I, Aziz Ali, am a Serial Entrepreneur, Geek, and a Learn-a-holic. I went from someone who literally hated programming to someone who now loves to code. Aziz went from the mindset of "Coding is not me" to becoming a Great coder, and now I welcome any coding challenge.
- I have launched over 100 websites
- Worked with Fortune 50 Companies
- Developed the United Airlines Airport Terminal Application
- Developer Mobile Web Apps for CVS Health
- Developed and Launched over a dozen Responsive Mobile Websites
- and much more
- - All via JavaScript and its awesome frameworks.
A few companies Aziz has worked at:
How I Went From Hating to Code to Becoming Passionate About Coding
My parents made a huge mistake when I was 15 years old. They got me my first computer (This was not a mistake), but then they put me in a beginners course to learning computers. Turns out, it was a programming course. Yup, it was a bad idea for a kid like me, who didn't know how to use a computer yet. Well, they didn't know any better. They trusted the lady who recommended the course. I went through the agony "Trying" to learning programming when I actually didn't even know the basics of computers. It was brutal
- The instructions went over my head,
- I could not understand the assignments,
- My code was buggy,
- It was a hit or miss to make even the simplest things to work
- I would stare at the screen for hours and would be glad when the session was over.
Thank God, the tests were multiple-choice questions! With some guessing and sneaking over other students answers, I barely passed the class. From that point on, I hated programming and thought I would never do it in my life. Subconsciously, I developed this belief "Coding is not for me". Exactly 10 years later, I found myself wanting to learn to code. Remember, I didn't have to learn to code, no one asked me to, somehow I badly wanted to learn to code. I chose to become a coder. I went from someone who literally hated programming, to someone who loves programming and landed a six-figure job as a first-time developer.
Self-fulfilling prophecy "Coding is not for me"
In early 2011, I was building a tech company. As a single-founder of the company and on a shoe-string budget. I had a single developer working for me. Funds were running out, and I didn't have a stable developer working for the company. I knew HTML and CSS (Due to my Photoshop and Web Design Background), but coding is different, very different. I was in a vulnerable state! I was running a tech startup and I didn't understand its tech. pretty bad. I didn't have a co-founder to compliment me in my skills, a technical co-founder would have been nice. This meant that I was totally not in control of how the technology ran. My different developers could:
- lie to me on how long a certain assignment took
- take down the website and hold me, hostage
- be unavailable due to any emergency
- simply produce the low-quality buggy application and justify how hard that bug is to fix due (hiding their poor skill-set)
With that, I had a low budget to sustain even a single developer on a full-time basis. This forced me to learn Ruby On Rails. The framework we used for our startup at that time. Yes, at that time I was forced to learn. I bought a Rails course from Udemy, I read the Rails Tutorials on the official site, I read a popular book on rails twice and followed its instructions at least 6 times. No exaggerations. This helped me at least understand what was going on. 3-4 months into this and I still could not develop event the smallest enhancements to my web app. I didn't have the confidence, resourcefulness or the understanding to code. I was at the mercy of my developers. I could definitely conduct a conversation about coding, that would have sounded very intelligent on the surface, but honestly, I didn't have anything to show for it. I gave up on Rails in late 2013. My self-imposed belief "Coding is not for me" became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Discovering JavaScript
There is a beautiful stopwatch app, I installed from the Chrome App Store. I really like it since it helps me stay productive. This app was missing a feature. What if I could record my tasks while I time myself. The task feature was missing from this stopwatch app. I thought to myself, what if I created my own app with this feature that I want to be included. On second thought I said, "forget it, Aziz, you can design websites, but coding an app is not for you."
Self-imposed belief talked me out of it once again. Around the same time, I stumbled upon a course on jQuery - a popular JavaScript library which is very easy to use. I don't know what had me take that course, but I took it. Immediately, for the first time in my life, the instructions made sense to me. I could internalize the concepts. If my code broke, I could easily troubleshoot and fix the problem. It clicked for me. Part of the reason is that JavaScript is a very flexible language, and when used correctly, it can make you a very powerful developer. Due to my fear of coding, I had avoided JavaScript as well. Besides, historically JavaScript had a bad rep in the developer community. But since the launch of Douglas Crockford's book "JavaScript: The Good Parts" in 2008, the JavaScript community was getting the attention it deserved. Not just that, Node JS was getting popular in the community. Node JS enabled JavaScript to be run outside the browser, like any other language. This meant that now JavaScript could be used to replace tasks done with Ruby, Python, Java, C#, Php, Go, Perl or any other language imaginable. Listen: This is not a small thing, its a breakthrough. Typically you need to know HTML, CSS, JavaScript plus another server-side language (ruby, python, C#, PHP etc.) to build a full-fledged application. Now you don't have to learn anything more than HTML CSS and JavaScript.Plus, if you use this stack only, You can build Windows 8 Apps, Kiosk App (Like I built for United Airlines Airport terminal), TV App, Mobile App, Web Application. You name it. HTML CSS and JavaScript combination is the most powerful and versatile web stack.
The tables turned, I wanted to Learn to Code Now
Now I wanted to learn to code, I wanted to build that StopWatch Task app, I wanted to be fully express my ideas because now I saw I could be that person who can actually realize my ideas into reality without relying on other people and without going through the agony of hiring. I was the master of my journey and destiny again. But there was a problem. There was not a single resource on the internet that could teach me JavaScript in a structured way - In a way that the learning gets internalized fast. Just like that jQuery course! I searched for months, read many blogs, tutorials and exercise, but I could not get confidence. That is when I subconsciously began to distinguish patterns on what makes a great developer, vs what makes a developer wannabe. I began to learn and implement my code in a structured manner, and soon got the confidence to update my resume, and start interviewing. At that point, I also came up with the Idea of iLoveCoding. A website that would teach in a way the got me to love coding, in a way that speeds up learning, in a way that makes a developer great.
Your path could be faster. What I learned from my journey to learn to code, is all in iLoveCoding. Join iLoveCoding today, and accelerate your path to becoming a competent developer.
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