| > don't just point them at Google. Tell them YOUR story ... and .. what YOU would do differently ... > Use your friends These are good bits of advice. I would also encourage folks here to realize just how far programming is from what most people do all day. It's interesting for me to read this thread because you could find/replace programming insert any number of other activities, like writing (the one I'm closest too), but music, photography, cooking, and many others probably apply too. Theoretically, you could be a steppenwolfe and teach yourself how to write without any direct interaction from others, or others from the Internet hordes. But it would be so damn difficult and time consuming that you'd be better off finding a friend—any friend—who is already at least moderately proficient and getting her to read your stuff. I'm a grad student in English lit, so when I tell people I spend a lot of time writing and they reply by saying, "I write" or "I want to write better" and are curious about what's going on, I'll talk about my experience and what I've done and so on. If they want me to read their stuff I will, provided they pass the (very low) barriers described here: http://jseliger.com/2010/10/02/how-to-get-your-professors%E2... . The mentor / mentee or teacher / student paradigm exists for a reason. Yeah, a lot of its official manifestations in the school system don't work real well, but there's a reason it's there. |