I am in a similar position. Difference is that I have been hacking code for over a year now. I feel comfortable around python, clojure, sql and, in general, talking with people that know about this stuff.
In my experience, your main problem is going to be communication. I remember at the beginning I could not follow discussions about state, scope, memory, etc. Now I start to get it. It's important if you want to be part of this community. I am not saying it's useful, but it's really important, it shows commitment.
Also, you probably have a product idea? During implementation there are so many details, you don't want to miss this. You want to be close to the product as much as possible, or at least be able to grasp the basics.
So, my advise would be take a year and learn coding, web development, databases, memory stuff (if you plan to play with lots of data), eventually functional programming, etc. Take a full year, then ask the same question again on HN stating that you know some programming.
Well, I do know some programming (did some C++ and JavaScript competitions in high school), so I don't think it would be too hard to pick up again. But getting to the point where I can contribute code to a team of people who majored in programming in college would take years I imagine.
Also, you mention database and memory stuff. Can you give me more detail as to what kind of database and memory you're talking about?
I think it all depends what position you want to cover in the team. A junior position should not be impossible to reach. You can get good in languages like Python in a matter of weeks. It may take more for web development although.
Databases: as all web sites are dinamic, it is important to understand a bit about databases.
Memory: people with more experience than me can have a say here. But I really think you should think about this later and only in case you want to play with lots data.
Comments
Hi,
I am in a similar position. Difference is that I have been hacking code for over a year now. I feel comfortable around python, clojure, sql and, in general, talking with people that know about this stuff.
In my experience, your main problem is going to be communication. I remember at the beginning I could not follow discussions about state, scope, memory, etc. Now I start to get it. It's important if you want to be part of this community. I am not saying it's useful, but it's really important, it shows commitment.
Also, you probably have a product idea? During implementation there are so many details, you don't want to miss this. You want to be close to the product as much as possible, or at least be able to grasp the basics.
So, my advise would be take a year and learn coding, web development, databases, memory stuff (if you plan to play with lots of data), eventually functional programming, etc. Take a full year, then ask the same question again on HN stating that you know some programming.
Well, I do know some programming (did some C++ and JavaScript competitions in high school), so I don't think it would be too hard to pick up again. But getting to the point where I can contribute code to a team of people who majored in programming in college would take years I imagine.
Also, you mention database and memory stuff. Can you give me more detail as to what kind of database and memory you're talking about?
I think it all depends what position you want to cover in the team. A junior position should not be impossible to reach. You can get good in languages like Python in a matter of weeks. It may take more for web development although.
Databases: as all web sites are dinamic, it is important to understand a bit about databases.
Memory: people with more experience than me can have a say here. But I really think you should think about this later and only in case you want to play with lots data.