Are programmers born or made? It depends. In 2010s, programming is so much easier than it used to be in 2000s. More and more gurus and dev bootcamp founders proclaim that programmers can be made.
I won’t say programmers are made. My answer: it depends. Instead of thinking programmers are made, utilize whatever belief is more useful to you.
If you are starting on the programming path later in your life as a second (or third, or fourth) career choice, then thinking programmers are born is detrimental! Why would you do such a thing?
Think and truly believe that programmers are made, if you want to succeed as a programmer. That’s because every time you encounter an issue, you’ll be inclined to work through it when you think that NOW you are a programmer.
On the contrary, you will be more successful thinking programmers are born, if you has been programming from your teens and programming is the only career you ever had. The reason is when you encounter a problem, you’ll be forced to find a solution because that’s what you do. You are a programmer and alway was. You have to come up with the answer because you are a programmer. You’ll value your job and think it’s your missing to write great software, because you won a lucky lottery.
If we dig deeper, programmer are not born. No one in the hospital looks at a child and says “congratulations, that’s a programmer”, “you are luckliy, that’s a QA engineer”, “sorry, that’s a designer”. No. Most likely it’s a dumb luck. The kid got a computer as an early age and tried programming and liked it. Then he got more experience and made himself into a programmer. So born is actually made just at an earlier age.
In any case, think and believe whatever is more useful to you in your career and life. Not what someone else tells you.
