Off topic. I need some tech savvy advice...

[ThinkingManNeil]

Hi All;

I need some advice on something. For those of you who don't know, I'm disabled. Due to a rare genetic disorder I've have had to face many physical challenges and illnesses throughout my life, and now that I am approaching my sixtieth year, these challenges are compounding as I age. Unfortunately, my disability pension doesn't really keep with these changes and now with a change in government my pension - and those of many others on the program - could be reduced, possibly quite dramatically. Because of this I am seeking out ways of supplementing or replacing my pension income. Because of my physical limitations I can't really work in a conventional office setting and want to work out of my home, and it's for that reason I'm looking close at coding.

I did take some introductory computer science courses while I was in university where we studied BASIC, FORTRAN, APL, and COBOL but that was many years ago and I know that those programs have little or no application, generally, today. I also took an introductory HTML course back in the early 2000's, but my time after that was taken up with becoming my mom's full time caregiver. Those duties ended last year with my mom's passing at the age of 90 from cancer.

I know that there are a lot of resources on the web to teach coding, but with different emphasis on one language over another, different course lengths and strengths (some being more in depth than others). Because my pension is quite modest I'm ideally trying to find something that's free or of as low a cost as possible (I've found some places that offer some very basic stuff for free, but to get a professional level course the price can be substantial).

So what I'm looking for from anyone in the know here is what's the best way for someone like me to take up coding, and how realistic is to make a living on doing it? I'd like to hear from anyone who's basically taken it up from the position I'm at now, basically a novice, and what are some steps to take and pitfalls to avoid, I am researching a fair bit of this on line, but I'd like some experienced input...

Thanks in advance,

N.

 

[Stefano Zibell]

I`m not into coding anymore, but have considered a related career in the past. This book was recommended to me by a developer who works on a major media portal here in Brazil:

https://learnpythonthehardway.org/python3/

This should get you started on Python, an easy, modern and widely used language. I find it interesting because it introduces you not only to programming and language basics, but also to a simple workflow to get you started.

You can take all the lessons right on that page and if you like them, you can buy the book on amazon when and if you can.

After learning Python, check out the Django framework.

 

[Bjoern]

Codeacademy is free.

https://www.codecademy.com/

Other than that: https://www.learncpp.com/
Knowing C++ is always useful.


Not sure if you can make a living of it, but learning C++ and MSFS' XML implementation can at least provide some extra income since payware devs are usually very short of coders.