When I first started to learn to code, and even now, I read so many posts and articles asking the same question.
There are college and university level syllabi available, with or without videos, some instructor lead, others self paced.
With so much out there it is easy to see why some people get confused about where the best place to start is.
A lot of it will depend on your individual learning style, it would be great if there was a one size fits all solution to learning but there isn't. So I appreciate not everyone's going to agree on this one.
1. Pick a language.
Sounds simple enough, but there's so many out there to choose from it's easy to get distracted. There have been many times where I have switched languages, and even if I've only spent a few hours or days on an exercise or learning a new concept. It always seems to take some time to get back into the other language when I've finished.
The fundamental concepts of programming remain very similar across all of the different languages. Like learning new spoken languages, once you understand how sentences are structured, and about the different building blocks of language, tenses, verbs, nouns etc. learning different languages becomes a whole lot easier.
A lot of people I have spoken to have said that once they learned one language, subsequent languages were much easier to learn. That goes for spoken language learners and programmers.
So don't worry about choosing the wrong language, they go in and out of fashion and change all the time. Just pick one you think you're going to like and stick with it.
2. Learn by example.
While there might be a wealth of free resources on the internet to teach you how to code, a lot of them are let down in the same area.
This is where boot camps or classroom based learning can start to gain appeal. Self paced learning online can give you the knowledge, but often lacks direction.
This doesn't have to be the case though. There are some great example based learning offerings out there. I'm going to take a look at some of them in future posts.
In the meantime, have fun and enjoy your learning!
"Where/how can I learn to code?"For people not pursuing a more classic style of education through college or university, the internet is an amazing resource. It is currently awash with coding bootcamps, covering a wide variety of languages.
There are college and university level syllabi available, with or without videos, some instructor lead, others self paced.
With so much out there it is easy to see why some people get confused about where the best place to start is.
A lot of it will depend on your individual learning style, it would be great if there was a one size fits all solution to learning but there isn't. So I appreciate not everyone's going to agree on this one.
1. Pick a language.
Sounds simple enough, but there's so many out there to choose from it's easy to get distracted. There have been many times where I have switched languages, and even if I've only spent a few hours or days on an exercise or learning a new concept. It always seems to take some time to get back into the other language when I've finished.
The fundamental concepts of programming remain very similar across all of the different languages. Like learning new spoken languages, once you understand how sentences are structured, and about the different building blocks of language, tenses, verbs, nouns etc. learning different languages becomes a whole lot easier.
A lot of people I have spoken to have said that once they learned one language, subsequent languages were much easier to learn. That goes for spoken language learners and programmers.
So don't worry about choosing the wrong language, they go in and out of fashion and change all the time. Just pick one you think you're going to like and stick with it.
2. Learn by example.
While there might be a wealth of free resources on the internet to teach you how to code, a lot of them are let down in the same area.
"What do I do with this knowledge now?"You might spend hours learning about functions, variables, and data structures. Then what? How does that help you towards your end goal? Do you even have an end goal yet?
This is where boot camps or classroom based learning can start to gain appeal. Self paced learning online can give you the knowledge, but often lacks direction.
This doesn't have to be the case though. There are some great example based learning offerings out there. I'm going to take a look at some of them in future posts.
In the meantime, have fun and enjoy your learning!
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