What are the biggest mistakes self taught programmers make?

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A big mistake is to think that you know everything. There WILL always be something to learn therefore you do not know everything. I taught myself most of my knowledge about programming but I didn't know much about computer architecture or higher level maths. I have some advice, pay attention in math class and read wikipedia ALOT read on discrete math calculus and computer architecture (especially) while its early, it will put you in a good position to succeed. One more advice, don't fall into the trap of theory/learning and unproductivity, get out there and make your own shit.

This is currently what I'm doing, in the beginning stages of planning although I have some concrete code to drive me forward. Ok ok last thing of advice make sure the classes that you take are something that you think is useful. A lot of universities have a general education requirement, make sure that within this part of mandatory learning that you get something that will get your brain thinking or stimulated.
Book learning isn't enough the greatest minds had to find a way do do what they want to do, learn through doing.
I just bought the "coding academy" magazine, something in it made me click...i had better learn more high level maths before mt interview, it seems the key to efficient solutions.
What are the biggest mistakes self taught programmers make?


One of the first things I learned in the Navy was that a college degree can turn out some of the dumbest officers you can imagine.

If I was hiring computer programmers, I would hire 10 self motivitated self taught programmers for every college degree one, assuming they were at the same skill level.

The college guy would probably be in charge of spreadsheets or something trivial that wouldn't get in the way of the ones doing the real work.

Someone who learned C++ because they wanted to, is worth 50 college degrees, maybe more.

The advantage the college guy has is that he's been given assignments to write something he really didn't want to, or know anything about and was forced to learn. He may have worked on a project with a few other programmers or solved some computer program problems that to us self taught programmers aren't interesting enough to spend time on right now.

The biggest mistake is to think your not good enough. Motivation, and willingness to learn is what you need, good organization, teamwork and people skills is good to have.
thats good advice i like it :)
Someone who learned C++ because they wanted to, is worth 50 college degrees, maybe more.

Why didn't the self taught guy go to college though? He could be making a whole lot more money if he had.

And how do you know that the guy who went to college didn't want to learn?
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oh yeah good point i want to learn so im gonna go to uni, its that american pep talk thing with lots of rhetoric but no logic, your just like HELLZ YEAH but everything you heard just sounded really good.

you guys are way logical, you would all be bad at politics
I am that self-taught guy (c and c++) and Im in a computer science program, and it has opened my eyes. Computer Science is a deep field but I know that I want to engineer software :) even more. What I've learned in college that people value experience more than a degree, experience shows that you are passionate and investing time into learning how to do something. A degree shows commitment. If you have both of these things then you are an asset, and if you are an asset you are not expendable. Lol law of syllogism at work :). Learning a particular programming language in retrospect is not hard in a technical sense, its the time you put into it considering all of the other things you could be doing is what makes it difficult to get past. A degree serves as a weeding out tool for employers. But you can pass the step of providing a resume and degree by providing a portofolio.

Heres the code:

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//candidate
bool bPossibleCandidate = false;
bool bDegree = true;
bool bPortfolio = true;//portfolio, set of active/ completed projects proves experience
bool bSuccess = false;

//if( bPortfolio || (bDegree && bPortfolio ) || bDegree ) bPossibleCandidate = true; 
//reduce to
if( bPortfolio || bDegree ) bPossibleCandidate = true;

if( bPossibleCandidate )
{
  if( bPortfolio )
  { 
     if( bDegree )
    {
        hire();
        bSuccess = true; //success pretty much guarranteed
    }
    else
      bSuccess = hire();
  }
 else
  {
     bSuccess = intern();
  }

  if( !bSuccess ) fire();
 else 
  congratulate();
}


Learn 1 turing complete object oriented programming language for a von neuman system and you have the basics of learning them all. This is why you have professors who don't know jack on the syntax of the language but have enough theory or experience to advice you what it means, the semantics.
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