Some advice on getting into coding?

[rgm82]

Hi ya'll, I'm new to the site and I've got a bunch of questions out of the gate, hope this is the right place to post this...
Anyway, I was thinking about adding coding/programming to my list of employable skills and was looking for some insight as to whether or not this is something that could work for me.
A little background info: I work in film and TV production currently...I like what I do for a living and I don't want to quit, but if the pandemic has taught me anything it's that A) I need another way to make money besides production work because that shit can all of a sudden vanish on you and B) that supplemental income should ideally be a somewhat flexible, work from home situation.

So is coding the type of thing that I could realistically just kind of jump in and out of as a freelancer and mostly work from home? I'm not looking for a fulltime, go to the office every day type scenario, just a way to keep the cash flow coming in when I have some downtime between productions, which is usually a few months but in the case of the pandemic, basically this entire past year

Also how much money can you expect to make at it? Do you get paid hourly, weekly, per project, how does the pay work? Any special equipment needed other than a laptop and wifi connection?

I'm also pretty new at it, so how long can I expect it take to go from zero to employable? Are there any particular programs/languages that are most in-demand? I know a little, I did some graphic design/web design in college and learned some rudimentary html and ccs, but that's mostly it...also looking for recommendations on which courses to try? You go online and there's just dozens of coding classes, bootcamps, etc., i have no idea which ones are the good ones...I'm willing to spend a little money on it so it doesn't have to be exclusively free or even the cheapest classes, if it gets me paid work down the line it's worth it.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read all this and offer a response, I appreciate your input

 

[aashay1995]

There are a lot of free resources available on internet where you can actually learn quality coding and start your career in coding. I would advice to pick one coding language Either Java, Python or C language and build your logic solving abilities on that, once you have a grasp on how to approach towards a logic, it will be very easy to code your way through it.

 

[CodeMonkeyJ]

Yeah, paid courses are not likely much better than free tutorials unless you find you just don't have the current mindset for programming and would benefit from some one-on-one time with a proper educator. I'm not sure you'd even get that with bootcamps, etc, but try learning on your own (and with us!) first, IMO.

With respect to freelancing, I read a long time ago that it takes at least a couple years of freelance coding before you can turn it into your primary income. I can't speak to the validity, I've never tried freelance, but there are sites where you can pick up oddjobs to knock out fairly quickly without long-term contracts. Freelance is paid per job, otherwise, it's a steady biweekly/bimonthly paycheck like any other job, usually, even if you're on a contract. Certainly no equipment needed beyond a laptop and Internet for normal coding (get used to virtual machines, though). I wish I could give you proper freelance advice, but I'm career.

How much you can earn varies greatly. Google, Facebook, etc? $600k-$750k. Average coder, mid career, in a busy area like DC and surrounding area? $80k-$120k easy, upwards of $200k with clearances and experience (lots of government agencies and associated contractors around there). Entry level is $50k-$75k. One major upside to coding is that it tends to be a meritocracy. If you excel at it, you'll quickly work up the ranks. There doesn't seem to be much buraucracy involved. I can't say for freelance, but the faster you can finish a job, the more jobs you take and the more money you make, so it'll vary greatly, as well.

Just jump into it and see if it's something you could enjoy in your free time. Let us know if you get stuck or if something isn't quite making sense.

 

[アノ・化け物]

As someone with a degree in the field...

So is coding the type of thing that I could realistically just kind of jump in and out of as a freelancer and mostly work from home? I'm not looking for a fulltime, go to the office every day type scenario, just a way to keep the cash flow coming in when I have some downtime between productions, which is usually a few months but in the case of the pandemic, basically this entire past year

No, unless you already have some background on how it's done and/or are talented enough to pick things faster than the normal person.

I'm also pretty new at it, so how long can I expect it take to go from zero to employable? Are there any particular programs/languages that are most in-demand? I know a little, I did some graphic design/web design in college and learned some rudimentary html and ccs, but that's mostly it...also looking for recommendations on which courses to try? You go online and there's just dozens of coding classes, bootcamps, etc., i have no idea which ones are the good ones...I'm willing to spend a little money on it so it doesn't have to be exclusively free or even the cheapest classes, if it gets me paid work down the line it's worth it.

To be really honest with you, around a year minimum. And that is assuming you are an individual that understands what he's doing.

In demand, right now, is fullstack development. Especially the frontend market. So you need the all following; and no, don't consider basic HTML/CSS/JS as something you know or already have because it has changed much compared to what people truly know it as.

* HTML5
* CSS/SASS
* Javascript (ECMA6)/Typescript
* NodeJS, Grunt & Jasmine
* UI "framework" - Bootstrap and Chart.js
* ReactJS OR AngularJS OR Vue.js OR KnockoutJS
* [Microframework] (depending on language, assuming nodejs) Express.js OR Sails.js
* [Macroframework] Meteor.js
* Back end Relational, NoSQL and ORM Database (MySQL AND Mongodb AND Sequelize.js)
* Linux administration and server management.
* Monitoring and logs

It is not possible to have ANY of these bullet point lines on their own. You need all of these.

 

[Infinityhost]

There are enough programmers アノ・化け物 said If You didn't undarstand he he I'm coding for fun. If You need any help in basics write to me, I'm still learning but something I do know and I'm not afraid to share with other people my "little" knowledge.

 

[MeMate]

@rgm82

We have to seperate a few things in Software, Webware and Appware.

Software = Anything you can install and rund from your PC, MAC
Webware = Anything online run with a browser (Websites and so on)
Appware = IOS, Android Apps (XCODE, Java, Kotlin and so on)

Best salaries comes with Software and Appware. Huge Software companies don't make you rich, but wealthy. No financial worries. Negatives: You can't do that for more than a couple years. Mercyless job.

Not as good but still good enough is Webware.

It depends on your skills and if you're an employee or self employed.

There is no accurate answer to "how much money to expect". I made about 500k/Year a couple years ago with WebWare and Appware. I was (or still am) self employed. Now im kinda retired. Still working for clients, but only small stuff, medium projects.

A freelancer gets less than the hireing company (of course. If you're lucky it's 70% of it's real value). Take it or leave it. A lot of competition. That do not mean, freelancing isn't worth it. I made 40% of all my income as a freelancer. But i already had my companies to work with. So i never had to negotiate prices or quotes.

Basically nobody really can answer your questions. There is so many if's, when's, but's.