Questions & answers
Honest answers to the questions I get asked most
From students, from people who message me on Telegram, and from friends who are thinking about switching careers. Short answers, no hype — if something is not here, ask me directly.
Learning to code
- Is it still worth learning to code in 2026?
- Yes — if you want a job where your income depends on skill rather than on where you were born. Software is still one of the few professions where someone in Bukhara can work for a company in Berlin or Boston on the same terms as a local hire. What has changed is the bar: the easy, template-copying work is disappearing, so it is worth it if you are prepared to learn properly, not just watch tutorials.
- Will AI replace programmers?
- AI has replaced a lot of typing, not a lot of thinking. I use AI tools every day on client work, and they make a good engineer faster — but they make a weak one dangerous, because the code looks right and is not. Teams still pay for people who understand what the code does, why it breaks, and what the client actually needs. Learn the fundamentals first; then AI becomes leverage instead of a crutch.
- How long does it take to get a first job?
- Realistically 8–14 months of consistent work: 3–4 months of fundamentals, another 3–4 building real projects, then a few months of applying and interviewing. The 12-week course covers the first part and leaves you with one solid portfolio project. People who tell you it takes six weeks are selling something.
- Which programming language should I start with?
- JavaScript, unless you already have a specific reason. It runs in the browser and on the server, so with one language you can build a complete product, and it is what most local and remote job postings ask for. Python is a fine second choice if you lean toward data or automation. The choice matters far less than actually finishing something.
- Do I need to be good at math?
- For web development, no. You need logic, patience and the willingness to read documentation. School-level arithmetic is enough for 95% of the work I have done in six years. Specialised fields like machine learning or graphics are different — but you can decide about those later.
- Do I need English?
- You need reading English to work as a developer: documentation, error messages and the best answers online are in English. That is why the materials in my courses are in English even though the classes are taught in Uzbek and Russian. Spoken English matters later, for interviews with foreign teams — and it is learnable in parallel.
- Do I need a university degree?
- No. I am self-taught, and both Toptal and every client I have worked with judged me on interviews and delivered work, not a diploma. A degree helps with visas in some countries and with a few large corporations. For freelancing and remote work it is almost never asked about.
- Am I too old to start? / Is my child too young?
- I have taught people from 15 to 45. Adults switching careers usually learn faster than they expect because they already know how to work; what they lack is time, so plan for 10–12 focused hours a week. For teenagers, 15–16 is a good age to start seriously — before that it should stay playful.
- What laptop do I need?
- Anything from the last five years with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD is enough for the whole course. You do not need a MacBook. Spend money on a comfortable chair and a second monitor before you spend it on a faster computer.
Freelancing
- Can I freelance with no experience?
- You can freelance with no clients, not with no skills. First build two or three small real things — for a relative's shop, a local business, a friend's project — so you can show finished work. Then narrow your offer to one problem you can solve end to end. The freelancing course assumes you can already build a small application on your own.
- How much can a freelancer from Uzbekistan realistically earn?
- In the first year, expect to earn less than a local salary while you build reviews and learn to sell. From the second year, $1,500–3,000 a month is realistic for a disciplined developer; senior people through networks like Toptal earn several times that. I passed $100K in total Upwork earnings over six years — and most of it came from about eight repeat clients, not from hundreds of proposals.
- Upwork, Toptal or direct clients — where should I start?
- Start on Upwork: it is open to everyone and teaches you proposals, scoping and reviews the hard way. Toptal is worth applying to once you have two or three years of real work; it is a screening, not a marketplace. Direct clients come later, usually from people who already worked with you. Do them in that order.
- How do freelancers in Uzbekistan get paid?
- Upwork and Toptal pay out to international cards and to local bank accounts through their supported methods; the exact options change, so check the platform's current list for Uzbekistan. Keep your earnings documented from day one — you will need it for taxes and, later, for a mortgage or a visa. I cover the practical setup in the freelancing course.
About my courses
- Which course is right for me?
- If you cannot yet build a small application from scratch — the coding course. If you can build but nobody pays you for it — the freelancing course. If you are already working and stuck on a specific decision, a single 1:1 call is cheaper and faster than either.
- Is the online format as good as offline?
- For the freelancing course, yes — it is all discussion and review of your real profile. For learning to code from zero, offline in Bukhara is better if you can attend: sitting next to people who are stuck on the same bug is the fastest way through the first months. That is why the coding course is offline only.
- Do you guarantee a job or clients after the course?
- No, and be careful with anyone who does. What I guarantee is that everything I teach comes from paid work I do right now, that I review your homework myself, and that you leave with a finished project or a finished profile. The outcome depends on the hours you put in after.
Still have a question?
Write to me in Uzbek, Russian or English. I reply within a day or two.