Your First Steps to Becoming a Programmer

IT is developing at a tremendous speed right now. The increasing demand for programmers is reflected in all areas of life. According to Statista.com, the developers’ community is expected to hit the 28.7 million mark by the year 2024.

So if you decide to jump into this fully running train it’s a perfect time. There is a wide range of affordable online courses, helpful tutorials, engaging youtube blogs.

But where and how to start? You can find dozens of online and on-site programming courses as a beginner and you can get enrolled in any of these courses, but the choice may not be easy.

So, let’s discover the most interesting and effective sources to learn to program and make the start for a bright new career.

Reasons to Learn Programming

Why exactly do you want to learn programming? To get a specific job? Or to build an app you are thinking about? Or is it just for fun?

Understanding your own motivation can help you choose the right tools, courses, and tutorials among a wide range of programming languages and technologies

So, let’s see some common reasons which might be the engine behind your passion to learn programming.

Develop Tech Skills and Creativity

IT-field offers the unique opportunity to combine both the technical and creative skills in the programming activity. This is possible due to the nature of the job. Every time you meet a problem you will have to solve it using different solutions. It may be your own codes, the materials from open sources and libraries, and the advice of more experienced colleagues. This makes a programming career challenging and exciting.

More or Better Job Opportunities

Every industry in the world today requires the skill of programmers. The number of developers in the world is growing and will continue to grow: now there are approximately 24 million, it is expected that by 2024 there will be 28.7 million developers. Therefore the programming skills will assure you of a well-paid job in one of the most stable industries at this moment.

Entrepreneurship

Some programmers choose the self-employment path. Knowing how to code allows you to successfully freelance from anywhere in the world or start your own business. This can be an online store, your own website development company, mobile app development, online coding courses and training, and more. The possibilities are endless. What makes it even better is that the demand for these types of businesses is also high.

Desire to Create

Computer programming, like no other job, gives you the ability to digitize your ideas.

For instance, if you are interested in fintech, games, or any other specific direction and love programming, then in almost every field you can participate in the development of cool and useful products. Or you can create and implement some of your own visions.

How to Choose the Programming Language to Start With

There are a lot of programming languages and technologies used by IT specialists in different industries and projects. So, how to choose the one you should start with among many options?

The first thing to understand is: the best programming language doesn’t exist. All languages available today have their pros and cons in different industries, tasks, and situations. So, it’s more a matter of different factors to consider.

When you choose a programming language, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this language easy enough to learn?
• Is it popular enough to find learning materials and later — a good job?
• What is it for (server-side apps, frontend, Android, IOS, games)? Is it what you want to work with?
• What type of apps is it best suited for (web, mobile, AI-based, etc.)? Is it what you want to develop?

Some programming languages, like Java, are universal and have numerous ways of application. And by the way, it’s one of the most popular programming languages both among professionals and beginners — not only because of its versatility but because it’s quite easy to learn.

Ways to Learn the Chosen Language

After finding your desired programming language, the next step will be to find the right place to master it. There is a wealth of online resources with which you can learn Java, Python, or any other programming language.

How to choose? Experienced programmers say that it’s better to choose a highly practical course backed with theory rather than take lectures without actually understanding how to implement the knowledge you’ve got.

Here are some ways to learn programming that are great to consider.

Courses

CodeGym

At CodeGym students learn Core Java in a gamified form. The course is divided into a few levels, like a video game, and you learn by gaining points for solving problems. You use these points for the opening of new lectures and levels.

There are over 1200 practical tasks with different levels of complexity. The course includes the basics of the Java language, OOP, multithreading and collections, and more. By solving tasks, you will create different types of applications related to real-life programming tasks. For example, a restaurant emulator or a simple video game.

This is a great way to learn programming, and also, Codegym has a very supportive community. Just click on a button to ask a question, and other students or someone from the CodeGym team will help.

Codecademy

Codecademy is another good tool for beginners which allows students to learn programming in a fun way. It offers a combination of interesting lessons and practical exercises. You will also get rewards as you progress. Aspiring software developers may either opt for the free courses or the paid plan.

Udacity

If you are looking to acquire job-focused skills, then this e-learning community is for you. The majority of the courses offered by the company were designed alongside experts from the industry. But it doesn’t just give you the skills you need. At the end of the course, you will have work samples that will be useful in the future. Udacity gives its students access to 200 free courses.

Bootcamps

Tech Elevator: Tech Elevator offers an extensive coding boot camp that started in 2015. The company’s goal has always been to equip individuals with the skills they need to become software developers. As a result, only instructors with experience in the software development industry are hired. Tech Elevator currently boasts a 90% job placement rate.

CodingNomads: CodingNomads provides boot camps for Java and Python programming. These boot camps are full-time and 10 weeks long. The skills you can acquire at CodingNomads include Java, Python, Django, data science, SQL, and more. An interesting thing about this Bootcamp is that it allows students to learn to write Python and Java code while traveling the world.

NuCamp: NuCamp was founded by Ludovic Fourrage, who formerly worked at Microsoft as the head of digital learning development. Since then, his goal has been to bring better opportunities to aspiring software developers. The courses offered by NuCamp include mobile app development and front-end and full-stack web development. Training is done online and across 170 cities in the US.

Tutorials

Tutorial Teachers: This is a website that has been designed to provide a step-by-step process for students to acquire skills in web technologies. The examples on the site are simple and easy to understand. The courses you can learn for free include C#, JavaScript, LINK, jQuery, and more.

Learn JS: This is one of the best places from which you can learn JavaScript online. It offers a free interactive JavaScript tutorial in which you are required to try codes after each lesson. The website is suitable for both beginners and experienced programmers.

TutsPlus: If you are interested in learning coding, design, or graphic arts, Tuts+ is the place for you. It offers high-quality resources at a very affordable price. There are several courses, tutorials, and ebooks that will be of great value to you.

Blogs

David Walsh: This is a blog run by a highly experienced software engineer and web developer named David Walsh. It contains tutorials on JavaScript, WordPress, HTML5, CSS, PHP, and more.

Softwarehow: Softwarehow’s blog is one of the best blogs for learning about software tools. It also offers information on the best ways of using these tools to find solutions to computing problems.

SitePoint: Launched over twenty years ago, the platform has grown to have one of the biggest communities of web developers and designers. It is the best resource for learning JavaScript, UX, WordPress, CSS, and more.

YouTube Videos

thenewboston: thenewboston is an online community in which members learn how to code and also participate in projects. The videos on the YouTube channel are great for beginners thanks to their simplicity and short lengths. The videos are updated regularly too.

Derek Banas: Derek Banas launched his channel in 2008 to help people learn to program. Since then, he has amassed over one hundred million views. He is a highly experienced professional who is experienced in multiple programming languages.

ProgrammingKnowledge: With about 1.4 million subscribers, ProgrammingKnowledge is one of the most trusted channels on YouTube for programming. You will find numerous videos on the best programming languages on the channel.

Communicate with Other Programmers

Learning programming is easier when you ask others to share their experience, so feel free to reach out to the community to get help and ideas.

Below are some communities of programmers that you can join right away:

Stack Overflow: this forum was established in 2008. Right now it has over 50 million users. You just have to log in, ask questions, and there will be some experts happy to help. Don’t hesitate to offer some solutions for other fellow programmers.

Reddit: this platform offers extensive communication possibilities from a worldwide users community.

Coderanch: This one is good for both beginners and advanced users. If you are a newbie, you can even learn Java here. Also, the Topics section has articles on coding.

HackerNews: forum proposes the recent news about cybersecurity and hacking.

freeCodeCamp: here you can learn coding for free, along with videos, articles, and interactive classes.

Pick the First Project

After you got the basic practical experience in programming and completed the first course successfully, the following logical step is making your own first project that can be added to your portfolio. Don’t make it too complicated. It can be a plain application, a small game, or a random number generator.

• Don’t limit your ideas to anything except for your competencies.
• Select a topic that motivates and excites you. It is important to work on an enjoyable subject so you don’t lose your motivation and passion.
• Begin with something that you are really able to do. The goal of this project is to demonstrate your knowledge level to the future employer. Don’t try to make the task too complicated, otherwise, it may take too much time and effort and ruin your motivation.
• Feel free to google, view more lectures, and consult with the programmer’s community. Since it’s your first time, you may face unexpected challenges that are not completely covered by the course you completed, so some additional effort may be required.
• If you have a lack of ideas, forums and community discussions might be a helpful source to generate some great subjects for the first project.

Conclusion

Programming is a wonderful skill to learn. All the steps described together should guide you to success. Yet also depends on you, however, nowadays the Internet proposes enough educational sources with which your study will go faster under the guidance of experienced mentors.

Also Published At: https://medium.com/quick-code/i-want-to-learn-programming-but-i-dont-know-where-to-start-your-first-steps-in-becoming-a-7bcb9c07770e