5 Reasons Why You’ll Suck at Programming (and How to Fix Them)

Even though the number of related jobs is estimated to decline during the next few years, more and more people are getting interested in learning how to program. It makes sense. The promise of high salaries, the sense of working with the tools of the future, and the number of jobs available today are tempting enough for a lot of people. Yet, being interested in programming doesn’t mean they’ll succeed at it.

If you’re considering getting into the programming world, it’s best if you keep your feet on the ground and see the whole picture. Rather than daydreaming about landing the perfect job in a big company devoted to developing software, you’d be better if you took the time to figure out whether programming is for you.

Don’t know where to start? Here are some of the reasons why people end up sucking at programming. Check them out and see if you feel they apply to you!
1 - You Aren’t Curious Enough
Software engineers are curious by nature, so you’ll need at least some minimal level of curiosity to work in programming. That’s because this field will have you figuring out how things work, how you can improve them, and how they’ll be in the future.

Besides, curiosity is a basic trait of those who love to learn new stuff - and there’s plenty of new stuff in software development. From new frameworks and languages to new technologies, approaches and methodologies, there’s always something new to learn in software development. So, if you don’t have the inner drive to discover new things and keep moving forward, then you won’t be a good programmer.

What Can You Do: though it feels like curiosity is something you are born with, there are ways in which you can develop it. Getting out of your comfort zone, doing something different every now and then, and facing fears are ways to find the taste of new things. So, from reading books from a genre you never considered to listening to new music or going out jogging, curiosity is there for you to conquer it.
2 - You're Not Persistent Enough

If there’s something any software engineer can tell you, it’s this: software development is a never-ending trail of issues. When you’re working on a new app, website, or software, you’ll find problem after problem with every step you take. In fact, whenever you solve one issue, it’s highly likely you’ll discover another one waiting for you at the next turn.

So, it’s obvious that you’ll need to be persistent to be a good programmer, simply because you’ll never see the end of issues coming down your way. Basically, we could say that software developers are problem solvers, because software is meant to solve issues and because software in and by itself has issues of its own.

What Can You Do: You have to make peace with the fact that software development means you’ll have to deal with problems all the time. There will be times when a particular problem will have you spending hours and hours in front of the PC trying to figure out what the heck is going on. The only way you’ll get to that? By being persistent and patient, having faith in your ability to solve the problem, and with the clear understanding that solving each problem will provide you with new knowledge for future issues.
3 - You Want to Know Everything Right Now
Since there are so many things to learn in software development, you’ll need to understand that it will take some time to master each tool. That means that you’ll have to spend quite some time with each tool to understand it and learn how to use it in any potential job you may have in the future. So, if you’re somewhat impatient or don’t want to put in the time to develop your programming abilities, then programming is definitely not for you.

That’s especially true when you consider that, as it happens with most technologies, most things related to software development evolve fairly quickly. So, even when you “master” a language or framework, chances are you’ll have to learn new features or variations afterward. In other words, software development forces developers to learn constantly and demands they put the time to do so.

What Can You Do: All of the above means that you’ll never be able to learn all there is in software development. And even to know something about it, you’ll have to invest considerable amounts of time. So, instead of saying “I’ll be a software engineer” maybe rethink your goal as smaller objectives, such as “I’ll learn the basics of Python” or “I’ll learn common good practices for code refactoring.” By doing this, you’ll keep your learning going and you’ll feel rewarded every time you achieve a smaller goal (rather than the frustration you’d feel if you wanted to know everything).

4 - You See the World as “Black or White”
We said above that software development is about solving problems. However, don’t think for a second that it means that you need THE solution for each individual issue. Instead, software developers need to offer several solutions. That’s because each solution will depend on each project, each application, and each user.

Understanding software development as a black-or-white type of thing is the wrong way to go about it, simply because there isn’t right or wrong in programming. Any potential solution can be right given a particular context. So, if you can’t justify your choices when developing something and go beyond the good or the bad, you won’t be a good software developer.

What Can You Do: The world is filled with grey areas that cover a wide spectrum between the black and white. In software development, this is something that manifests in the various ways you can try to solve a problem. If you truly want to work in the field, then, you need to start looking at the bigger picture and forget about trying to “do the right thing” with the projects.
5 - You Don’t Pay Attention to Details
Looking at the bigger picture will help you get creative with the potential solutions you’ll need for the problems you’ll find in software development. But when working in developing applications, you’ll want to be more careful about the details, as they can take down an entire software. This is far from being an exaggeration. A single error in one line of code can break the software and take hours to debug.

Since computers use code as a detailed set of instructions, there’s no place for mistakes here. Either you give them the right instructions or the application won’t work. Notice that we said “a detailed set of instructions” which means that you’ll have to take everything into account, from how you write the functions to each little comma you use.

What Can You Do: details are of utmost importance in programming, so you might as well accept it if you don’t want to suck at it. Fortunately, you can train your eye by reviewing code others have written. It’s highly likely you’ll do that in your first job as a programmer because people with little to no experience are always in charge of doing things like that.
Some Final Words
We won’t lie to you - programming isn’t for everyone. Some of the things above can be real deal-breakers for a lot of people. Maybe they don’t want to be so careful with the details of their work. Perhaps they aren’t patient enough to face issue after issue after issue. Or maybe they want to work in a field where there are more clear paths of action.

However, the good news is that if you’re really interested in programming, you can teach yourself to be a good developer. By keeping all of these things in mind, you’ll be one step further in your journey. The important thing is to be determined about it and to always devote a part of your day to be better. With that in mind, you’ll surely be able to become a software engineer.

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