My Journey in Programming

When I finished high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t have a clear path. I knew I was interested in technology, but I had no idea how to turn that into something concrete. I picked computer science in college because it seemed broad enough to give me time to figure things out.

First programming class

In the beginning it felt like I had all the time in the world. Then came my first programming class, and honestly? I didn’t understand anything. The code on the screen looked like random characters. Frustration mixed with curiosity - I didn’t know what I was doing, but I wanted to figure it out.

I started learning outside of class. Progress was slow. I spent hours on basic concepts. But the more I learned, the more I liked it. I started to see something in programming that pulled me in - building things from scratch, solving problems, the satisfaction of working code.

Weekends with code

When I connected the dots that I could make a living doing this, I started spending entire weekends learning. Small projects, tutorials, repetition. It didn’t always go well - there were nights I’d sit on one bug the entire evening and nothing worked. But I came back to it the next day.

The job hunt

It quickly turned out that liking programming and getting a job in the industry are two different things. Rejections hurt, especially after months of preparation. I doubted whether I was good enough. Still, I kept applying, building more projects and sharpening what I knew.

After roughly a year I finally got an offer for a fullstack developer position. I remember that moment - more relief than euphoria. Confirmation that those hours weren’t wasted.

Now

I’m working full-time as a developer. A lot has changed since then - I learn something new at work every day, because there’s no other option. The stack changes, the tools change, the problems are different every time. That’s probably what I like most about it - I don’t get bored.

Looking back, I’m glad for every sleepless night of coding and every rejection email. Not because they’re character-building experiences - just because without them I wouldn’t be here.