It's been five years since I learned to code and changed careers.

自从我学会编码和改变职业生涯已经过去五年了。

Prior to that, I spent ten years at a job that I only intended to stay at for 6 months. Time flies!

在那之前，我花了十年的时间只打算待6个月。 时光飞逝！

Since picking up the new skill, I’ve worn a handful of different hats — a freelancer specializing in PHP and WordPress, to working at Golf.com with new (to me) technologies like Ruby on Rails and Redis, to now a DevOps engineer who one day is managing Kubernetes and another writing Java.

自从掌握了这项新技能以来，我戴着过许多不同的帽子-擅长PHP和WordPress的自由职业者，在Golf.com上使用Ruby on Rails和Redis等新技术(对我而言)，现在是DevOps工程师一天负责管理Kubernetes，另一位负责编写Java。

And peppered between all these are my own endeavors to share with other developers what I’m learning along the way.

在所有这些之间，我自己努力与其他开发人员分享我在此过程中所学到的东西。

I interact with a lot of new programmers, and the problems they face are usually the same. In fact, I faced them all myself when I was learning.

我与许多新程序员互动，他们面对的问题通常是相同的。 实际上，我在学习时就亲自面对了他们。

And the one that stands out the most is that no one seems to be able to stay on track.

最引人注目的是，似乎没有人能够保持步入正轨。

What do I mean by this?

我是什么意思

Well, learning to code is actually pretty easy.

好吧，学习编码实际上很容易。

We make it hard.

我们很难。

All it takes is formulating a plan — a plan that will take you from A to Z without any detours. But we love detours. We love shiny new objects and technologies shoved at us by peers, co-workers, and social media.

它所要做的只是制定一个计划，这个计划将使您从A到Z毫无任何弯路。 但是我们喜欢绕道而行。 我们喜欢同行，同事和社交媒体推向我们的闪亮的新对象和新技术。

I can’t express how many times I’ve heard this:

我无法表达我听到过多少次：

“I started learning JavaScript through a Udemy course, but it wasn’t my style of learning. So I switched over the Treehouse and did a few lessons there. But I’ve heard that Go is becoming more popular and I think it suits my style more, so I’m going to start learning that.”

“我从Udemy课程开始学习JavaScript，但这不是我的学习风格。 因此，我切换了树屋，并在那里做了一些课程。 但是我听说Go变得越来越流行，我认为它更适合我的风格，因此我将开始学习它。”

Okay, maybe not these exact words, but the concept is the same: people learning to code cannot stay on a focused, predetermined path.

好的，也许不是这些确切的词，但是概念是相同的：学习编码的人们不能停留在集中的预定路径上。

我自己的错误 (My Own Mistakes)

I made the same mistakes. I learned a little about a lot of languages.

我犯了同样的错误。 我学到了很多语言。

For instance, I learned Python for a while. I even created a Udemy course on a Python CMS called Mezzanine.

例如，我学习了一段时间的Python。 我什至在名为Mezzanine的Python CMS上创建了Udemy课程。

And while I could pick it up again rather quickly, I have since forgotten a lot of it. In fact, the other day I was asked to lead the way at work in a Python initiative via screen share among a group of developers. I hope they enjoyed all of my Googling as I tried to refresh my memory.

虽然我可以很快重新拿起它，但此后我却忘记了很多。 实际上，有一天，我被要求通过一组开发人员之间的屏幕共享来领导Python计划中的工作方式。 我希望他们在我尝试恢复记忆的过程中喜欢我的所有Google搜索。

Add to that PHP, JavaScript, C#, Dart, Go, Java, and a myriad of other DevOps technologies that I’ve bounced between.

再加上PHP，JavaScript，C＃，Dart，Go，Java以及我之间反弹的其他众多DevOps技术。

Now, there isn’t anything wrong with being able to jump between languages. In fact, if you have a solid programming foundation and understand the principles in which they all share, you can do this.

现在，能够在各种语言之间跳转没有任何问题。 实际上，如果您拥有扎实的编程基础并且了解它们共同的原理，那么您可以这样做。

But if I could do it all again, I would not have jumped around as much. I would not have tried to determine what languages or technologies are “in” or “out.”

但是，如果我能再做一遍，我就不会跳得太多。 我不会试图确定“输入”或“输出”是什么语言或技术。

I would have instead chosen the language that gives me the most flexibility and depth in the job market.

相反，我会选择在职场上给我最大灵活性和深度的语言。

What language is that?

那是什么语言？

我会做些什么 (What I Would Have Done Differently)

Well, again, learning to code is easy if you stay on track.

好吧，再次，如果您坚持学习的话，学习编码很容易。

For example, if you chart a course that goes from HTML -> CSS -> core JavaScript -> basic PHP -> WordPress Development, then you can become a freelance web developer in six months.

例如，如果您计划的课程来自HTML-> CSS->核心JavaScript->基本PHP-> WordPress开发，那么您可以在六个月内成为一名自由的Web开发人员。

No questions asked.

无话可问。

But you won’t. Why?

但是你不会。 为什么？

Because when you get to that JavaScript part, someone will try and convince you how much you need to learn React, then Vue, and if you ever make it to PHP they will steer you toward Laravel. And in the grand scheme of things, you just want to do freelance dev work, whatever that may be.

因为当您进入该JavaScript部分时，会有人尝试说服您需要多少知识来学习React，然后是Vue，如果您使用PHP，那么他们会将您引向Laravel。 而且，在任何情况下，您都只想从事自由开发工作。

Coding is not easy because we stray from the path.

编码并不容易，因为我们偏离了路径。

We learn front end and everyone tells us we need to learn back end. We learn Python and Django and someone tells us we need to get into machine learning and AI.

我们学习前端，每个人都告诉我们我们需要学习后端。 我们学习Python和Django，有人告诉我们我们需要进入机器学习和AI。

There are so many technologies out there screaming at us to use. It’s enticing. But it’s not wise.

有这么多的技术要求我们使用。 很诱人。 但这是不明智的。

So back to the initial topic. If I could do it all over again, I would stay on the path.

回到最初的话题。 如果我能再做一遍，我会坚持下去。

More importantly, I would stay on the path that inevitably leads me to all the things without having to ever leave the path.

更重要的是，我会走在不可避免地带领我走向所有事物的道路上，而不必离开道路。

And what is this path?

这是什么路？

JavaScript.

JavaScript。

I would learn HTML, CSS, and get on the JavaScript train and ride it to all its many diverse destinations. And JavaScript will take you to all of them.

我将学习HTML，CSS，并上JavaScript火车，并将其骑到它的许多不同目的地。 JavaScript将带您进入所有这些。

Core JavaScript is essential for any web developer. This consists largely of DOM manipulation. Then I could ride the train to a very popular front end framework like React. I could park out there for a lifetime with massive success if I wanted.

核心JavaScript对任何Web开发人员都是必不可少的。 这主要由DOM操作组成。 然后，我可以乘火车去像React这样的非常流行的前端框架。 如果我愿意，我可以在那里呆一辈子，并获得巨大的成功。

Or I could shift into backend development with Node.js and Express. All with the same language.

或者，我可以转向使用Node.js和Express进行后端开发。 全部使用相同的语言。

Or I can explore mobile development with React Native and find success there.

或者，我可以使用React Native探索移动开发并在那里找到成功。

Or desktop apps with Electron, machine learning with TensorFlow.js, or even dive into the world of blockchain.

或使用Electron的桌面应用程序，使用TensorFlow.js进行机器学习，甚至深入区块链世界。

All with one language.

全部使用一种语言。

It’s no surprise that JavaScript has “maintained its stronghold as the most commonly used programming language” for the eighth year in a row!

毫不奇怪，JavaScript连续第八年“ 保持了自己的据点，成为最常用的编程语言 ”！

So if I could do it all over, I would become a master of JavaScript. I would stay on that path. And with that one skill, I could then decide what direction in the programming world I wanted to go.

因此，如果我可以全部完成，那么我将成为JavaScript的高手。 我会留在那条路上。 有了这一技能，我就可以决定我想去编程领域的哪个方向。

If you are asking the same question, perhaps this is your answer.

如果您在问同样的问题，也许这就是您的答案。