By Lulu Chang

Whether you’re looking to land a new job, brush up on your personal branding, or create a new game, learning how to code can help. Of the many skills that we can learn today, few provide a greater unlock in our digitized world than the ability to code. By taking the time to understand and use various programming languages, you can develop a mobile app, help create software for a medical device, or get a remote control car to start. Needless to say, learning how to code can certainly be a positive use of your time.

Of course, as with any language (and any skill), learning how to code takes not only time but patience, perseverance, and the right set of resources. But even if you weren’t taking computers apart in grade school or you neglected to take coding classes in college, it’s still very possible to teach yourself how to code at just about any point in your life. To help you get started, we’ve rounded up a few key considerations and pointers to help you learn how to code, all on your own.

1. Determine your end goals

This will help you decide what language (or languages) make the most sense. If you’re looking to do some front-end website development, then perhaps HTML and CSS are the best choices. Python could be helpful for folks looking to do more quantitative analysis. JavaScript, as the most common coding language around the world, is another excellent option for Web development.

2. Enrol in a programming course for beginners

Once you’ve decided on a language (or set of languages), it’ll be helpful to take a programming class or a tutorial project. Many of these are available online and can be completed asynchronously. Some of our favourites include:

3. Check out a few coding books

In addition to your online (or in-person) coding classes, it may be useful to check out a few books that can help you develop a deeper baseline of knowledge. While the best way to learn to code is often by coding, books are also a great reference point. Some of our favourites include The Self-Taught Programmer and Daily Coding Problem.

4. Do your own independent research

Believe it or not, a big part of coding is just Googling. If you’re working through an assignment and don’t understand how to execute a command, check out the search engine. If you get an error message and don’t know how to fix it, throw that error message into your browser and see if anywhere online has a solution. You’ll likely find your way to forums that feature other coders asking the same questions, which is critical for your own learning journey.

5. Work on a project

While learning code in small bits and pieces is a good first step, putting it all together by actually doing a project is the best way to put your skills to use. Having a project to work on makes your goals more tangible. For example, if you’re a board game lover, try to build a simple game of checkers or chess. If you’re a freelancer, you can build a website to showcase your work. If you find yourself frequently running behind, learn how to program an alarm or a countdown timer. You could even build a Web scraper to find information about flights or hotel prices.

6. Check out a coding bootcamp

If you’re ready to take your coding to the next level, you could check out an in-person or digital coding bootcamp that will prepare you for a job in software engineering. It’s helpful to have some rudimentary understanding of coding before starting one of these bootcamps (especially given that there is generally some prework before your first class). Some of our favourites include Flatiron School, App Academy, and Hack Reactor.

 

By Lulu Chang

Sourced from Encyclopaedia Britannica