Programming Rant

This is a rant. I usually don't rant, but this is an exception.

Since I was about 12 years old, I've been involved in computer programming of some sort. At first it was HTML and CSS. I was able to put together static websites, once even using it for a math class project revolving around the Pythagorean Theorem. When I tried getting into JavaScript, the very simplistic nature of it was hard for me to grasp in terms of their usefulness. I couldn't even get the if-else statement wrapped around my brain so I gave up on it for a couple years.

About freshman or sophomore year of high school one of my friends introduced me to the programming language called Python. When I read a tutorial that led to me making my first Python program, I was amazed on how I could use it as a calculator, and more. I think in a way, Python was really the first programming language I learned. It took me back to JavaScript, which is what I've come to specialize in.

I think it was junior year of high school that we took a programming language class. For the first half it was HTML. The second half, the teacher gave the option of more HTML or JavaScript. I chose the JavaScript route and although I was hardly pleased with my final project, it nonetheless showed I knew how to use the language. My initial plans for it were too lofty which costed me a lot of time.

Then in senior year of high school, my calculus teacher also happened to be a C++ programmer. He let me borrow a textbook and get the compiler they used and I taught myself C++. In my second year of college I was taught Java, and excelled over most of the people in my class.

This semester I'm learning C# and Scratch. In my free time over the past year or so, I've been self-educating in PHP and SQL.

If you need someone who has an understanding of several languages, I'm the person you want to go to. My skills are mostly in Web development, but my Java skills aren't that shabby.

Yet for some reason, it just doesn't seem like I can get myself a job using these skills. I'm a member of oDesk and Freelancer, two sites where a person can get a short or long term job in whatever fields they are good at. In addition, companies in my area are hiring programmers. But no matter what job may be there, it seems like I'm just a little too unexperienced in one little spot. Often there is a need for someone who can use Wordpress or Joomla or whatever else is out there. I have next to no experience with those.

This is frustrating. I really want to get a job with my programming skills. I spent three years in the fast food industry and I have exactly zero desire to do anything even remotely similar to that. Sure I'm able to do other fields of work, but I'm going to school for programming. The government is essentially paying me to become a programmer.

A place on the campus had a job opening for students who wish to do programming, and I applied for that. Hopefully I'll be able to do what they require of me. I have the brain to handle the jobs they'll give me, it's simply a matter of knowing the programming languages they have us use well enough to accomplish the tasks.

Programmers make a pretty good amount of money, especially if they're full time. I've been told on numerous occasions that the entry-level pay for someone in the programming field is double what my father makes in a year, and he's been in the car part manufacturing industry for over a decade. That money is most certainly a plus and doubtlessly a small reason of why I pursue programming. But more than that, it's a passion of mine. Been one since I was 12. Something I've been brought up to believe by our otherwise faulty public education system is that we should try to get jobs doing what we love. I believe that, and it's part of my modus operandi. I want to live life doing what I love.

Another bother to me is how programming languages keep changing. Once, a dude much younger than me showed me a program he had written in Python. My computer couldn't run it, because I had an outdated version of Python installed! I mean, really? Am I that out of touch with the times? Or consider one of the more recent changes in the language PHP. It's trying to phase out mysql_* functions, something that has been relied on for years. One of the alternatives being favored is PDO, but it repeatedly gives me trouble. (Yes, I understand there's also the mysqli library. Perhaps I should look at that.) Or HTML, my old stomping grounds of a language. It's already in its fifth release, now coming out with strange new features that seem utterly unfitting for what's supposed to be a markup language, not an interactive one. That's the role of JavaScript. Oh and by the way, I'm outdated on that too! I learned it using W3 Schools, which appears to have tutorials which are outdated and in some cases incorrect. JavaScript is in version 1.8 now apparently, and my knowledge of the language is 1.6ish.

So what am I to do? I need to get in touch with the news concerning these programming languages. I'm fairly sure that each one has a website or group that maintains it and releases news about them. Hopefully they have some sort of RSS feed, blog, or Facebook page that developers could look at.

I also need to get my skills a bit more refined. I'm a multi-faceted person. I have several interests, but it's likely the only one I'll be making money from, for the time being, is programming. And working is a vital thing in a capitalistic society. Oh sure, I could possibly find bottom-of-the-line housing, depend on the government, and do some part-time hobby work for income. But that wouldn't be much of a life. In today's world, having a job is basically mandatory to get yourself in a better position. For me, this means programming. If I'm going to get better with coding, I'm going to have to put more time into learning and practicing coding, even if it's at the expense of other interests.

Still, it'd be nice to get a job where I can actually program for once.