• Home
  • About

Make Me a Programmer

Coding doesn't have to be hard.

  • About
  • Write for Us
  • Be Interviewed
  • About
  • Write for Us
  • Be Interviewed
  • Home
  • About
  • Common Questions
  • Lessons From a Veteran
  • Write for Us
  • Be Interviewed As a Software Pro
  • Meet Our Writers

What Non-Programming Skills Do Programmers Need?

As programmers or aspiring programmers, we often focus on the technical skills we need to build software. We work on improving our programming skills, picking up new frameworks, or reading…

read more

Should Programmers Learn Linux?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “Programmers only use Linux. PCs and Macs are for noobs!” Yeah, no. Linux is a tool. Windows is a tool. MacOS is also…

read more

Why Are There So Many Programming Languages?

Recently, an outsider to the programming world offhandedly asked me a question: “why are there so many programming languages?” This gave me pause for a moment.  When you’re steeped in…

read more

What Makes a Good Software Engineer?

On this blog, we cover a lot of topics about how to break into programming.  So that practically begs us to answer the question, “what makes a good software engineer?”…

read more
  • Can you use Git without GitHub?
    Common Questions

    Can You Use Git Without GitHub?

    January 8, 2021 /

    Can you use Git without GitHub? The short answer is yes, you can. Git is a tool for revision control. GitHub is an online service that allows you to store, manage, and share Git repositories in the cloud. You can use Git with online services other than GitHub, with an in-house server, or on your local computer without any server at all. First, let’s look at what Git is. Then, let’s see what GitHub and other Git-hosting services have to offer. What Is Git? Git is a revision control tool. It’s most often associated with software development, but you can use it to track changes in any file. For example,…

    Read More
    Eric Goebelbecker

    You May Also Like

    how to choose a programming language to learn

    How to Choose a Programming Language to Learn

    May 7, 2022
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Back to School With Michael de Ridder’s Drunk Metaphors

    July 31, 2020
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Turning a Hobby Into a Fulfilling Career

    August 14, 2020
  • How long does it take to learn Python?
    Common Questions

    How Long Does It Take to Learn Python?

    December 3, 2020 /

    How long does it take to learn Python? Well, how long is a piece of string? How much peanut butter is too much? Is this glass half empty or half full? None of these questions has one correct answer. The answer to each depends on your opinion and your goals. And how long it takes you to learn Python depends on what you want to create with the language. So, while I can’t tell you how long it will take to learn Python, I can give you deeper insight into the language and how it will suit your needs. What Do You Need to Learn Python? Python is a general-purpose…

    Read More
    Eric Goebelbecker

    You May Also Like

    What Is the Best Way to Learn C#? A Complete Introduction

    May 28, 2019
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Approaching Things From a Different Direction

    June 12, 2020
    HTML

    Should Programmers Learn HTML?

    December 14, 2018
  • 7 Tips for Beginner Programmers
    Get Started Programming

    7 Tips for Beginner Programmers

    September 29, 2020 /

    You’re just starting out as a programmer, so you’re looking for some tips on how to get started. Maybe you’ve landed your first job. Or you’ve just finished school. Perhaps you’ve done what many of us before you (including me) did and simply said “I’m a programmer!” and got to work. Either way, congratulations! Here are a few tips for beginner programmers that will help get you on your way to a new career. There’s No Substitute for Getting Your Hands Dirty You can read hundreds of books. You can watch thousands of hours of YouTube. But nothing makes you a better programmer than, well, programming. Stop preparing and start…

    Read More
    Eric Goebelbecker

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Incidental (or Maybe Accidental) Catalysts With Jonathan Hall

    March 12, 2021
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: John Pereira on Just Having Fun With It

    October 8, 2021
    Programming languages explained

    Programming Languages Explained by an Expert

    April 2, 2021
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Dawid Ziolkowski on Trusting and Taking the Plunge

    September 5, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we’re talking to Dawid Ziolkowski. Dawid has 10 years of experience. At the beginning, he worked as a network/system engineer, did DevOps in between, and recently became a cloud-native engineer. He’s worked for an IT outsourcing company, a research institute, telco, a hosting company, and a consultancy company, so he’s gathered a lot of knowledge from different perspectives. Nowadays, he’s helping companies move to cloud and/or redesign their infrastructure for a more cloud-native approach. If you’re considering a career switch…

    Read More
    Dawid Ziolkowski

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Peter Morlion on Legacy Code and Bird’s Eye Views

    March 27, 2020
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Approaching Things From a Different Direction

    June 12, 2020
    Software engineer or software programmer

    Is a Software Engineer the Same As a Software Developer?

    October 24, 2018
  • What Is a programming framework?
    Common Questions

    What Is a Programming Framework?

    August 21, 2020 /

    One of the reasons that learning to program might feel like an overwhelming task is the sheer number of new words, terms, and expressions you come across. Today, we’re here to make your life easier by explaining one such term: programming frameworks. Specifically, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know in response to the question “what is a programming framework?” You can think of a programming framework as a tool—or a set of tools—you use to make your life easier when performing common programming tasks. I know that might sound a little vague, but it’s hard to offer a more complete definition without going deeper into the…

    Read More
    Carlos Schults

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Incidental (or Maybe Accidental) Catalysts With Jonathan Hall

    March 12, 2021
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Back to School With Michael de Ridder’s Drunk Metaphors

    July 31, 2020
    Should developers write documentation?

    Should Developers Write Documentation? Yes, and Here’s Why

    July 3, 2020
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Turning a Hobby Into a Fulfilling Career

    August 14, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we’re talking to Mauro Chojrin. Mauro helps PHP developers hone their craft through his trainings, books, workshops, and other tools. He’s been in the IT industry since 1997 and has held roles such as developer, architect, and leader of technical teams. Mauro also likes to write and vlog. Mauro is going to tell us about how he got his start in programming, and you may or may not recognize some of the throwback systems he references. While the technology may…

    Read More
    Mauro Chojrin

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Back to School With Michael de Ridder’s Drunk Metaphors

    July 31, 2020
    Foot on desk next to laptop

    Lessons From a Veteran: From Economics to Software Engineering With Andrew Bryant

    July 16, 2021
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Juan Reyes on Hard Work and Humble Beginnings

    November 19, 2021
  • Best programming books for beginners
    Get Started Programming

    Best Programming Books for Beginners

    August 7, 2020 /

    What are the best programming books for beginners? This is a broad question. Programmers need a wide variety of skills, and the field you want to work in can have a significant impact on which ones you need. There isn’t one book, or even a list of books, that will teach you everything you need. Some skills can come from books, and some will only come from on-the-job training. You need books that will improve your knowledge and skills regardless of what type of programming you’re interested in. I’ve put together a list of seven books that will do that for you! These books teach you basic skills that any…

    Read More
    Eric Goebelbecker

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Hard-Nosed Advice From a Softie

    May 15, 2020
    What Is a programming framework?

    What Is a Programming Framework?

    August 21, 2020
    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Approaching Things From a Different Direction

    June 12, 2020
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Back to School With Michael de Ridder’s Drunk Metaphors

    July 31, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Everyone has a different path in life, and that’s OK! Today we’re talking to Michael de Ridder, who tells us about how getting into programming was accidental, not intentional. And that’s OK, too. Michael has worked in software development, data visualization, data science, research, consulting, and business analysis across health care, telecommunications, radio and finance. He enjoys the challenge of combining and utilizing the relationships between different domains and technology. A big fan of travel, Michael is a proponent for the…

    Read More
    Michael de Ridder

    You May Also Like

    Lessons from a veteran developer

    Lessons From a Veteran: Peter Morlion on Legacy Code and Bird’s Eye Views

    March 27, 2020
    Programmers interacting

    How Do Programmers Interact With the Rest of the Team?

    October 10, 2018
    What did you learn as a developer? 6 things school won't teach you

    6 Things School/Bootcamps Can’t Teach You About Being a Programmer

    April 3, 2022
  • Lessons from a veteran developer
    Lessons From a Veteran

    Lessons From a Veteran: Gabriel Aizcorbe on Unexpected Lessons

    July 24, 2020 /

    This post is part of a series interviewing veteran developers, asking them questions about their journey to tech mastery and sharing the advice they have for those getting started. Today we cover a lot of topics, from whether you should go into programming or IT to being specific about what you set out to learn to the lessons you’ll never learn until you start working. And we’re learning about all of these things from Gabriel Aizcorbe. Gabriel got into IT when he received his first 8088 at 14 years old. From then on, his whole life was about computers, programming languages, and learning more. As a project manager with PMP…

    Read More
    Gabriel Aizcorbe

    You May Also Like

    What did you learn as a developer? 6 things school won't teach you

    6 Things School/Bootcamps Can’t Teach You About Being a Programmer

    April 3, 2022
    Programming languages explained

    Programming Languages Explained by an Expert

    April 2, 2021
    Programmer Imposter Syndrome

    Programmer Imposter Syndrome: 3 Devs Explain How to Overcome It

    October 1, 2021
  • Common Questions

    What Languages Should Every Programmer Know?

    July 17, 2020 /

    It’s easy to get lost in the sea of programming languages. On top of that, there are some languages (I’m looking at you, JavaScript) that have a vast ecosystem of frameworks. Wikipedia has an exhaustive list of programming languages with several for each letter of the alphabet. I won’t count them, but there are at least 260 at a glance. There’s no way you can learn all of them. So, what languages should every programmer know? Where to Start? If you want to know where to start, you can take a few approaches. Of course, this depends on what you want to do in your programming career. If you want…

    Read More
    Phil Vuollet

    You May Also Like

    Bloggers giving high-fives

    Should Programmers Blog? 5 Things to Consider

    September 14, 2018
    Full stack of cards

    What Is a Full Stack Developer, Anyway?

    November 2, 2018
    Foot on desk next to laptop

    Lessons From a Veteran: From Economics to Software Engineering With Andrew Bryant

    July 16, 2021
12345

Affiliate Disclosure

Who?

This site participates in the Amazon Associates Program and other affiliate marketing programs.

Why?

This is a community site, but hosting and content aren’t free.  We’re looking to cover our costs and perhaps earn enough money for the occasional cup of coffee.

How?

If you click on an affiliate link and wind up purchasing something at the site, they send us a small commission as a way of thanking us and encouraging us to send them more business.

What (does it cost me)?

Absolutely nothing.

Want to Submit a Post?

If you're interested in contributing an article, please feel free to get in touch.

Categories

  • 100 Days of Code Success Stories
  • Common Questions
  • Expert Interviews
  • Get Started Programming
  • Guest Post
  • Lessons From a Veteran
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Ashe Theme by Royal-Flush - 2023 ©