know.

Housefed - the big success.

In the last few months, I have built Housefed, an 1,800 person community for people to find home meals in over 35 countries around the world (an Airbnb for food). With press from Techcrunch (twice)  & Forbes, it is growing quite nicely as last week I had our first home-meal at my house (photo below). It definitely blew away any expectations I had, and was incredibly fun.

As I open the site to more meals, I can’t wait to see where Housefed goes. Definitely check it out if you haven’t. 

Summary

This has been the best year of my life. I finally learned a skill I have wanted to for years. While my bank account is on its last leg, I wouldn’t have changed anything. Ultimately you have one life to live - go after the things you want. Tell people what you are doing - if they do not know what you want, how can they help? However the journey is longer than you think. Be prepared mentally and financially for that fact. 

As they say in Japan, “Ganbatte kudasai!”

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PS If anyone has a paid dev internship in the SF Bay Area? Let me know!