What is programming?

Hello, i am a 17 year old teenager that wants to get into programming and have started to learn python, but i have a lot of doubts about programming in general. Like what can i actually do with programming, i know i can make web pages and apps but is there more to it? and also, like what do programmers actually do, for example if someone works at like Google or Microsoft what do they do? and what should i learn to work there.

I tried searching for a bit in pages and youtube but i didnt find anything concrete that could answer my doubts

Your computer uses Windows or MacOS, which are written by programmers.
Your TV uses programming not just to access Netflix, but to tell the pixels how to light up to show you a picture.
Your car uses programming to tell the engine how to control its flow, and if you’ve got an electric car, it tells it how to run the battery and drive power to the wheels.
The traffic lights you pass are programmed to change in a certain pattern.
The checkout where you buy your groceries is programmed to scan barcodes and determine prices and taxes.
The UPS guy who dropped off your latest Amazon package? What do you think routed that box from a warehouse to a truck to your door?
The gas pump, lights, pretty much every electronic device you’ve ever seen, touched, or had influence your life have a programmer behind them.

Programmers are everywhere; not just the internet.

The page you asked your very question on was created by programmers, written on a computer using programs written by programmers to ask questions to programmers. :wink:

@patotamez07,

Have you looked on job board/forums?

Examples here in the UK would be indeed, totaljobs, linkedn etc.

Type ‘python’ into the job type search, and see what comes up.

If a role is of interest to you e.g. Data scientist, then google ‘What does a data scientist do?’

Here are some results from a quick search for ‘google python jobs’
https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/jobs/results?q=python&employment_type=INTERN&employment_type=PART_TIME&employment_type=FULL_TIME

I would add an important part of programming is having the initiative and ‘know how’ to search for information.

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Programming in general is what you have done your whole life. You are programmed to sleep, wake up, go to school, eat and so on.

Programming is also basically a list of tasks that should be done. After each other or simultaneous. To serve a purpose. Go shopping for an example is a basic task containing several small tasks that when finished may end up in your stomach. Serving the purpose of prolonging your life.

Computer programming about the same. But you delegate the tasks to the computer. Many things you can do by yourself, can you tell the computer to do. Calculate, light a bulb, store files and so on.

To work at Google you may learn a language named Go (Golang). Created by Google and used by them. To work at Microsoft, you may learn C#, .NET etc. All computer languages are different, but share the basic principles. So, by learning Python you may also learn the basics of other languages.

But programming does not end with learning languages. You must also learn the basics of how a computer or operating system work. And how the internet works and so on…

Programming is like giving a computer a recipe to follow. For example, if you want the computer to add two numbers, you would write a simple instruction like:
print(3 + 5)
This tells the computer to add 3 and 5, and it will display the result, which is 8. Just like that, programming lets you create commands to make the computer do various tasks.

Computers existed for many decades before the internet existed.

Computers are used for banks. Computers are used for accounting purposes for all business except possibly very small businesses. If you do not know what accounting is then learn about that. Accounting might sound boring but it is an important part of businesses.

Computers are used for stores to manage inventory, orders and customers.

Computers are used by manufacturers to manage tools and materials and products being manufactured. Products as large as aircraft and automobiles and even washing machines need computers to manage how something is designed and built. Large products have assemblies sub-assemblies and sub-assemblies of sub-assemblies and computers are needed to keep track of all that.

Businesses need computers to keep track of customers and employees. Hospitals need computers to keep track of patients, doctors, medication, operations, and much more.

There are hundreds of such examples of how computers are used and they all need programmers.

Well, Python is just great to begin with because of its wide applicability. Apart from the development of websites and applications, programming can be used for many other things such as data science, automation, game development, and even in the area of cybersecurity. There’s a lot you can do, like making a predictive model or designing complex systems.

Programmers at companies like Google and Microsoft are involved in working on a wide array of tasks.
For instance, Google is heavily engaged in cloud storage solutions and several applications like Google Drive, Google Cloud Platform, and Google Workspace. The company is also working on advanced technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Microsoft engages in software development, system designs, and applications such as Office 365, Azure cloud services, and Windows. They also engage in innovative projects and new technologies.

Moreover, Django is also a famous Python framework for web development. It can also be used in artificial intelligence projects. To work in these companies, you need to practice your programming skills more by studying algorithms and data structures.