You've come here and you see yourself as someone interested in technology? If that interest ends with buying the latest iPhone, discussing the graphics of a new game or arguing that “this phone has a better camera”, I'll have to disappoint you a little: that's an interest in consumption, not in technology.
Using technology is one thing; creating it is another. Most young people here are in the first group, and the reasons are simpler than we think. Let's go through them one by one.
The difference between a consumer and a creator
A consumer downloads a new app, likes it or deletes it. A creator opens the same app and asks:
- How does this work?
- What problem does it solve?
- Where does it make its money?
- Could I do this better?
The difference isn't in knowledge; it's in the questions. If you start looking at the services you use every day through these four questions, you're already halfway there.
1. The language barrier
Let's admit it: the language of the tech world is English. The best courses, documentation, forums, the communities where you'll find answers to your questions — they're all in English. There's still little quality content in Azerbaijani.
It's possible to move forward in this field without intermediate English, but very slowly. The good news is that technical English is far easier than conversational English. The documentation you read and the videos you watch every day will teach you themselves.
2. Expecting quick results
“I finished a three-month course, why is there still no job?” — I hear this question a lot. Programming, design, data analytics — they're all professions that take years. A course only shows you the door; walking through it is up to you.
To confidently call yourself a developer, you usually need a year or two of steady practice. See that time not as lost but as an investment.
3. No real projects
Collecting certificates is easy; finishing projects is hard. And an employer looks at what you've built, not at your certificates.
Start small:
- build your own personal website;
- make a simple site for a family business or someone you know;
- write a small app that solves one of your everyday problems;
- contribute to open-source projects.
Three small, finished, working projects are worth more than ten big ideas left half-done.
4. Fear of making mistakes
Here, making mistakes is seen as shameful. In technology, mistakes are learning itself. Every error message teaches you something. Most successful companies didn't succeed with their first idea either, but with the lessons they took from it.
If your code doesn't work, be glad: you're about to learn something new.
5. Your environment
The people around you shape your future. If your friends only talk about phone models and games, your interest will stay there too.
Join tech communities: Telegram groups, meetups, hackathons, incubation programmes. There you'll meet people one step ahead of you — and that's the best motivation.
6. No consistency
Python today, design tomorrow, cryptocurrency the day after… Chasing every new trend keeps you from going deep in any field.
Pick one direction and stick with it for at least six months. Even if you want to switch afterwards, you'll already know what it means to gain deep knowledge.
So where should you start?
- Pick a field. Web, mobile, design, data analytics — whatever interests you.
- Make time every day. Even if it's an hour a day, but every day.
- Apply what you learn right away. Build something small after every topic.
- Share the result. GitHub, LinkedIn, a personal blog — let your work be seen.
- Find a mentor. Talk regularly with someone ahead of you: they'll spot your mistakes quickly and shorten your path. I've written about mentorship in detail here.
A final word
In technology, failure usually comes not from a lack of talent but from not having the right start. If the interest is there, half the work is already done. The other half is taking small steps every day.
And when you reach the stage of earning money, read my post “5 tips for making money with programming”.
