I'm pretty sure "I grew up in the 80s" is not a valid answer to "How did you become a programmer?"
I also grew up in the 80s. BASIC was an easy language to start with, I agree. But BASIC still exists today, along with a ton of other easy languages.
The problem is that there are SO many other things to do with computers these days that slogging through learning to program doesn't seem nearly as rewarding.
Some have attempted to address these problems, but I don't think anyone has quite gotten it right yet. (Not that I have any ideas, mind you.)
I also grew up in the 80s. BASIC was an easy language to start with, I agree. But BASIC still exists today, along with a ton of other easy languages.
The problem is that there are SO many other things to do with computers these days that slogging through learning to program doesn't seem nearly as rewarding.
Some have attempted to address these problems, but I don't think anyone has quite gotten it right yet. (Not that I have any ideas, mind you.)