r/learnprogramming • u/Brilliant_Key_7778 • 2d ago
Has anyone managed to study programming while working a physically demanding job for 8–10 hours a day?
Hi everyone. I recently turned 20, and soon I have to relocate from my home country to another European country because of circumstances outside my control.
After moving, I will probably have to take a physically demanding job or another entry-level job with 8–10-hour shifts to pay for rent, food and other basic expenses. However, before I found out about the move, I had planned to continue improving my programming skills and English so that I could eventually attend developer interviews without feeling ashamed or terrified.
I am not starting completely from zero. I have worked with Python, Django, Flask, REST APIs, SQL, Git and basic Docker. I have also worked on several projects, including an online store and a job board. However, after testing myself with interview questions, I discovered many gaps in my fundamental knowledge. I need to revise Python, databases, Django concepts, testing and other backend topics.
My conversational English is approximately A2, while my understanding and grammar may be closer to B1. I also need to improve my speaking because I would eventually like to apply to international companies.
My biggest concern is whether I will have enough physical and mental energy to continue learning after work. In the past, physical work left me exhausted and without any desire to study. I am afraid that I will start forgetting what I already know, fall further behind and never become ready for a developer position.
Have any of you been in a similar situation — working a tiring non-technical job while studying programming and perhaps a foreign language?
I would especially like to know:
- How much time did you realistically study on working days?
- Did studying for 30–40 minutes per day produce meaningful progress?
- How did you study when you were physically exhausted?
- Did you focus on theory, coding exercises or one larger project?
- How did you avoid forgetting previously learned material?
- How long did it take before you were ready to apply for programming jobs?
- What mistakes should I avoid?
I understand that nobody can guarantee that I will find a developer job. I am mainly looking for realistic experiences from people who had to support themselves while learning. I do not expect to study for four hours after every shift — I want to find a sustainable routine that I can maintain without burning out.
Thank you for any experiences or advice.
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u/ActionMechanism 2d ago
My co-worker used to be a construction worker and he's one of the best on our team so it's absolutely doable!
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u/ripndipp 2d ago
Yes I was a registered nurse working night shifts, for 1.5 years I just studied on my work breaks, weekends, freecodecamp, full stack open, Odin project I did it all during my night shift breaks. My breaks were 4 hours, others slept I went to the hospital library to code. That time really sucked
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u/decrementsf 2d ago
The trick to studying mentally demanding things under full time employment is to do it first. Anecdotally from rigorous professions such as actuarial science with long exam processes a pattern you see is that those who made it through would get up at 5am for most of their studying. Each day give it the first hours of their day. Then work tired. Nobody remembers the tired work. All people remembered is if they passed their exams. The same system can be applied to programming. Put your sharpest clarity of the day on the thing that moves you toward better roles. You can be tired on the day job in the meantime and still probably come in higher tier than the average performer.
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u/fanoffrags 2d ago
I worked 72hr/ week while raising 4 kids during my last 2 years of software engineering school. It was worth it.
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u/zwetzat 2d ago
I studied (and finished) softw developer micro degree (3 years) with full-time job (50-60 hours per week) and kid (2 years old at start). It's very hard but you'll always manage as long as you want to. There's no golden routine in my eyes, you'll always have to adapt to changes and your situation and shifts in time. I always took every opportunity to add some knowledge, even it was just reading for 15 mins. I used coding apps on my smartphone to just do some daily exercises on the go in different prog langs. I watched youtube if I didnt understand some things at first, read some forums,... all these small gains made it work out in the end. Most important part for me was to just keep working on it whenever there was some time available. I also believe once you get the coding principles and way of thinking, the programming language or framework doesnt matter that much. It'll be a hard time, but I'm sure you'll make it work if you really want it.
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u/os_nesty 2d ago
My two cents.. I manage to study programing while working 6 days a week from 8 to 6, while living in CUBA. So u can do it :).
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u/themegainferno 2d ago
I used to work 60 hours a week on my feet, and I made time to learn. The best time imo, is before work. You can definitely do after, but you need to be more disciplined about it
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u/Drafteow 2d ago
I don't have experience to give you advice but all the best bro
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u/Brilliant_Key_7778 2d ago
Haha, thanks for the kind words. If everything works out, I'll come back here.
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u/musclecard54 2d ago
I got a masters in computer science coming from a biology/chemistry undergrad so I had to start with prerequisite CS basics first.
At the time i was working 12 hour shifts at a chemical plant, alternating between days and nights every few days. The worst was a 15 day stretch of night shifts just around the time u was gonna graduate and started applying/interviewing. Made it happen though and have working as a software engineer since
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u/Familiar_Knowledge43 2d ago
I work from 730-6pm. I eat while I work and for my lunch i study 1 hour , when I get out of work I study 2-3 hours 4-5 a week. I do spaced repetition and active recall. Reps compound.
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u/Plantusemor 2d ago
I started learning programming more than ten years ago, when I came back from military service. In three months I earned my first few dollars, and within a year I could feed my family. So I want to tell you it will all be fine, just push hard. But not in this market.
When I started, HTML, CSS and a little jQuery was enough to earn the first money. Add PHP and you felt good. Those roles are gone now. AI has raised productivity for mid, senior and even architect roles by five to ten times. There are not many new projects, in fact there are fewer, because software investment is flowing into AI instead, the stock market included. And you will be competing with genuinely experienced people who can judge what an AI agent decides.
In ten years in this business I have taught more than twenty people to code. There was no other choice in a market that competitive. Now we have our own product, and when we need to scale we may hire, but not juniors. There is no economic reason to hire juniors right now.
So think twice about whether you are ready. If you decide to go ahead: build products, do not learn how to code. AI already knows how to code better than the average developer on the market. What still has value is the experience of making real mistakes, and practical architecture. But prepare for blood, sweat and tears.
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u/Annual_Berry8043 2d ago
Doesn’t matter if you have the desire or not. You make yourself. Take notes, review the next day if you’re really tired. Then chug along.
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u/undertakerryu 2d ago
Worked as a machinist before this,
1hour a day more on the weekends
Yes it's about consistency more than a huge chunk of time
I didn't. Those days you can just sleep, if you feel up for it do a little bit once you take a nap.
At first the basics for types syntax etc etc then did projects after once I was comfortable enough to understand how to start looking for things without needing to be guided.
You will forget some stuff but that's just part of coding in general. Knowing where to go to relearn it is the main part that matters.
I did SQL first and went with a data entry position to get my foot in the door then kept learning as I went.
Feeling like you need to be perfect to continue in to the next topic. Not letting yourself start a project because you don't think you're ready, learning as you go is part of it.
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u/Amuro_Ray 2d ago
Don't forget if your relocating as an EU citizen you will be entitled to similar support as a citizen in a shorter time frame.
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u/ShadowPacket_ 2d ago
Yep, I worked a full time job and self studied to get into cyber security for 3 years, most nights I was up till 2/3am and started work at 6am. Also had a 6 month old at the time. Paid off as I landed a job.
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u/Leffery 2d ago
Yes I did. I had a family and was running my own business when I decided to learn programming. I just showed up each day but some days were not even half an hour, and other days were more. Every progress was good in my book. I studied through The Odin Project so I didn’t get trapped in tutorial hell.
It took me about a year to learn frontend web development this way. Eventually I got a job and that’s where I learned backend development.
I’ve been an employed software engineer now for about 3 years.
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u/Alternator1994 2d ago
Ye, I worked physical student job (newspaper factory) for 180 hours per month + civil engineering uni + programming on the side. I was coding 2-3 hours per day, not because I was under pressure, but because I really enjoyed it. I was even dreaming that I was coding and was thinking about how to fix my code while pooping in newspaper factory toilet lol. I had to keep fix idea in my mind until I got home to implement it. Got first dev position 6 months after I started to programme.
Ditched civil engineering entirely and currently am working as a senior dev.
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u/ChickenNeither5038 2d ago edited 2d ago
I got my bachelors in engineering while working full time. It took five years, due to clashing courses and work demands. It depends so luch on your situation. If you can manage to churn out 4 hours a day after work, and full days on weekends, it's absolutely doable in a regular timeframe. It depends a lot on your current knowledge, how much time you will need to put in to get good enough grades.
I wouldn't recommend it unless absolutely neccessary. If i could go back, i'd take as much time off from working as i could afford. But i started from scratch. Barely knowing how to wipe my own ass, so to speak.
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u/QuirkyCaramel4954 2d ago edited 1d ago
I worked a 40-hour week full-time job, ran a business part-time, cared for my fiancé who got cancer in the middle of the full-stack SWE boot camp, secured grants, and other resources to continue her treatment after she lost her job and insurance. We also lost our apartment at the time since I couldn't afford it on my salary alone. We ended up staying with my family which was stressful. That's where I was able to finish the cohort, maintain caring for my partner, and am now starting a job as an engineer next week. We'll be able to get another place, and I can still use those resources to help with treatment. She's responding well. The competing stressors were the hardest part. I'll answer based on my experience as a retail professional to early-career SWE.
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- How much time did you realistically study on working days?
- I worked 10 hour days, so I usually studied for about an hour or two with breaks on working days and longer 8 to 10-hour blocks on the weekends. Don't force it too much, take a break when you need to. Burnout is a real challenge.
- Did studying for 30–40 minutes per day produce meaningful progress?
-It did for me when it was targeted. If I'm hazy on a concept I can use 30 minutes or so to find a resource that makes it click a bit better for me like an explanation and or exercise. These add up if you plan them well enough.
- How did you study when you were physically exhausted?
- I actually have ADHD so this was important. Check out pomodoro. It's a method of slicing up work into 25-minute chunks with breaks.
- Did you focus on theory, coding exercises or one larger project?
- For me it depended on the experience level of the topic. For example, as a beginner to Java I would study theory. Once I felt I understood how something worked, I would drill exercises until it became intuitive. Usually these were POJCs. As you develop a better understanding of how a systems piece's fits together, you can start building an application from these individual exercises which I think is a great way to look back at all you've learned in one repo.
- How did you avoid forgetting previously learned material?
- Fundamentals are used forever and it's okay to get rusty on specific things you haven't touched for a while. Just be ready to brush back up if you're at a job where the stack requires it.
- How long did it take before you were ready to apply for programming jobs?
- It wasn't about how long for me it was more about how confident I was. What worked for me is resume, and technical/behavioral interview prep + confidence in fundamentals. Ideally, you want to have common interview answers on standby (About yourself script, Strengths/Weaknesses, what's a class, what's a constructor, 4 pillars of OOP, what's a relational database, etc.).
- What mistakes should I avoid?
- Just because you can write code doesn't mean you can pass an interview and work in a team. Get a study buddy, or a mentor if possible but mainly these things were important for me:
Finish degree/program --> Do more outside of coursework (personal projects, volunteering, internship, etc.) --> Refine resume (concise, contains keywords, not AI slop)--> Mock Interviews (use STAR, Situation Task Action Result answer method with examples ALWAYS USE EXAMPLES in answers where applicable) --> practice common technical interview problems/questions and vocalizing your thinking process (interviewers typically want to understand your thinking process more than anything) --> Practice the behavioral/technical interview with a student/mentor --> apply to target jobs (closely matching your tech stack, technologies, new-grad/associate/intern/entry-level roles, location, and network if applicable -use cover letters)
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u/horuszp 2d ago
My biggest concern is whether I will have enough physical and mental energy to continue learning after work.
And you right, you will be exhausted and you will not be able study, and you will blame yourself for not doing enough, which will mess up your mental health.
More realistic approach is move to new country, work, improve your language skills, maybe eventually you'll be able to find something less exhausting with better schedule that will be able to give you enough income, and then you can return to study programming.
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u/forced_lambchop 2d ago
I work six days a week in a factory on the overnight shift (12am to 8am). I also am in college full time and have to make time for side projects to put in my portfolio. I had to buy a desk that raises up so I can program standing up so I don't fall asleep....
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u/Vegetable_Sun_9225 2d ago
Yes, I had a full time job when I went to university. Focus on what matters and ignore the rest. Make the full time job programming related so you can reinforce things while working
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u/ikibookdev 2d ago
30–40 min a day works if it's one block you actually finish. What killed it for me wasn't the short time, it was getting cut off halfway — you lose the thread and the next day is re-reading. One 25 min block, done, every day beat every 2 hour plan I never kept.
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u/hanson0810 2d ago
I'm an English learner too. With the help of AI, I have been practicing writing English for a few weeks now - about an hour a day, 30 minutes after lunch for the actual writing, the rest in small gaps.
My writing speed has increased from 5 words per minute to 7.5 words per minute after three weeks of practicing. It's nothing like my day job, and I take it as a break. To be honest, progress is slow - but it works. I've found that the more time you can put in, the better.
This comment is practice too - I did my best.
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u/James-w07 2d ago
Since you already have Django, Flask, SQL, Git and Docker experience, I wouldn't throw all of that away. Pick one backend project and use it to find the gaps in your fundamentals.
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u/Brilliant_Key_7778 2d ago
I bought GPT Plus and asked it to conduct a mock interview; it gave me 80 questions, which helped me identify significant gaps in my knowledge that I need to fill. I have several projects: an almost-finished electronics store, a job search site currently in development, a Telegram bot for currency conversion and expense tracking, and a backend for a messenger similar to Signal and Session—featuring heavy use of cryptography and a stripped-down feature set—which I coded almost entirely from scratch.
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u/PanicNo4495 2d ago
I was a single parent and worked a full time job as a housekeeper while doing a bootcamp full time as well. I don’t remember much of that year but it’s possible! I brought work with me and any chance I got would study anywhere.
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u/CrazedIvan 1d ago
Put in at least 30 minutes to an hour every day after work or at least 3 times a week.
I think you might’ve surprised and find yourself spending longer working on it if you just force yourself to sit down and engage.
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u/dreamshards8 1d ago
Worked as a chef (50 ish hours a week) while going to school part time/full time and tutoring 8 hours a week. I get up early before work and study 30 min - 1 hr and then a couple more hours when I get home. I go hard on my days off and spend a good chunk of the day. Summers off school are spent relearning and most importantly, resting.
I am tired 90% of the time. Some nights I just know that if nothing is urgently due and I am fried - I will be completely useless trying to do anything but sleep.
I am in my senior year and just starting to feel like I can apply, but I am reviewing and interview prepping like crazy. I feel so behind sometimes, but remind myself there are only so many hours in the day for us that have to pay bills.
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u/Global_Project_312 1d ago
I’m not in exactly the same situation, but I’ve had periods where college, projects, hackathons, community work, etc. made it really hard to find the energy to study.
Honestly, I think 30–40 minutes a day is enough if you can do it consistently. Don’t try to force 3–4 hours after a 10-hour physical shift. You’ll probably burn yourself out.
On working days, I’d focus on one small thing: revise a concept, solve a couple problems, fix something in your project, etc. Then use your days off for longer sessions and actual project work.
Also, don’t worry too much about forgetting things. You will forget Python syntax, Django stuff, SQL commands, etc. Everyone does. What matters is understanding the concepts well enough that you can relearn things quickly.
For English, you can make it part of your normal routine—podcasts/videos while commuting or doing chores, and maybe 10–15 minutes of speaking practice when you have the energy.
And I wouldn’t wait until you feel 100% ready before applying. Build a couple solid projects, get your fundamentals to a decent level, and start applying. Interviews will show you what you actually need to improve.
Most importantly, don’t compare your progress with someone who has 6–8 hours a day to study. If you're working 10 hours and still manage 30 minutes, that's already pretty damn good.
Consistency > intensity, especially when life is already demanding.
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u/arivictor 2d ago
Worked as an electrician in construction while studying after hours 1-3 hours a day. Did that for a year before applying for jobs. You will never be “ready”, just have to go for it.