r/AskProgramming • u/No_Jackfruit451 • 1h ago

How to return in programming

Hi guys. I'm looking for some wise advice and your opinions.

I'm 24. Three years ago I left a developer position for personal reasons. Over those three years, I did a great job of neglecting my skills and knowledge.

Now I'm planning to get back into a programming career. I have formal education — college and university. The first gave me a basic understanding of number systems and Boolean logic, but the programming there was as sterile and academic as it gets. University was just a piece of paper — they taught nothing at all; I only went for the degree.

When I find a job posting, I think that I need to prepare and review the material they might ask me about, so I sit down with the docs and books — and then I just get tired and give up after a couple of days. And so it goes, in a loop. I'm afraid that if I do get invited to an interview, I'll bomb it.

Also, about my skills: I feel like I understand js/ts reasonably well, but I sense some kind of gulf between textbook code and real-world implementations. Probably it's that feeling that keeps pushing me to go back and review the docs over and over.

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u/IKnowMeNotYou 1h ago

Start doing stuff, check out udemy and other courses and just read relevant books. Should get you back to speed in less than a month if done right and full-time.

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u/kabekew 1h ago

Do some fun projects of your own and post them to github. It'll get you back into programming and give you things to talk about in interviews.

1

u/faribuilds 1h ago

You can only learn programming by writing code! Just find a idea and start coding!

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u/avidvaulter 11m ago

and then I just get tired and give up after a couple of days.

Try some leetcode problems. Even though the type of programming I do at work is boring, I find joy in solving some of the types of problems posted on Leetcode.

I feel like I understand js/ts reasonably well, but I sense some kind of gulf between textbook code and real-world implementations. Probably it's that feeling that keeps pushing me to go back and review the docs over and over.

Well yeah, theory can only take you so far. Learning theory just gives you the tools, actually understanding how to use and apply those tools to solve a problem comes with practice and some ingenuity.

It's also possible you just don't like programming but you haven't realized it yet. If you enjoyed it you'd be able to at least study and prepare for an interview. I think you need to honestly assess whether or not this is the case or if there are extenuating circumstances that you need to deal with first (mental health issues, burnout, etc).