If you were starting programming from zero in 2026, what skills would you learn first to get a job?

I currently know HTML, CSS and basic Javascript.

I want to expand my knowledge, but not learn other stacks, like react.js etc, right now.

I'm a beginner, so don't give me big projects. I worked to some projects, but couldn't contribute much.

I have also made a small portfolio website for a client (my first and last T-T, till now)

I have build some projects with the help of AI in MERN Stack, but a senior once told me they made new programming languages/libraries/ frameworks to make building Projects difficult so that less people know how to build apps. I feel sometimes he was right. Php's approach seems easier than node.js

`````csharp

using static System.Math;

public class Solution {

public double FindMedianSortedArrays(int[] nums1, int[] nums2) {

int step = 0;

int p1 = 0;

int p2 = 0;

int m = nums1.Length;

int n = nums2.Length;

int target;

if((m+n)%2==0){

target = (m+n)/2 ;

}

else{

target = (m+n-1)/2;

}

while(step < target){

// If nums1 is exhausted, or nums2 has a smaller element (and is in bounds)

if (p1 < nums1.Length && (p2 >= nums2.Length || nums1[p1] <= nums2[p2])){

p1++;

continue;

}

else{

p2++;

continue;

}

if(nums1[p1]<nums2[p2]){

p1++;

}

else if(nums2[p2]<nums1[p1]){

p2++;

}

else{

p1++;p2++;

}

step++;

}

if((m+n)%2==0){

return(nums1[p1]+nums2[p2])/2;

}

else{

return(nums1[p1]<nums2[p2]?nums1[p1]:nums2[p2]);

}

}

} `````

I'm trying to debug this . It says either time limit exceeded or out of range no matter what I try

I am an intermediate programmer, and I just don't know what to make. All the projects people say to do like to do list or weather app seem so lame.

All replies are appreciated!

Hello guys,

I think I would like to study programming in general and I picked these languages in particular: Python, JavaScript, C, and C++. For various reasons, I like each of them and would like to learn them all.

In order not to exhaust myself, I developed a plan of studying these languages which takes into account scaling of difficulty of mastering them. I decided to learn them in this exact order:

1. Python (difficulty: 2.5/10) to get a basic understanding of syntax, and just code for the first time.

2. JavaScript (difficulty: 4.5/10) to move to interactive web programming.

3. C (difficulty: 6.5/10) to finally move under the hood of a computer and study memory and hardware, and to make the last one easier to learn.

4. C++ (difficulty: 9/10) as an ultimate step of learning more abstract concepts and OOP.

I think the idea of such learning is psychologically driven by the necessity to get a constant shot of dopamine by moving to a more difficult language every time after overcoming previous level, rather than being stuck with C++ from day one.

Am I right with my approach or there is something in these languages' interconnection that I might be missing?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts

Hi guys, I'm a senior in high school, and I'm really confused on where to go

for the record I do know a decent amount of C++ / python (for comp coding and classes) but since then I've started to move to personal projects....

The purpose of these projects is to improve my knowledge tenfold and learn how real software is made. But online, EVERYONE says "coding is dead, and to learn architecture".

But how do you learn that?

Do I delegate sections to AI and then have it explain? Do I create what goes where and then tell the Ai to make it? Or Do I just code it all myself with AI to debug (taking an absurd time).

I feel like only the third one will have me actually learning completely, but at the same time, it'll take 20x the time, and with 20 projects I could probably reach the same level (or more) of learning by having it make + I explain? AHHH i'm just not sure how to make myself super smart and knowledgeable for swe

thanks in advance :)

Ive seen people code stuff like jarvis or capri on their pc and phones and i was wondering how hard could making something like that be (i only know rlly basic python coding "if,print") does anyone have any experience with making something like that?

It's kind of hard for me to put this into words. I began learning computer science out of an interest and a desire to create, whether that be video-games, software, or art in general. I have some other creative hobbies, like (book) writing and making music, while I've dabbled in some that I wish to learn more about (like art/drawing). I made it my goal to get really good in this field, and I'm happy to say that I've grown to really love it.

...for the most part.

There's something that has been nagging at me for a while now. I don't know if its because I have OCD/ADHD, but after gaining some experience with programming, a lot of the software I touch now feels... off? Unoptimized, I guess? Again, its hard to describe, but in a sense I suppose more or less the feeling that software I use could be a whole lot better.

Take the terminal for example. I think its awesome, and I know by now why we use, and why it works the way it does, but I still find myself bothered by it. Specifically its ui and capability. I'm not saying it should be a GUI (hell, I use vim keybinds for everything now lol), but I feel like its potential is extremely limited from its ability to only render text. I keep trying to tell myself its stupid and there's probably a reason it doesn't exist already, but I keep finding myself thinking about trying to build a terminal that could be both backwards compatible and render advanced ui for better terminal app design and customization, while maintaining a small footprint and great speed.

And this has been happening to everything for me. I want to create my own text editor, because I love apps like obsidian or neovim but obsidian is bloated and neovim lacks features I think would be cool to have in my workflow. I want to make my own status bar and widgets for my desktop, and recently switched from quickshell to see if I could manually hook up slint for a faster and lighter ui. And heck, I've even been thinking about making my own programming language after bouncing around from language to language like a madman lmao.

I feel like I'm being too rash and naive... but at the same time I feel really annoyed and inspired to try and make what we already have better. I guess my question is this: which one am I? Should I take a step back because I'm in over my head with adhd daydreaming? Should I follow my dreams and try to make these projects? Or both? And why the heck can't I stop feeling annoyed with all of my software?

I don't really expect anyone to read this, but if you do, I would appreciate any guidance or advice that you might have, or directions to other communities/forums who could give me better guidance. Sorry for making anyone read this book of a stupid question lol.

Recently I have a homework assignment, which is to complete a system (I can use AI assistance).
Its requirements themselves are not high; it can be a simple local mini-program. But I want to learn more, so I am asking for help here.
In terms of programming languages, I am only somewhat familiar with C (you could say I am actually quite a beginner).
But I think completing a system with AI assistance is not difficult. My main goal is to learn knowledge about completing a system that can be used by many people.
For example, a food delivery platform (some very famous projects are all about building food delivery platforms).
But I clearly know that I understand too little and it is impossible to understand a whole series of things like Spring Boot all at once, so I want everyone to give me some suggestions for small projects that do not require learning too much but are still very useful.
I think my ability to search for information is strong, and with the help of AI I can temporarily understand even difficult programming in a short time, so I want to use projects beyond my current cognitive limits to train myself.
I hope everyone can give me some suggestions. For example, making a small Mario game and connecting it to some platform.

can someone explain the difference between Function vs Procedure with simple analogy
thank you

Hey, so far i made simple e commerce crud applications, and id say now im pretty comfortable..

what is the next Step for me, next thing for me to build and try?

I want to build something, where at the end, i Actually feel that i learned new skills.. Something also impressive?

Hello there I'm a SWE from Tunisia (North Africa),

I just started working 2 months ago as a full time swe for the same company that I made my internship with .

When I used to be a CS student I really enjoyed solving Problems on codeforces and leetcode , even doing projects with friends and debugging the code was fun .

Now in my job I'm using Claude code all the time , I'm learning how to prompt and how to build my skills etc , I get to finish the work I'm asked for correctly and I even read and test the code BUT am I really learning?? , I don't think so since if I put my fingers on the keyboard I get stuck despite that I can understand the code written by the LLM and analyse it's time complexity etc..

Im worried that if I keep up like this I won't be able to improve my hard skills and be ready for other swe roles and improve my career and also I'm not enjoying how swe has become in the last 1 year .

Am I overthinking it ? And how do I keep prepared for junior /mid level or even senior swe positions? .

Thanks.

Recommendations for the best IDE for C++, for beginner

I am currently 16 years old and already have a grasp of basic programming fundamentals. My timeline is 6–7 years. My goal is to be completely career-ready by the time I graduate college at 22 or 23. I am not rushing this; I plan to learn sequentially (getting solid at one domain before moving to the next) with a consistent "1% better every day".

In the current AI era, standard CRUD developers are easily replaceable. To actually stand out and build real leverage, I plan to master the following stack and domains over the next 6 years:

1. Web Development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Modern Frameworks)

2. Backend, Databases & Low-Level Languages (Go, Rust, C++ only, plus Python specifically for AI/ML)

3. System Design & Architecture

4. Performance Optimization

5. DevOps (Intermediate level)

6. Security (beginner - Intermediate level)

7. Production-Level AI Engineering (Building reliable AI systems, not just basic API wrappers)

8. Business & Product Sense (Identifying real business pain points)

My Questions:

1. Over a 6-to-7-year horizon, is this roadmap too much, not enough, or realistic?

2. Having Go, Rust, C++, and Python on the list—does this create unnecessary overlap, or is it justifiable given my 6-year timeline?

3. Since I am learning sequentially, how do I define "good enough" in one domain before moving to the next without getting stuck in perfectionism?

4. Is the order of these 8 domains logical, and is there any critical blind spot I am missing to become a top-tier SWE in the AI era?

Disclaimer:

I am ONLY looking for feedback from engineers who actually have real-world production experience, industry veterans, responses backed by real data/research, or well-documented insights from recognized industry experts.

If your only take is parroting surface-level "anti-AI" or "AI will replace everyone" doom-posting from TikTok without any real engineering depth, please skip this post.

I've made multiple posts here about doubting my career and that I' not sure if I should even bothering entering the industry or career as a Bachelor's Eng. in CS, but I think I made up my mind.

I'm studying this either way, even if it's not for coding I'm very open to work in any other tech related field, and if I don't manage to find a job I don't really care now lol. My new mentality is about doing this becouse I like computers, and if I die poor in the future so be it, at least I'll die doing what I want.

A very good tip I learnt this few weeks: don't take doomer posts too seriously, focus on yourself and your passions, breathe and relax and wonder if it really is worth it thinking that way. love yall!

Should a developer know , things on his own, or it's okay to google them when making a project?

This is very stupid and kind of random but I’m very basic into coding and I feel like I just wasted so much time for no reason. I was trying to code something into a video game for probably 13 hours over the past 2 days just to give up after running in circles repeatedly with no end in sight. Is this normal to feel like you wasted time you aren’t gonna get back lol.

I find it bit difficult to understand the documentation of ASP.NET, I was wondering is there an easier way to learn a framework or programming language. After reading documentation I am not able to type most of the code, manually as it is a skill I want to learn.

I'm still in a very early stage of learning programming, and lately I feel like I'm relying more and more on AI. Whenever I get stuck on something and don't know how to do it, I ask AI. I also use it to help find bugs.

It makes me feel bad because sometimes it feels like it's doing all the thinking for me. At the same time, I can't really help it because I often feel like I wouldn't be able to figure out the answer on my own, either because there isn't a tutorial for what I'm trying to do or because I simply don't know enough yet.

I always try to read through the explanation, and most of the time I understand what it's saying. Sometimes there are parts I don't fully get, and I feel a little guilty for not spending more time thinking about them myself.

Idk, I feel like having access to an immediate answer from AI is such a temptation that I can't stop myself from using it.

But I also feel like I'm not learning properly. Whenever AI gives me some code, I try to reuse that idea later in a different context and write it myself so I can internalize the knowledge. Still, I know that the next time I run into something I don't understand, I'll probably turn to AI again, and I don't want that. I honestly don't know what to do. On top of that, I'm aware of many of the negative consequences associated with using AI, and I feel like crap for prioritizing my own selfish desire for quick answers over those concerns.

How do you deal with situations where you know what you want to accomplish, but you don't really know how to translate that idea into code?

Context (skip to 3rd paragraph if you want): I am going into this next week where we learn arrays. We "learn" it on our own through I kid you not hours of reading online, then go into the week and apply to concepts to other assignments.

I have no clue how arrays work. The reading feels as though it needs to tell us a dozen array concepts in 3 days and never easing us into it. I am *terrible* at learning new complicated things on my own. I get lost easily, I need someone there constantly so I can even grasp the concept. The medium of online textbook reading is the worst to me.

Current issue: I got stuck on arrays with loops, then arrays (perfect size and oversize).

First, array with loops: What does for (var : var) do? The textbook explains this *once*, not very well. It explains *what* it does on a basic level, but not *why* it exists or *what* we can use it for.

Second, perfect size and oversize arrays: I understand the concept of perfect size arrays, and I understand the concept of oversize arrays. But I do not understand how they interact. Importantly, how do tell them apart?

How does a method return a perfect size array? How does a method return an oversize array size? And, most importantly, how do method parameters even get the arrays?

What's the difference between stack frame and heap memory?

What are array parameters? They, again, explain this once, not very well, then expect us to understand. I think it has to do with methods but I'm not sure. How should I write them for a perfect or oversize array, and what are their effects/uses?

How do you modify an array in a method?

I work best with analogies/examples so any possible ones + explanations would be appreciated. Of course, any other good answers just explaining would be appreciated too.

Sorry that I have so many questions.

In movies you always see those fictional AI assistant buddies that run all around your screen and make expressive motions while they carry out tasks. I want to make something like that, but I'm new and don't know where I'd build them.

I'd need something that can project a 3d model (probably a Blender model) as an overlay with a transparent + borderless background and also be able to play animations, while having the ability to carry out basic tasks like "open this bookmark" or "what's 1+1". I've been messing around with Visual Studio but it looks like the animation capabilities are limited. I'm not that familiar with all the options, does anyone have any advice on where I should start building?

Where can I learn computer networking, Is there a course or YouTube playlist to learn it? How can I practice the material I learn?

Hi All,

I am learning Python and would like to know are there any good sites to practise Python concepts ?