Lots of people (particularly people associated with LessWrong) are telling me I should become a computer programmer; in response I've taught myself a little Python using this site, written a couple Python scripts on my own, and just now sent in an application to App Academy. But if I don't end up going to App Academy, what's the best way to develop some actually marketable programming skills? I've heard people recommending getting involved in open source projects on Git Hub, but when I looked at Git Hub I found it overwhelming, with no idea of how to find a suitable project to work on. Advice?
You may end up not liking the grind, but the least you can do when choosing a career is to make sure you like as many parts of the job as possible as much as possible.
Wrong question, I think. Chris isn't "most people" (no one is) and what matters is the available tradeoff of enjoyment, money, social value, etc., in the jobs he might take.
My impression is that most people who are in a position to make a decent career out of software are able to find jobs they enjoy pretty well. Not necessarily jobs in software -- they might like something else better. Chris might still choose to take a job he doesn't enjoy (e.g., if it pays much better) but he probably has the option, even if it turns out that "most people" don't enjoy their jobs.
2Richard_Kennaway
I don't know, do most people enjoy their jobs? (Where "job" = "whatever people are paying you a living to do".) Do most people of an LW-ish sort enjoy their jobs? Do you? Or is it a grind that you do for no reason but to pay the bills?
Lots of people (particularly people associated with LessWrong) are telling me I should become a computer programmer; in response I've taught myself a little Python using this site, written a couple Python scripts on my own, and just now sent in an application to App Academy. But if I don't end up going to App Academy, what's the best way to develop some actually marketable programming skills? I've heard people recommending getting involved in open source projects on Git Hub, but when I looked at Git Hub I found it overwhelming, with no idea of how to find a suitable project to work on. Advice?