I wrote my first code in visual basic when I was around 12, following internet tutorials, but the lack of consistent access to a computer / internet made me give up on it fairly soon.
Later on, when I was 16/17 I started tinkering again after the fascinating revelation that any piece of code running in my windows machine used a common set of APIs and that I could read/change the code if I just learnt x86 assembly. So I did.
It was probably a combination of books, one-off university lectures I would skip high school for, internet tutorials and surrounding myself with other likeminded people online.
I've rarely felt that the lack of formal education is holding me back. The only time I remember was when I was getting into data science, but research papers are available online for free and books / lectures on youtube bridge the gap quickly.
Plus I imagine the typical university graduate has to go through the same process anyway.
Later on, when I was 16/17 I started tinkering again after the fascinating revelation that any piece of code running in my windows machine used a common set of APIs and that I could read/change the code if I just learnt x86 assembly. So I did.
It was probably a combination of books, one-off university lectures I would skip high school for, internet tutorials and surrounding myself with other likeminded people online.
I've rarely felt that the lack of formal education is holding me back. The only time I remember was when I was getting into data science, but research papers are available online for free and books / lectures on youtube bridge the gap quickly.
Plus I imagine the typical university graduate has to go through the same process anyway.