Learning to code? These are my criteria to pick the best course
It has been over 8 months since I started learning to code.
Over those months I have tried over half a dozen coding courses. The majority of them were not that good.
I wanted to make some extra use of this exhausting course-searching-and-taking encounter, therefore I decided to share my experience with other novice coders.
Look for an online, self-paced coding course
When I was choosing my first coding course several months ago, I was looking only for an on-site course.
I had a weird belief that on-site courses would be better for me since I was an absolute beginner.
Teachers would explain to me some hard parts of code if I get stuck, I thought.
It is easier to learn when you are actually in the same classroom with the teacher, I thought.
So I signed up for a 320-hour full-stack on-site coding course.
It took me only a couple of classes to realize that coding is a very practical thing to do.
It is closer to sewing, fixing a car, folding origami, or cooking than to philosophy, law, sociology, or any other subject students would normally take in a classroom.
This means, you cannot learn it by listening to lectures, you have to do it, hands-on.
Since everyone digests information and do the coding tasks at its speed, it is impossible to have a class of 10 people to learn and perform at the same tempo.
This is why every coding class ended up with students simply:
- coding on their own,
- looking for answers online (since one teacher cannot help 10 students at the same time),
- asking for answers in forums,
- or texting with each other ( using Slack or FB messenger, because it is easier to communicate in written language than verbally when it is related to code).
So the on-site coding gig just… lost its point.
Also, I noticed that my on-site coding classes were ABOUT the code. About the tools, about the use of if, with very little real-life coding practice.
So I soon realized that I would be more productive if I was simply solving coding tasks and doing my little projects, in other words — WRITING the code, rather than attending the lectures ABOUT the code.
I started looking for a complementary coding course, that would sharpen my actual, real-life coding skills.
Look for a course that has an instant task verification system + active community
It sucks to have a task, do it, and then wonder if you were right or not.
Or — which is the worst — have a task, get stuck, and have no one to help you out.
I think for a more advanced developer it is not that much of a problem, since there are many ways to solve a problem, right?
Or you know many websites and forums, or you belong to many exclusive private forums where people would give you a hand in a couple of hours.
But for an absolute beginner, who is constantly doubting herself, and who has little to no network, a thoroughly explained solution to the task (in a human language, please!) is vital.
So far I have encountered two great courses that allow you to check if you were right solving your puzzle or not.
The first one is Codegym.cc (I wrote more about the program here).
And the second one — my newest discovery — Scrimba.com, which offers tons of courses for future front-end developers.
Both of them are great.
They help you solve your tasks, provide you with tons of examples and learning materials, and will never leave you alone wondering whether you were right or wrong.
Do you know more courses that you could recommend for novice developers? Leave a comment with your recommendations below.
Look for a course that helps you build your portfolio
If you are trying to build your new career in IT from scratch, the portfolio is what truly matters.
It allows your work to speak for you. Also, it shows your determination (since it is hard to finish a project, no matter how small it is), and that you can develop something from a blank page.
Many of the courses I encountered online offer tasks or coding puzzles, but only a few offer you an experience of building projects on your own.
Even my gigantic 320-hour on-site full-stack coding course offered only one project.
Could be better, right?
Check carefully how many portfolio projects, how many outputs, will you generate after you complete a course you are about to enroll.
Again, I would like to recommend Scrimba.com, as they make sure you generate some decent portfolio stuff. They even have a free course to teach you how to make a portfolio website:)
Also, if you are somehow into Angular, check out the Ng-book. It teaches you how to build 10 different projects.
I did a few exercises, and even though I switched to React.js for practical reasons, this book is something I could recommend.
Go deep and narrow instead of wide and shallow
Just another night I had a nice conversation with a good friend of mine.
We used to study law together, and a few years ago she switched to IT, becoming a great Scala developer.
I shared with her my concerns that full-stack coding courses (the ones that teach you the back-end and front-end technologies altogether) are not a smart choice for a novice developer since theses course won’t make you hirable.
You know a lot about everything, but too little to be hired for a specific role.
She agreed with me that specialization is a good thing, yet, for example, companies would like to hire a front-end developer who knows how the databases work, instead of the one that has no clue.
And even if that is a good point, I still do think that:
- If you are a true beginner,
- and you want to join the job market asap
pick a course that makes you hirable in a specific field.
You can add up more to your basket once you land a job.
The Internet is quite a jungle these days, and finding a perfect coding course could be a tricky thing to do.
Having clear criteria could help.
Think, what would you like to achieve? What is your goal?
Write it down, then think of the ways how you could achieve this goal.
Let it be your first coding exercise.
