Ask HN: Programming Guidance? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Programming Guidance?

7 pointsgorky9 comments

Medior programmer here with few years of xp, haven't got a degree, except few courses and some books. Thing is, there are so many holes in my knowledge, and most of the knowledge I have is scratched surface but so far was enough to get the job done. Basically if you asked the right questions you'd conclude I am a complete noob but then, other set of questions would give impression I have really good skill and experience. Right now I'm running in circles what to do, I've started doing some math stuff since I have trouble reading programming books. Other idea I have is surfing through subjects on faculties and just buying books and studying them sequentially. I have ambitions to advance in my career but just doesn't seem possoble without making some serious changes.

Check out MIT Open Courseware. There is an entire degree worth of classes you can take there to fill in the gaps. Just pick and choose courses that are of interest to you and go from there.

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-compu...

It sounds like you lack some Computer Science knowledge. Try to find/take some, during which you will know what math areas are important if that's your thing.

It's not the same when you go to a tech university to get a B.S. degree in CS, but it's very doable. Nowadays a lot of video resources are available.

Buckle up and good luck :)

I recommend getting a CS degree. Don't be afraid of serious change if it moves you forward. You won't regret it.

> Basically if you asked the right questions you'd conclude I am a complete noob

Which question?

e.g. hash table

A rule of thumb I've heard: if you hear about something on 6 separate occasions, it might be worth learning about. A hash table is one you should have some basic knowledge of.

I completely agree, and it is mostly how I aquired some of my knowledge of things. But, if basic is enough for me to get the job done, I'm finished with it. Run this thing recursively and here I am.

In this case, take a MOOC from a top rated university in the subject you want to learn and stick to a discipline (like maybe 1h per day) and you'll have the basics to build on.

If you're disciplined enough, you can use this awesome resource https://github.com/ossu/computer-science

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