Thread: Possible?

I have a question and would appreciate it if anyone is kind enough to answer. Is it possible to go from little programming knowledge to fully fluent in C++ in 2 - 3 years? Fluent enough to get a job, that is. I'm under no impression that it will be a glamourous job, at first. I know it will be at the bottom of the totem pole. I wouldn't mind at all being the guy who looks through tends of thousands of lines of code making sure == is not written as =, and being the coffee maker.

I have a 2 year CIS degree, with tech support experience, but that has little to do with programming. I enjoyed my programmng classes the most, so I've decided to pursue it. I've done research into many languages, and the capabilities of C++ interests me the most.

I'm taking a mature approach to studying. I put in atleast 10 hours a week studying and writing code. I'm working through O'Reilly's Practical C++, the tutorials on here, and I'm going to pick up Bjarne Stroustroups book "Programming: Principles and Practice using C++", which is the textbook he uses for some of his C++ courses at Texas A&M. It's not easy material, but I find I can grasp the material I encounter, which is still in the basic stage.

I want to know if my 2 (or 3) year goal is too idealistic. I don't know anyone locally that is a programmer (small town). I know most people pursue the 4 year degree with internships, but self study is my only option. I plan on studying and pursuing this as a career either way, but would greatly appreciate any feedback!

It depends both on your aptitude and on how much you apply yourself to learning, cutting code, etc.

If you do no work whatsoever, I wouldn't bet on you having even basic knowledge after ten years, let alone three. Some people simply don't have the aptitude: no matter how hard they work at it, they don't pick it up.

From what you describe you are doing, I would guess you would do well. I wouldn't expect you to be a world-leading guru in 2-3 years, but you will have useful skills and be employable.

It might be an idea (after a time learning as you are) to try and build programs that would be useful to you or your friends. Even programs you give away for free to friends, to make some of their tasks easier, will be valuable for learning purposes, provide demonstrable achievement, and possibly contribute to you defining what types of programming jobs you are interested in.

Originally Posted by smokeyangel

I think it's possible! I've heard from C++ gurus I work with that it takes 10 years or so to become *completely* fluent in C++ -- however you can reach an acceptable, competent level quite a bit faster than that.

Not even world-recognised experts (Stroustrup, Stepanov, Sutter, Meyers, Alexandrescu, the list goes on) claim to be completely fluent in C++.

From what I've seen in others, one of the best ways to improve your C++ skill level is to be an active member of this forum. Congratulations you've taken the right first step!

One of the best things to do when going through a book IMHO is to not do only exactly what is in the book. Don't go through it too fast either. Some people rush through a book, finishing it quicker than intended and think they just had more time to learn from it than others, or that they are smarter than those who took longer. In reality they're probably thinning down their knowledge, taking in a lower percentage of what they read. If you've read one chapter or whatever you're probably expected to read in a day, rather than starting on the next one, wet your appetite with another programming task that solidifies the knowledge. Yes you're probably eager to learn the next bit too, but playing around and experimenting on your own will teach you more in the long run. You must use the things it introduces for your own purposes as they are introduced to you.
i.e. Don't make the mistake of measuring your progress by how far through the book you've gotten. Instead measure your progress by how much experimenting you've done outside of just going through what is in the book, or in how much you can now do with the book firmly closed.

Either think of some way you can demonstrate to yourself that you really understand what you've just read about, or head over to Project Euler and pick a problem that you think you may now be able to solve.

Once you get a reasonable grasp of the language, or at least think you're getting quite good, head over to Guru of the Week (GotW) Archive - Main Index Page You might want to give it several months before you do that though. When you feel that you're understanding some of those articles and getting some right answers to the questions, then you're probably doing better than most.