How I tried to become a Python developer at 35, and why I [пока] nothing worked out

My parents are microelectronics engineers, my younger brother is a lead-level ML developer, my friends are systems and business analysts. And I am a humanities student. I was unlucky. With my character, abilities, circumstances, and who knows what else. At some point, I realized that this could not continue and decided, at the age of 34, to “fly into IT”. I chose Python courses on Stepik because it is the most popular and fairly simple language. I was inspired by the stories of “old-timers” who were able to do it. I read the news about the wild shortage of programmers in Russia. And I dove headlong into learning.

What could go wrong?

Start

It was really hard for me. I had to google, ask ChatGPT for the meaning of some terms, look for formulas from 5th grade math. But there was enthusiasm and motivation. My knowledge grew exponentially. But when you start from zero, it’s not that hard. Before, all this programming was a dark forest for me, and then it was like fireflies flew by: cycles, functions like sum, and methods like sort. I learned what serialization is, and how Python works with memory. I discussed my code for a simple quiz with my brother. You know, those conversations between two programmers. That’s how I completed the first course — for beginners. And then I found out that it was designed for students in grades 7–9. “High school students can work at Yandex?!” I thought.

The first difficulties

So the seeds of doubt got into my soul. Got in, but haven't sprouted yet. I took the second course, for advanced students. It was easier. Although I still didn't really understand matrices. But in the second year, nested cycles, which I couldn't understand at all, fit into my head. And in general, I was already writing the simplest code from the assignments quite fluently. And I was already making plans, anticipating interviews at Sber, Yandex, Ozon. How I would surprise everyone with my knowledge, skills and sense of humor. Yes, it really would be surprising for all participants in the process.

The problem of courses

True, I was confused by several points. First, despite the abundance of practical tasks, it was completely unclear how exactly all this could be applied in work. I compared it all to the 1984 film “The Karate Kid”, where an unkempt-looking sensei forced an American teenager to paint his fence, house, car with certain movements. Then it turned out that this was practicing techniques and blows. It was the same here, I decided.

The second is communication with fellow students. No, the community was great. Everyone was always ready to help, suggest something, explain, support. And one comment even helped me not to quit studying at a time when I was already in despair. Another thing worried me: no one had a clear plan of what to do next. There were also experienced programmers who had already worked and taken courses to refresh and systematize their knowledge (their comments under complex tasks like “what's the problem, I did it in one line in a minute” were very annoying). But their experience is definitely not relevant to my situation.

Loss of motivation

The seed of doubt began to sprout. I moved on to the third course “for professionals”. In essence, it was a repetition and deepening of what had been covered. I managed to master the basic syntax of the language, more or less. But it turned out that this, to put it mildly, was not enough. You need Git and GitHub, you need technologies, libraries and a little bit of a database. And here I became despondent. In general, the classic: “The more I know, the more I understand that I know nothing.”

Plus, I found a second job. And I didn't quit the first one. I had less time to study. And I also realized that in order to reach a good income level, I still need to study a lot, go through the hell of finding my first job, continue studying, gain experience, move to another job, and maybe in my third or fourth job I will be able to earn as much as I do now. My motivation has evaporated.

Why didn't I succeed?

So what was my mistake? Of course, I misjudged the task: the distance was long-distance, and I planned a sprint. But this could have been handled. The main thing is that I had no real interest in IT. It’s one thing to write about technology, read news, watch reviews. And it’s quite another to “get under the hood” and do something yourself. It doesn’t seem so magical and exciting anymore. I wanted the words “hunt”, “remote work”, “voluntary medical insurance”, “bonus” to enter my life. But it turned out that being a cool programmer is something completely different.

I was told this from the very beginning: “If you don't have a real interest in programming, you'll burn out quickly. A high salary is a weak motivation, especially since there are other ways to increase your income.” But I didn't listen.

Tears of regret

There aren't any. I don't regret anything and would do everything exactly the same. Because I really enjoyed learning. And the feeling when you come across a difficult task and your code finally works is generally one of the most pleasant in life. Seriously.

So, I hope I will return to programming and still be able to become a programmer. After all, German Gref said that Russia lacks 1 million IT specialists. So, they will hire everyone.

What was your path in IT? Tell us in the comments! Maybe it will inspire someone. After all, we need to somehow close such a shortage of personnel.