How I Am Learning Front End Web Development

My background is construction but have always had a love for math, science and computers. I’m 34, married with two kids and am sick of working in a culture that does not reflect who I am which is why I am learning web technologies.

After hours of research I decided that Python would be the language to learn so I got the book “Learn Python the Hard Way” by Zed Shaw. It wasn’t long before, you guessed it, it got hard and my excitement for learning to code fizzled out.

Soon though, the feelings of failure and “not being smart enough to code” also diminished. I was ready to give it another shot. This time however, I bit the bullet and opted for taking classes online through Coursera’s “An Introduction to InteractiveProgramming in Python (Part 1) and (Part 2)” by Rice University where I did very well. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in learning Python as a first language.

Still, I wasn’t sure how I could use this to start working in the very field that inspired me in the first place. Sure browser based games are cool and all but what now? Back to do another Google search for positions in the field. After some time I started to notice that one did not need a CS degree to fill the much needed professions of web development.

At first, I thought this was just making websites, which is cool, but realized that this included web apps across all platforms. I soon began to discover the wide world of front-end and back-end web development. This was when I got really excited. A whole world of possibilities and opportunity and all I had to do was learn it. Easier said than done, right?

Since then I have bought a couple books, and am currently taking more classes online. Mainly, Udemy’s “Web Developer’s Bootcamp” by Colt Steele, (a great teacher who seems more like a friend), and the fantastic journey that began at FreeCodeCamp.com. I learn much faster with online classes but think that books are a great source for cross-referencing information. Plus, you don’t need wifi to read a book ;).

If you are like me and want to work towards becoming a web developer, check these sites out first. You won’t regret it.