How to learn programming from scratch

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Detailed instructions to help you write good code.

How to learn programming from scratch

1. Independently

If you have iron willpower and are eager to become a programmer, then you can achieve your goal through self-education. This is not the easiest and shortest path: you yourself have to understand the information chaos and fight procrastination. But you can study at a convenient time for relatively little money or completely free.

The easiest place to start is with interactive online courses. There are many sites on the Web whose materials explain the basics of programming in an accessible way and set the direction for further development. Pay special attention to those courses that teach on examples of real projects, that is, they tell you step-by-step how to create a specific program or website.

Remember that you can't do anything without practice. Study project-oriented courses and try to write programs and sites that are disassembled in them. Search YouTube lectures on projects that you would like to develop. First, copy other people's work and analyze it. Then try to move away from the original, experiment, change individual elements until you can create something unique.

In addition to courses and video lectures, there are official documentation available on language websites and books at your service. When you get the basics, look for the latest Best Practices titles for your programming language. Such books contain the best design techniques.

Be sure to set a goal for yourself to create your project and constantly work on it.

This will help consolidate the knowledge gained and understand what information you still lack. Your skills will develop along with the project. When you finish it, work on a new, more complex one.

If you have any difficulties in the learning or development process, you can always turn to programming communities like Toaster and Stack Overflow for any question. For example, they will help you solve a problem, choose a good course, or point out errors in the code.

It is convenient to hone skills on special sites where you can compete with other programmers by solving various practical problems with the help of code. These services include Codewars, TopCoder, and HackerRank.

If you feel that your development is at a standstill, or you want to speed up your learning, try the following options.

13 tips for those who learn programming on their own →

2. With the help of a mentor

A mentor is a personal mentor who points out mistakes, warns about pitfalls, helps guide the course. A useful recommendation, received at the right time, can save you a lot of problems and save you a lot of time. Therefore, a mentor will not hurt anyone.

Find out if there are any developers you know. Perhaps one of them will want to help you. If you don't know such people, you can look for them in the programming communities. For example, on the same "Toaster". Only mentoring services are not cheap, and no one wants to spend a lot of time with strangers just like that.

3. At teachers of "live" courses

Distance and face-to-face courses with instructors who train programmers from scratch have become incredibly popular in recent years. Within this format, you also have to work a lot on your own. But you will study according to a professionally prepared program, and a real person will check the solution of problems. The disadvantages of the courses include the high cost of training.

Popular Russian-language online platforms that are engaged in the systemic training of programmers: Netology, GeekBrains and Loftschool.

If you prefer to study internally, you can look for educational centers that teach programming in your locality. Unfortunately, such establishments are most often present only in big cities. An example is the computer academy "STEP", which has branches in several countries.

4. At the university

If you have a lot of time left and you are sure that you want to connect your life with programming, you can study computer science at the university. But keep in mind that traditional educational institutions are lagging behind progress, so you will have to master modern programming languages and other technologies on your own.

On the other hand, the university will provide fundamental knowledge of mathematics, algorithms and other areas that will help you become a high-quality programmer. Over the years of diligent study, you will develop the right mindset, thanks to which you will grasp everything on the fly in the professional field.

How to choose a direction and language

There are several directions in the IT industry, each of which uses its own set of languages. Let's list the main directions in order of increasing complexity:

1. Web development … Popular languages: JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby.
2. Mobile development … Popular languages: Java, Swift.
3. Development of games and programs for desktop computers … Popular languages: C ++, C #, C.
4. Big Data, machine learning … Popular languages: Python, R, Scala.

What to look for when choosing

To make the right choice of the direction and, in particular, the language, take into account the following factors: the complexity of mastering and the amount of training materials on the Web, your personal preferences (what exactly you want to develop) and the demand for the language in the labor market.

The demand for the language in your region is easy to check on job search sites. Just open the section for software developers and see the number of vacancies available.

INFOGRAPHICS: Which programming language to learn first →

If you can't decide

If you're confused, take a closer look at JavaScript, the language in which almost the entire web is written. Many organizations and programmers advise beginners to choose this language as their first language.

For example, Quincy Larson, founder of educational resource freeCodeCamp, recommends JavaScript to all beginners. Larson makes very simple arguments:

1. JavaScript is relatively easy to learn. And to write something and run it in this language, you just need to have a code editor and a browser.
2. JavaScript is the most demanded language in the international labor market and has great prospects. Large companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook are investing in the JavaScript ecosystem.
3. JavaScript has a very wide range of applications: from websites and browser games to mobile applications.

In addition, a large community of developers has formed around this language. The high interest in JavaScript provides a huge number of courses, books, and other educational content.

What else should a programmer know: mathematics and English?

Any programmer will benefit from a deep understanding of mathematics. For things like game graphics or big data, a mathematical mind is a must. But when it comes to web development and creating simple programs, in most cases you can do without math. Although there is no consensus among professionals on this matter.

But understanding English, at least at the level of fluent reading of the documentation, is a must for all programmers. Official documents and most educational materials appear primarily in English. Books are often out of date even before the translation is released. In addition, knowledge of English opens up prospects for working with the whole world.

How to learn English: all the most interesting and useful →

How to get your first experience and your first job

To find your first job as a programmer, you must have a portfolio. This is a project you created, or rather several that demonstrate all your developer skills. Most of the courses include the development of projects that can fit into your portfolio.

A very valuable point on a resume will be work experience, especially team development. But where can you get it if you are looking for your first job?

1. Complete multiple orders on freelance exchanges. It can be Freelance or Upwork. Offer your services for free, then the first customers will come to you.
2. Find like-minded people and create a common project with them. People unite for such purposes at almost every educational site where there are programming courses.
3. Select courses that the organizer is helping with employment. For example, in GeekBrains, after training, access to internships from various companies, including paid ones, opens up. GeekUniversity and STEP guarantee employment for their graduates.

Before interviewing, do not forget to search the Web for lists of tasks and questions that job seekers are often asked.