For long as I can remember I’ve always learned by doing things. I’ve picked up many programming languages and tech-related skills by simply writing the code or tinkering on the server. I never had the patience to read the documentation from start to finish. I was far too eager to get started and see things happen. I would read just enough documentation and then set out on my journey. Often I would get to a point, consider what was working or not working and only then go back to documentation or other reference materials.

Understanding how you learn is very important. This is especially true when working with programming since you do not just read a book and become a programmer. There are so many concepts to learn and lessons to experience and even more mistakes to be made! Learning from the mistakes and exploring what is possible is what keeps me interested in programming.

Joe Ferguson // @joepferguson