Chiming in.

Erich's advice and perspective are spot on from where I stand.

For my part (though I'm in a different part of my career) developing code (or being a sysadmin, or being a metadata person, or...) in an academic setting, specifically in libraries, is super rewarding professionally and personally. The challenges are endlessly interesting, the mission is a constant source of energy, and the stuff you work with is almost always delightful. And the folks you run into are the kinds of people who like to work with fun stuff, are mission driven, and who are called to solve complex problems. That is to say the folks are pretty great. A nice way to spend time and earn a living.

+1 (x n; n=infinity) on the regex advice. It's a super power and one that gets endless use.

Best of luck!
Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Hammer, Erich F
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2022 9:40 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Circulation clerk learning to code.

Patrick,

I commend you on expanding your knowledge and skill. Creating, modifying or even just understanding computer code can be very satisfying. While in some sense it doesn't really matter what kind of code you learn as a beginner, you may want to start thinking about what direction you want to go with your coding. Web design, app development, gaming graphics, AI, administrative scripting, and many others are all very different coding paths. Be prepared no matter which direction you go in IT/programming to always be learning new things. It is a fast and ever-changing world.

Personally, I like working in a library (as a sysadmin who writes a fair number of scripts) because there is so much variety and surprising complexity and the people I assist are generally friendly, intelligent (even if they aren't "techies"), and interesting. If you are more of a tune-out-the-world-and-grind-through-a-specific-problem-without-concerning-yourself-with-the-bigger-picture person, a larger, corporate coding environment may be more to your liking.

If I can give one single piece of advice that I tell to anyone who will listen... Learn regular expressions ("regex"). Even if you decide that you hate writing code, knowledge of regexes can be beneficial in ANY job requiring general computer use. It is my firm belief that -- like learning to swim or to tie a few useful knots-- *nobody* regrets learning basic regular expressions.

That's my $.02. Good luck!

Erich


On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 18:09, Patrick Pletcher eloquently inscribed:

> Hi, this is my first time posting to a list like this. I am a
> circulation clerk who is learning to code at freecodecamp.org. Right
> now I am studying html and css, but I plan on going through all the
> lessons on the website. I enjoy working in libraries, and I also enjoy
> writing code. I am not sure where I am going with this. Do I stay in
> the library field, or do I go off in a completely different direction?
> I would appreciate your input. I think I would like best to work for a
> company that provides access to eBooks or audio books. I like print,
> but I don't see people using ink printed on dead trees 50 years from now, with all of the environmental issues the planet is facing.