Learn to program. Deciding at 17 that you're "nontechnical" is premature optimization, without the optimization. At that age you're not non-anything you don't want to be. And if you're going to be in a world where people make software, there's nothing more valuable you could learn than how that's done, even if it's not what you ultimately spend most of your time on.
I am in the midst of learning to program in PHP. I am working hard and loving it. I realize the value of the skill. I met with one of the founders of a YC company and got inspired. I now plan on graduating early and working full time on my startup at that time.
I started when I was 10, but I didn't get seriously into programming (like deciding it was going to be a profession) until I was 23. Also had a heavy math focus, though it was more because I enjoyed math than because I knew I wanted to do something that needed math.
There's plenty of time to try things out in high school and college, and it doesn't make sense to specialize until you have a sense of what's out there and what you might enjoy. The world is much, much broader than it seems in high school.
I don't know. At 17 I had been programming for 5-6 years, which is pretty normal for most decent coders I know.
In my experience, if someone does not have the mindset for coding (anal retentive, OCD, borderline autistic, you know the type ;)), then trying to make them is an excercise in frustration.
Maybe better to focus on the things you are good at, such as business development, marketing, sales and whatever else is crucial in a startup.
I'm close to getting my PhD in Computer Science. I consider myself a pretty good programmer, and the first time I did any programming, it was my senior year of high school. The first time I really understood code was my freshmen year of college.
When I entered college as a CS major, there were a lot of kids who already had programming experience, and they had an edge. After four years, that edge faded, and what mattered was the individual.
> the mindset for coding (anal retentive, OCD, borderline autistic, you know the type ;))
Sounds like you've been reading too much Slashdot, not enough HN.
Seriously, I'm a hacker and not any of those things (not that I am or ever was Mr. Popular either). I think there likely is some cognitive secret sauce that makes some people much more likely to be competent programmers, but I don't think it's maladjustment. [The Camel Has Two Humps](http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDArea/saeed/paper1.pdf) paper I saw linked somewhere (probably here) seemed like a promising approach for showing who has the sauce.
The authors are now working on describing the sauce more carefully, and it looks like they're providing some of the testing materials they're using at http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDArea/saeed/ .
Thin skin much? It was a (possibly lame) attempt at self-deprecating humor.
I was trying to say that not everyone is cut out for coding, and if you haven't had an interest in it (or that type of thing) before, you probably won't be very good at it. I have seen this with a bunch of people who thought they'd get into IT and be millionaires.
Comments
Learn to program. Deciding at 17 that you're "nontechnical" is premature optimization, without the optimization. At that age you're not non-anything you don't want to be. And if you're going to be in a world where people make software, there's nothing more valuable you could learn than how that's done, even if it's not what you ultimately spend most of your time on.
I am in the midst of learning to program in PHP. I am working hard and loving it. I realize the value of the skill. I met with one of the founders of a YC company and got inspired. I now plan on graduating early and working full time on my startup at that time.
I didn't start programming till I was 17. Heavy math focus before that though.
I started when I was 10, but I didn't get seriously into programming (like deciding it was going to be a profession) until I was 23. Also had a heavy math focus, though it was more because I enjoyed math than because I knew I wanted to do something that needed math.
There's plenty of time to try things out in high school and college, and it doesn't make sense to specialize until you have a sense of what's out there and what you might enjoy. The world is much, much broader than it seems in high school.
i didn't start until i was 22... i'm 24 now. am i doomed?
You learn by doing. So keep doing it.
I don't know. At 17 I had been programming for 5-6 years, which is pretty normal for most decent coders I know.
In my experience, if someone does not have the mindset for coding (anal retentive, OCD, borderline autistic, you know the type ;)), then trying to make them is an excercise in frustration.
Maybe better to focus on the things you are good at, such as business development, marketing, sales and whatever else is crucial in a startup.
I'm close to getting my PhD in Computer Science. I consider myself a pretty good programmer, and the first time I did any programming, it was my senior year of high school. The first time I really understood code was my freshmen year of college.
When I entered college as a CS major, there were a lot of kids who already had programming experience, and they had an edge. After four years, that edge faded, and what mattered was the individual.
> the mindset for coding (anal retentive, OCD, borderline autistic, you know the type ;))
Sounds like you've been reading too much Slashdot, not enough HN.
Seriously, I'm a hacker and not any of those things (not that I am or ever was Mr. Popular either). I think there likely is some cognitive secret sauce that makes some people much more likely to be competent programmers, but I don't think it's maladjustment. [The Camel Has Two Humps](http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDArea/saeed/paper1.pdf) paper I saw linked somewhere (probably here) seemed like a promising approach for showing who has the sauce.
The authors are now working on describing the sauce more carefully, and it looks like they're providing some of the testing materials they're using at http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDArea/saeed/ .
>> (anal retentive, OCD, borderline autistic, you know the type ;))
Being a jackass does not make you a better coder, it just makes you a jackass.
Thin skin much? It was a (possibly lame) attempt at self-deprecating humor.
I was trying to say that not everyone is cut out for coding, and if you haven't had an interest in it (or that type of thing) before, you probably won't be very good at it. I have seen this with a bunch of people who thought they'd get into IT and be millionaires.
I know it's hard to tell in type, but I wasn't offended. I know people who fit the stereotype, but I also know gregarious, social, coders.