Greg, I feel like I need to explain a little about how I started my project and how I got involved with programming. I was asking the same questions. First I was just fooling around, getting to know how developing works, what languages there are. Then I discovered that learning programming language is not as hard as I thought it would be. I found some courses on-line (I recommend Coursera for start) and started a little project. The project actually was meant to help me study dentistry (or anything else). It’s web-application for studying, like on-line flashcards, only the way I wanted it to be. Then I decided to make this project public (which it is now) and make mobile applications. All that I did in one programming language (Python), well maybe 90% of it.

The reason I said that the project failed is because one can’t be driven only by passion alone for a long time. I haven’t received any return since this project was born, 10 months ago. And I’m not talking about money, I’m talking about user’s support, positive feedback, or someone say “hey, I like what you did, keep it up”. I started Kickstarter campaign to know how much support the app (and the idea) has. And I got none. That’s why I was so frustrated (still am). But I don’t think I’m ready to abandon it. First, because it actually very useful app for me, and second, it’s my baby, you don’t give up that easily. It just needs more work and time.

So, was it worth the time and efforts to learn and create something? Absolutely, 100%. Even though the project is not successful yet, I learned a lot (or even more), experienced every aspect of web development myself from scratch, and most importantly, I enjoyed every moment working on it. I think it gives me a solid ground to pursue it even deeper, whether it’s this project, or maybe a new one someday.

The bottom line is, if it feels right – do it. Investing your time into learning always pays off. And don’t be afraid to fail. Failures will happen (although I wish you never had any), but it’s not a reason to stop and leave, it’s just a pit-stop to think it through one more time and do it again. That’s what I’m doing now, rethinking it again.

If you can go for full time study, good, if not, give it a shot yourself. If you need some suggestions, don’t hesitate to ask. Good luck!