AJAX and PHP

Hi Jason,

I believe we've actually spoken before :) Thank you for your time and opinion.

I think I may have asked you this then, but do you work professionally as a programmer? How long have you been coding for? Do you code full time, say 9 hours a day? This all feel pretty overwhelming to someone like myself still learning.

Hey Gabriel,

I don't work professionally yet, but that is the ultimate goal. Actually, freelance work is where I would like to head. Right now, I'm still learning here on Treehouse (both front-end and back-end and now iOS). I'm slowly working on my portfolio, but didn't see the need to rush into a hastily made decision.

Fortunately, my current work is supporting my learning right now, but I feel it's very soon before I venture full-time into the coding world. I was lucky that I didn't need to rush. I was able to learn MANY different languages and figure where my passion (and ability) lies. Now that I know I'm very well adapted to front end development with a strong PHP base... I think I know where to go from here.

Learning is the best part, and you will always be learning. Hopefully you have the ability to learn at your own pace. Once you find your passion, stick with that, but don't forget the others. I focus on the front-end and PHP, but always allow a little time to learn some more Ruby or Python, etc., as this can only help you.

Don't worry about feeling overwhelmed. This IS NORMAL as you are learning. Believe me, though, it does get easier (or seems to get easier).

I've only been coding for just under a year now. But, up until a few weeks ago, I didn't feel I was ready to venture out in the 'real' coding world. Just recently, I've started a GitHub account... the new GitHub Basics course was very helpful here. I'm refining some sites and code that I've done with Treehouse. I think within the new few weeks, I will be able to confidently put myself out there publicly as a freelance coder.

I'm sure the same is coming for you too.

All the best,

Jason

Wow, that's awesome. Yea I've been coding for just over a year, and am sort of freelancing at the moment. How many hours would you code a day, on average? You seem to have done an insane amount in a year! I feel so slow.

Between Treehouse courses / workshops and working on my portfolios (trying to make them just right), I would say I am coding for about 6 - 8 hours per day. But I enjoy it, so it doesn't seem that long.

And you work a full time job?

I currently work part-time as a server with really good tips. I also do freelance writing and editing. Both of which are currently allowing me to work more with coding... hopefully being able to switch to that as my full-time income. I'm lucky with being flexible with my hours. It may be a bit risky, but I'm confident that my coding will soon be able to pay off.

Have you ever thought about studying programming at a formal university?

I did.

Now this is ONLY MY EXPERIENCE AND OPINION! ...

From the coders I know and people I talk to and connect with online, "formal education" comes a very distant second to experience and knowledge. That's why I'm taking my time and extreme care with my portfolio that will demonstrate my abilities.

Again ONLY MY OWN OPINION AND EXPERIENCE, but I've found that employers and/or clients only care about what you actually can do and not what a "piece of paper" says you can do.

This is much like my editing and writing career in my past. Most (if not all) of my clients didn't care that I actually had an English degree, they only cared about my portfolio and the previous work that I've done. Seeing what you are able to do seems to outweigh what any school says you can do.

Make sense?

That makes complete sense. From talking to people in the web development and programming industry, they say the same thing as you here :)