eldacila

if that does interest you, google

site:news.ycombinator.com "How I learned to draw realistic portraits in 30 days"

if you want to make diagrams in a digital format, I'd suggest using something like graphviz rather than drawing

but, if you want to be able to draw as a skill, and be able to use that in both paper/canvas/board and digital media like a tablet

then draw every day, and if it's a diagram, ask someone if what you wanted to convey is understood or not, or if it's a picture (like a portrait or a landscape) draw it several times (can be once a day) until you (and optionally someone else) consider it "good enough" (as in, to improve upon it further, you'd really be gettin on the plateau on the curve of diminishing returns)

I think there was a Show HN where a guy learned to make realistic self-portraits in about a month or so, though maybe the skills needed to do that are not the same as the ones for making diagrams, it might interest you, depending on what you want

I think that, like any other skill, you need to practice, you could try to imitate the structure of articles/blog posts that you think are good

I read your comment to another answer, and I agree with the others, you have to look out for #1 (this should always mean "look out for yourself"), work on your mental health, work on your stress, and try to find a new career when you feel better

oh, and don't quote me on the soldering training time, it's something I heard in passing

if writing software is what you don't like, you could try to go into something where you use software, rather than writing it, like a database administrator, a sysadmin, a systems analyst, or working in IT, or you could focus on a different role in software production, like usability/design/ui/ux, requirements engineering, QA, etc., or if teaching is something you might be interested in, consider teaching cs/programming courses, you could do the same thing there, if code is what you don't like, and teach courses about the things around writing code, as an example, the course I've enjoyed the most in my Computer Engineering program was about a lot of things around the code-writing in software production, there was only one programming assignment in the whole semester

maybe you'd like a managerial role? or if there's something you're interested you could try to get a job in that, in one of the courses in the EE portion of my Engineering program, a professor told us that after finishing all courses, with just about 4 more courses we could pursue Audio/Sound Engineering as a Career, if that interested us, it's basically some of the fundamentals, applied to sound signals, you could consider something like that

if you don't want anything to do with software... then I'm not sure what to recommend, give some more info about yourself?

like if you would think being a Mechanic is something you'd want... I've heard soldering (like heavy machinery soldering) can be very profitable, and fun, and the training for it takes around 6 months? something like that

I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing you're asking about, and I didn't do this myself but there is a thing called the "International Baccalaureate", it's a sort of education plan that regardless of where you are, if you follow it you would be prepared for higher education/work basically anywhere in the world (so if you were in Costa Rica, like I am, and got it, when you are 18, you could go to the US, Canada, the UK, or the EU for university, with minimal or no classes to "catch up")

this, holy cow, this is certainly uncouth

I didn't even think of this, I live in a country where there is no military, but yes, this

making schooling not about actually useful information and skills, and maybe focused based on aptitude early on

this might depend on the country, with some being better, or a lot better than others

for example, in school, my teachers taught me useless trivia about Historical figures (some of which I later learned could be fictitious), I was also "taught" how to use sandpaper on an ornamental piece of wood (instead of learning how to use the tools to cut wood to make something useful, like a chair or a table)

wasting time on those useless things, instead of first aid, handling money (basic financial information, like savings accounts, how interests can work for you, or agains you, loans, etc.), laws (as in, what's legal, and illegal, and why), knowledge that should be universal, like the declaration of human rights

I also think shielding children from "bad language", and the knowledge of sex, and death does them a disservice, but I don't have an alternative that could be at least seen as reasonable

also, religion, at least the way it's "introduced" on chilren (forced on them, really)

I'd say focus on making things clear and simple. Use period (.) more often, use less commas. Also write first, then edit for clarity. But don't re-write from scratch. The Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax attempts to fix some problems with "normal" system requirements (and they used those for automotive and I think aviation systems, so if they made progress, you know it's real), give it a read (focusing on the problems they are trying to solve, and see if that applies to your writing)

several people say to avoid passive voice (I'd agree, but don't believe me, see some examples of this)

if it's only one, then it is the idea that "the word creates objects", or that "creating a word, makes the object", and the power of language

for example, you can take some time to study a language, until it becomes impossible for you to not understand it when you perceive it, it becomes a part of you, of both your cognitive self and your subconscious, and you can encapsulate all of that, saying that "you grok the language"

you can also see this in a lot of places, instead of "the study of the properties of matter in relation to heat and temperature", you can say "thermodynamics", and you instantly convey a lot of meaning

and this has "given me" some moments where "a lot of pieces fall into place", like understanding that a less general version of this, is the Abstraction taught at CS classes, where it is about computational systems, and hiding implementation details, rather than the more general idea of encapsulating the understanding complex ideas, in short sentences (or words)

it's the title of an Essay I had to read in high school, when I read it, rather than the message it was supposed to convey, which is how language gave women a lesser standing in society, I got really interested in the title, in Spanish it's "La palabra crea objetos"

there are also others, like how "you don't really have to do anything, other than deal with the consequences of your decision to do, or not do something", you don't have to eat, but if you don't, you have to deal with the consequences, it gave me a more concrete feeling that that our choices shape our lives

and how everything is connected, in the way that when there was a terrorist attack in NY, thousands of miles away, in another country the price of fish and shrimp dramatically drops, in that the space station's parts were influenced by the Roman Empire, and in that war has driven a lot of the development of science and technology

Location: Costa Rica

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: C/C++, Python, Linux, Android

Résumé/CV: (PDF) https://bit.ly/dcordero-resume

Email: dcorderoch (at) ieee (dot) org

I can't tell you why you don't enjoy programming anymore, perhaps you're more interested in other things in your life than solving problems? (because that is what programming is, at least in my experience, languages are "just added flavor")

I've had times when I don't feel that I'm enjoying programming, followed by times when I'm really into it, there was this talk called "The Art of Code" that might interest you, the presenter Dylan Beattie shows what I now think is what makes programming interesting, it's about doing things, the programming is the how, not the what

I got laid off on March 25th, I was called to go to the office the day before, told it was that "the higher ups wanted to see the team", only it was to get me to sign the paperwork, and give back the laptop, they paid a taxi to get me to my apartment, but it felt like an ambush

luckily my mother instilled in me the value of saving money, so I can survive for a while on my savings, but the double hit of the anxiety from the pandemic, and getting laid off has been quite stressing...

I'm open to any software development job, full-time, part-time, remote, I've been applying to several positions, but my first choice for applying cancelled all hires (a friend of mine who works there told me their CEO sent an email saying that), and most other companies are probably doing something similar

Lots of people are getting laid off, I've only 2 years experience, and was laid off a week ago today, I was told it was a necessary downsize, because the company had suddenly stopped selling as much, I've been applying for other jobs, but because I've got savings, I can survive even if I don't find anything for a few months, just like you, I'm taking this time to fill gaps in my skillset, learn new things, and focus on my university courses

also, getting laid off and getting fired are different, lay offs are usually a financial thing, it's not about your skills, you weren't in the wrong, they're trying to minimize how much they spend (including how much they pay employees) so you could probably get a recommendation from your former employer

stay strong

Location: Costa Rica

Remote: Yes - ideally

Willing to relocate: no

Technologies: Python, Linux, Git, Bash Scripting, Embedded C/C++, Qt, SQL, Docker

Résumé/CV: bit.ly/dcordero-resume

Email: dcorderoch@ieee.org

---- I have professional experience with C/C++ with Qt for Desktop, but I have done Android (Java) and Web development (HTML|Angular|js), and am willing to learn other technologies

I'd suggest you make a spreadsheet with as many job postings on programming that are near you as you can find (this shouldn't take longer than an afternoon), and learn the most listed language if all you want is to get an entry-level job

if you want to get better and better, you should keep learning other languages (1 every 1 or 2 years should be good enough), knowing 1 language in every paradigm will get you to think about what is possible in other languages, and satisfaction of knowing something new :P

I personally would recommend Python + C to get something high level that can get you to be productive fast, and something that makes you understand that goes into making that at a lower level (without going as low as Assembly), and I think both are good options because they're pretty much here to stay (you might hear some say that you should focus on more modern stuff than C, but there's a pretty good reason it's still here, it works, and it is fast)

and then learning stuff that'll feel weird, LISP, and Prolog, (if you go with this suggestion, when you "finish", you should be 4~6 years in, so try to learn other stuff along the way, like SQL, shell scripting, fundamentals of files and processes, networking (how it works, not necessarily implementing it), software architecture, etc. but focus on what is interesting and useful to you)