HI! I am 32, a mum of 16 months old toddler and I was wondering if there are any other parents struggling with learning how to code and with finding time to do so.
I have started learning from FCC about 2 years ago being pregnant but after completing css, html and some of the JavaScript courses I had a break for.more than 12 months (my child was born premature and I went through beautiful but difficult times).
Anyway I started coding again from September but It is so hard to do it regularly, I see posts where people write that they get a job after 3, 6, 9 months of learning coding and I know that will be not my case. I simply cannot do coding every day, I sit in front of the computer when my boy is in the nursery and when he is having afternoon nap. In the evening I am just too tired and the weekends I spend with my family.
Is there anyone who can relate to this?
About to become a father for the first time in 4 weeks and Iām terrified of exactly what you posted about.
Iām going to have to find a way of making it work somehow but I can see already itās going to be a slog. Weāll have to keep each other updated!
Iām 30, got two kids (4yr and 8 months).
I quit my job to go back to school, so I donāt have too much of a problems finding time.
I mean, sure I canāt sit all weekends. So I have to make the best of it while the oldest one is at preschool during the days.
My wife is currently on a parental leave, so she is home with the youngster while Iām at school.
I try to see it as a fulltime job, so I study around 9-16 every weekday. But on weekends I spend time with my family and donāt study. You need to rest as well!
Time is always hard to find but if you want it you can find a way. We have 5 kids and I had heart surgery last month. Things happen, you miss days, but you keep going. I am deploying my first website through aws for a friend. It has been challenging and it isnāt done but without dedication and FCC I would never have gotten this far. Have faith, you can find time and succeed.
My daughter is 18 now, but when I started learning more advanced web dev it was after she was born.
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donāt beat yourself up, toddlers take up time
I was in a bad position and ended up having to take any job I can get. I studied at night after she was asleep. It was pretty easy then to find Web Dev AND jobs (and reception, and customer service, and office assistant etc). It wasnāt until she was 6 that I got a full time coding job, and could freelance. I had to go back to web dev AND briefly after the economy tanked but I kept learning was able to get past the AND and back to full time dev. -
being too tired is okay
Doing a little bit whenever you have time is fine. If itās important to you, you will find time. And your kid will be fine. In fact they will learn that you know something and that studying is good. Youāre being a role model.
Youāll do fine, and this isnāt a race. Whatās nice about FCC is that is here and keeps your progress even if you have to take breaks.
Hi Malagossia
I started learning on Maternity leave a few years ago and learned dribs and drabs along the way but with stress at work have not learned in over 8 months and I have nearly forgot everything. Not giving up though. I am starting an online course to get a Diploma and can then eventually leave my stressful job and do something that I love.
Donāt give up. Iāve read so many stories on here about people in the same boat.
Weāll do it
You got this Malagossia!
My kids are a little older (12 & 9 years old) which helps, but itās still a juggling act for me with a full-time job, a round-trip commute to & from work thatās over an hour long, volunteering at my kidsā schools, taking a martial arts class 2-3 nights a week, and, somehow, making time for my family. Itās tough, but I try to find time for coding either during my lunch break at work or after my kids have gone to bed. There are definitely days when Iām not able to do any codingā¦ I just tell myself that Iāll try again another day. There are only so many hours in the day and thereās only so much energy I haveā¦ I have to remember to take care of myself too (like I should be getting more sleep )
Whatever youāre doing to learn to code doesnāt have to be perfectā¦ I think it should be what works best for youā¦ hopefully, that will help you stick with it longerā¦ that and this part of the fCC forum for āYou Can Do This!ā
Thanks for sharing! Itās nice to know Iām not the only one trying to find time to code and am sometimes just too tired to spend any time on it
congrats
sleep in while you still can
Hi @Malagossia I am a father of toddlers (less than 3 yo), main carer for them for 7hrs in the morning, then I work 9hrs in the afternoon. I fall asleep around midnight to wake up few time during the night. My kids wake up at 6am. I have usually 3-5hrs of interrupted sleep for last few years. Itās roughā¦
I wouldnāt say to give up but be realistic. A single person without comitments and family can dedicate easily 5hrs of studying a day. I can in the best scenario spend 2-3hrs of ālearningā and reading a week. You wont find a job if you wonāt put many hrs a week into studying and building projects for your portfolio.
Hi. I started to learn code last past year on the lunch time (two hours to spend somewhere outside) and every evening, from 9 to 12 pm. I already had a girl (almost 5 years old today) and theyāre two now (I know, I am a lucky guy p). Now, Iām 31 and Iām trying to get freelance as a fullstack developer. As a involved dad, working in full time, I must wake up early and go to sleep as late as possible to improve myself, build my new carrer and keep motivation to the top. I even started to drink cofee (I always hated cofee ) ! Fortunately, my wife really helps me. No matter how is hard, no matter how much time it can be it, donāt give up, take your time and follow your way.