Ask HN: Learning path for aspiring software developer (my nephew)

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2 points by mkbkn 36 days ago

This isn't for me but for my nephew. He is going to start his undergraduate studies in a few months, and I would like to suggest some to-dos, some not-to-dos, things to avoid, etc.

With information at one's fingertips, I don't want him to watch a random YouTube video and fall down the rabbit hole of "trendy" things.

For now, the only advice I gave him was to NOT use AI to write programs. Think on paper, then type on the computer. Avoid LLMs as long as possible to develop logical thinking.

He grew up watching YouTube (random TV comedy programs) during his free time. Thankfully, he has no addiction to it or to his mobile. He has rarely read any books (fiction or non-fiction), so I'm not sure how to suggest the importance of reading and writing.

I would also suggest Anki SRS.

1 comments

gus_massa 35 days ago

I prefer to think and write in the computer and use AI only as a 90% replacement of the Docs and Stack Overflow. I agree that letting the AI writing all the program is bad to learn programming.

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