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290 sats \ 5 replies \ @gd 10 Oct 2022 \ on: How hard would it be for a non-coder to begin a path to becoming a LN developer? bitcoin
Hey and welcome!
Awesome to hear you are interested in the field of Software Engineering! I've been a professional engineer for over 16 years and have been teaching myself to write software since age 12— so first understand that you can become as excellent an engineer as you are willing to work for!
In preparation for getting ready for Bitcoin and Lightning world, it's important that you start to learn the fundamentals. Keep in mind that your aspiration is to handle people's money with your code, so it's important that you understand what you're doing.
I'd personally recommend starting with a JavaScript course (take a look on Udemy or other e-learning sites). From here you can decide if you enjoy writing software! Enjoyment and passion are a big part of being a Software Engineer, our field moves so quickly that a desire to constantly learn is what keeps your skills applicable.
Once you are comfortable with JavaScript, you can take a look at things like WebLN (https://www.webln.guide/introduction/readme) which will let you integrate lightning wallets like Alby (https://getalby.com) into your web applications to allow people to send/recv sats however you wish.
Moving forward from there, you can look into languages like Golang, Rust, and C to start working on backend/native software for Bitcoin/Lightning. Beware that working on this software is quite advanced and complex and I would recommend you get very comfortable with the language and the existing code before trying anything on Mainnet.
I hope this is helpful and let me know if I can give you any further tips on getting started with Software Engineering!
Awesome to hear you are interested in the field of Software Engineering! I've been a professional engineer for over 16 years and have been teaching myself to write software since age 12...
I hate to be that guy but I'll bite it. Don't do this if you are trying to encourage someone to code. This is something that people like us often do but there is nothing more discouraging for someone who is trying to turn into a new leaf at his 30s and hear this from people who code since a toddler. The result is often a wrong conclusion like "I lost the bus and I'll never be a fraction of what that guy can do so forget it" which is not true.
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Strongly disagree.
If you value your own self-worth based on other people's journeys, impressions or projections then there is a whole lot of introspection that you need to do before setting out to achieve anything in life.
If you take a look at the next sentence in the paragraph after your quote I quite clearly state "you can become as excellent an engineer as you are willing to work for". This is a field in which outputs are directly mapped to inputs.
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Hey mate, thankyou for your thoughts. If Bitcoin has taught me anything it is that you never know if you’ve “missed the bus” until you give it a genuine attempt and find out for yourself.
Don’t worry mate, I realise the position I am in and if I am going to be serious about this endeavour I know I will have to work hard to catch up. I remember getting into Bitcoin in 2017 and seeing everyone around me at the time with much, much more BTC than me, but that did nothing but motivate me to find avenues to catch up. I completely understand where you are coming from, but we are on the same page in regards to the “its never too late” mentality. Have some sats for your genuine concern and not wanting me to feel discouraged, this community may be my new home for Bitcoin discussion because of people like you and the person you replied to.
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Thankyou so much for the detailed response! I will certainly delve into a JavaScript course and see how well I go.
Even if I end up not liking coding, or if I am just not very good at it, I would still love to do something specifically in the BTC / LN space. I already have taken a liking to economics in general and have been doing an ECON 101 course on the saylor academy and I am branching out to the Austrian school specifically, I think that mixed with my passion for Bitcoin is already great but if I could add in Software Engineering I think that would be a deadly combination for the coming years in this space.
Thanks again mate, best of luck on your future endeavours!
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It sounds like you're going to love it!
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