Rapid changes in the field of software engineering have increased the requirement of designing and developing of extremely complex software systems. These tasks are performed by software engineers. Software engineers working in application development have to deeply analyze users’ needs and requirements and build software systems that meet the needs of the users. They must possess excellent problem solving skills. They must also have strong programming skills. While teaching introductory programming courses for over a decade in reputed institutions we have experienced that several factors play significant role in developing problem solving skills and program development skills in students. There are certain types of difficulties that are encountered by the beginners. These difficulties vary in their nature. Beginners find difficulties with the programming language that they use, the compilers that they use and so on. These difficulties if not overcome proves detrimental to

their career as professional engineers at a later stage. This paper focuses on the various types of difficulties that a novice programmer faces while learning programming and tries to find out ways to overcome them.