Lately I see a lot of “don't study programming, that's it” floating around. They write to me with the doubt: “Am I late?” and “is it worth starting now?” I made this video to bring the noise down to earth and tell what I see on the other side, working and building every day.
The important thing about the video
Noise vs. the reality
* If you don't want to, it's difficult. Like any job that pays well.
* There are still offers, and in many cases more than in other areas. It's not the party of 2021, but the work exists.
* If you like programming, the study weighs less. That never changed.
The market is cyclical
* There are times of more demand and less. This is normal.
* No, you were not “late.” Starting now is valid. What changes is the expectation and the strategy.
What makes you stand out in 2025
* Real projects, not just tutorials.
* Self-host whatever you do: make it wearable and breakable. You add a thousand points.
* Tools that make you fast: Vim, Tmux, Bash/Zsh, automate things.
* Less “stack FOMO”, more focus: choose one and stay there for 3–6 months.
Short (and grounded) roadmap
1. I chose a stack (for example: JS/TS + Node + React or Python + FastAPI + Postgres).
2. I built 2–3 projects that solve real problems (even if they are small).
3. Self-host them on a VPS. If you want something simple, on the channel I have a step by step with Coolify to build your portfolio.
4. Document your process: lengthy README and a short post for each release.
5. Iterate with feedback and apply to roles where those projects add value.
Healthy expectations
* For juniors, a “to-do app” is no longer enough. Show live things, with deploy and logs.
* Consistency separates you from the majority. A small daily progress > marathon every 3 weeks.
* And if you discover that you don't enjoy the debug trench... that's okay too. Better to know quickly.
Watch the video
Closing
There are no magic shortcuts, but it's not a dead end either. If you're excited to build, learn, and break down to put back together, now is a great time to start. Make something that exists, put it online, tell the story and repeat. See you next time, with mate in hand and deploy on the way.
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> Original article in Spanish: No aprendas programación en 2025- verdad?