Programming for Beginners: A Programming Language Is a Tool, Not a Profession

Why this perspective?

Through conversations with young people who have started studying or learning programming on their own, the same question keeps coming up, which programming language should I choose, which technology should I embrace?
Personally, my own path eventually led me to DevOps engineering. For someone who is just scratching the surface of the IT world, the number of possibilities can be quite confusing and intimidating. Yet very often, the choice of a programming language is viewed exclusively through the lens of a career, instead of being seen as a tool that helps build a desired path and achieve specific goals.

During the early years of my career, I followed a mindset that I now consider flawed, which programming language should I learn so that I can be good at it and become, for example, a Java developer. At first, this isn’t necessarily a bad approach, you start working, developing your knowledge, and gaining experience. However, over time, if you’re not in a field that truly interests you, programming can become monotonous and boring.

Not to mention how fast IT technologies evolve. New tools constantly appear that you’re expected to master, and you get the feeling that you’re always falling behind. It becomes even harder if your first job is in an area that doesn’t inspire you, such as finance, where you have to program in a domain that doesn’t resonate with you. While some tools are universal across different fields, every domain also has its own specific tools. These circumstances further undermine motivation and make learning far less enjoyable.

The Shift!

After several years of experience, I realized that I could have had a better career start if I had known then what I know now. Still, every experience is valuable and shapes the path toward better decisions in the future.

If I were starting from scratch, I would first focus on exploring the fields that truly interest me, whether it’s AI, security, finance, management, medicine, or something else. At the same time, I would investigate which technologies are used in those fields, how IT impacts them, and of course, what the job market demands, because the goal, at the end of the day, is for knowledge to be valuable and marketable.

The next step would be to get familiar with the necessary technologies and tools, their functionalities, and how they are applied in the chosen field.

With that foundation, once you select a field, you can start exploring smaller projects available online, which you can replicate yourself. This way, you practice and deepen your knowledge in a practical way. By creating multiple small projects, you not only enhance your skills but also significantly improve your chances for employment or career advancement.

Of course, with the AI tools available today, all of this is much easier and faster than it used to be.

Conclusion

View programming languages and other tools for what they truly are, instruments that allow you to create something that can improve your life or someone else’s, in any way.
Ask yourself, which field truly inspires you, and how can you use IT to contribute to its growth or improvement?