Here's what I've learned about those who succeeded either getting a job or interviews:

1. They didn't quit. I know this sounds almost ridiculous because it's so obvious, but these folks just didn't quit. By not quitting they're ahead of the 99% of folks who quit. It's stupidly simple. Don't quit and you've got a chance.

2. They are consistent. They aren't necessarily the most enthusiastic learners, but they're always there. They don't do a bit today, then a big binge the next week, then back again in two weeks. No, the folks who code at least little bit every day are the ones who are grabbing those jobs.

3. They learn by DOING. You won't learn to build a house by learning about construction tools or reading about architecture. You won't learn to be a cook by watching cook shows. You won't learn to BUILD SOFTWARE by following tutorials that are out of the CONTEXT OF BUILDING STUFF. Ignore tutorials that aren't project based, unless you want to learn something very specific (to apply in a project).

4. They seek help. So many people out there want to be crusaders. They get stuck with a problem and think that is not honorable to seek help. They want to be RAMBO. It doesn't work. You have zero chance in a real-world job if you are not willing to get help when you get stuck.

5. They are focused. Here's what most people do: Today, Python, tomorrow, C#, then Javascript, the next day, Unity. It can't be a surprise that they aren't getting anywhere. Each one of these is a world in itself. If you don't spend a good chunk of time focused in one of these technologies, you won't learn it properly, and you won't succeed.

6. They complain less and aren't so full of excuses. The folks who don't succeed complain a LOT: "The documentation sucks", "Visual Studio is Crap", "It's too difficult", "SQL is so hard". Well if it wasn't easy we wouldn't be paid well because everyone would be able to do it. And they always have an excuse for why they haven't coded last week: "the kids", "work got in the way", "I was sick", "I had sickness in the family". Really? Would any of these stop you from picking up the computer an hour a day to do some coding?

Originally published on reddit.