Demystifying Tech: Programming is not for geniuses, but it's far from easy

It’s funny how the common perception of working with programming went from the myth that it’s something exclusive to antisocial geniuses locked in a dark room with their indecipherable code to the myth that programming is easy and anyone can make a lot of money by taking a simple course that lasts a few days.

The “genius programmer” myth

For years, this idea kept a lot of people away from the field, creating an aura of exclusivity and inaccessibility.

But in practice it only served to feed egos, create unnecessary pressure and encourage complex, overengineered code. The best devs I know aren’t “geniuses”, they simply master the technologies they use and have a great ability to abstract their way to simple and efficient solutions.

O mito do "programador gênio" tem que acabar

Só alimenta egos, cria pressão e incentiva códigos complexos cheios de overengineering

Os melhores devs que conheço não são "geniais", simplesmente dominam as techs que utilizam e possuem ótima capacidade de abstração pra chegar em…

For a long time programming was a niche, stereotyped field.

I remember that when I started working with programming, around 2007, I myself felt inferior because I thought I wasn’t “smart enough” to program, on top of not fitting very well into some of the stereotypes the field had.

This myth has always been harmful, since it creates barriers for people who could contribute a lot to the field but feel intimidated because they think they aren’t “smart enough” to program.

That kept making the market more and more closed off and unbalanced, with a small supply of professionals, especially beginners. On top of that, it also helped create environments that weren’t very diverse or inclusive, and we still feel the effects of that today.

Pra conseguir a carteirinha do "programador de verdade" segundo alguns:

- Programar em todo tempo livre
- Pensar em código o dia inteiro
- Proibido piadinha na internet
- Não utilizar frameworks
- Usar Linux artesanal
- Sem StackOverflow
- Usar apenas Vim

Literally 10 years ago I wrote an article called Are we really interested in training good professionals? (in Portuguese) that already talked a bit about the feelings and problems this myth caused.

Since then programming has become very popular, but that created another myth, which turns out to be just as harmful as the first.

The “programming is easy” myth

This idea sells the dream that anyone can learn to program without much effort and get rich quickly. Although it’s useful for attracting people and moving the course industry, it creates distorted expectations and frustration when reality hits, and trust me, it almost always hits, and it hits hard.

Quer aprender programação em apenas 7 dias, ser disputado pelas melhores empresas e ganhar muito dinheiro rapidamente?

Então não caia nesses anúncios. Só vai ganhar dinheiro rápido quem tá vendendo isso.

Programar exige muita prática e estudo, não tem atalhos ou fórmula mágica.

Especially during the pandemic there was an exponential demand for tech professionals, which automatically created a rush for programming courses and bootcamps.

In other words, two kinds of demand got extremely heated: the demand for tech professionals and the demand for courses to train tech professionals.

I absolutely don’t see any problem with that, on the contrary, I think it’s great that more people are looking to upskill and get into the field, and I also think it’s fantastic that there are thousands of affordable, quality courses for people who want to learn to program.

Alguém que teve experiências em outras áreas e tá migrando pra programação não tá começando do zero

Com certeza vai aproveitar de toda a bagagem que ganhou fazendo outras coisas, isso porque uma carreira em tecnologia não se limita apenas na parte técnica

Muito pelo contrário

With more people entering tech, we have the chance to see new ideas, different ways of solving problems and a greater diversity of people and thinking. That’s excellent for the evolution of the field as a whole.

But this narrative creates two main problems:

Creating unrealistic expectations

It can attract professionals who are anxious for quick and easy results, but who aren’t always prepared to face the pressures and challenges of a tech career. In the long run, this contributes to a serious problem: the gap of senior professionals in the market.

Demotivation at the start of the journey

When programming is sold as something simple, people who are just starting out can get frustrated quickly. After all, if it’s “so easy”, why is this person struggling? That feeling can lead many to give up, thinking the problem is with them, and not with the fact that learning to program is, naturally, a challenging process.

Notice how this second point is almost a mirror of the opposite myth (the genius one)? Both create barriers and distort what it really means to learn and grow in the tech field.

The truth is that few people would be interested in taking a programming course that spoke viscerally about the difficulties and challenges you’re going to face. Imagine a course with a tagline like this:

“Want to spend decades of your life studying and adapting to a market that pays well but is highly competitive and constantly changing, with no guarantee of success? Then come learn to program with us!”

On top of that, we already went through the “boom” in demand for tech professionals, especially at entry levels, and now we’re seeing a saturated market, with lots of people looking for opportunities and few companies willing to hire professionals without experience.

Add to that the inherent increase in the use of AI and automation and we have a scenario where the demand for tech professionals will change even more in the next few years, which can create feelings of disillusionment in those who entered the field thinking it would be easy and stable.

Conclusion

Programming increasingly demands the ability to abstract, communicate, reason logically and solve complex problems. That takes a lot of practice, continuous learning and adaptation to a competitive, constantly changing market, as I said in this article with some “predictions” for the future of Front-end Development.

The truth is that programming is a skill like any other, one that can be learned and improved with practice and study. It’s not easy, far from it, but it is an incredible career for people who like solving problems and creating new things.

And the best part?

You don’t need to be any kind of “genius” to do it