Beginner Tips: Learning How to Code
When you are looking to get into the world of tech and land your first gig as a software engineer, there are a ton of options available to learn how to write code to the point that it’s a little overwhelming. Do you go get a CS degree? Do you teach yourself with the hundreds of free resources online? Do you go to one of those coding bootcamps you keep hearing mixed reviews about? These were the questions I asked myself all the time while trying to figure out how to transition from working in the service industry to working as a software developer. Ultimately, through a combination of teaching myself and attending a coding bootcamp, I was able to land a job at Ambassador, an awesome tech company leading the market in referral marketing automation. These are the five lessons I learned while making a career change into tech that have been major contributors to my success.
Start Small
When first learning how to code, especially when you have zero knowledge going into it like I did, it’s important to stay focused on one thing at a time. I talk to so many aspiring developers who tell me they’re teaching themselves C, Java, Python, and blockchain all at the same time. While I do believe one hundred percent that you should study what you’re interested in, that is way too much to start with. Just learn the basics of a simpler, in demand language like Python or Javascript. You’ll still learn important practices and patterns that exist in every language, plus there’s a huge job market for Python and Javascript developers. The goal is to get a job as a developer. You can deep dive into other technologies when you’re getting paid to do it.
Find the Right Bootcamp
Not all bootcamps are created equal. Do your due diligence and research your options. I went with Thinkful’s full time Engineering Immersion program. It was six months long and taught a cutting edge web development stack, data structures and algorithms, and provided extensive career services. I would shy away from any full time programs that are shorter than six months, or part time programs that are shorter than eight months. Make a point of talking to a few different bootcamps before choosing one. Better yet, go to some local tech meetups in your city, they will be full of bootcamp students who can give you a lot of insight into what the different programs are really like.
Get into a Growth Mindset
If you’re coming from a non-technical background looking to become a developer then you may need to be ready to change the way you think and approach problems. When I was younger I always struggled with math and science, and I let myself believe I was naturally bad at STEM subjects, leading to me feeling like a Computer Science field would always be out of my reach. While reading about how to learn to code I came across the concept of a “Growth Mindset”. Having a growth mindset means to believe that skills and knowledge can be developed through dedication and hard work over natural ability. When I stopped thinking that I was unable to learn how to develop software and started believing that I could learn and do anything if I set my mind to it and was consistent in my practice, I found that I really could learn and do anything. As a software developer, especially in web development, having a growth mindset will serve you not only while you are learning, but for the rest of your career, as you have to keep up with a constantly developing field.
Overcome your Fear of Failure
The basic idea behind overcoming your fear of failure is that you should stop seeing failure as a bad thing and instead as an opportunity to learn and grow. As a student — and now developer — I have found that overcoming my fear of failure has been important to my success as I write code on a daily basis. As a developer, especially while learning, you will fail constantly but you can’t let that discourage you because failure is a part of life and, more specifically, an important part of developing software. I have found that when I run an app I’m working on or compile my code it breaks constantly, but any time I can get it to break for a different reason I’ve made progress. If you can learn to welcome those “failures” as opportunities you can better understand what’s going on with your code and be a better developer in the long run.
Ask for Help
While I do believe that the ability to figure things out yourself (especially through research and Google searches) is a key skill to being a good developer, it’s also important to ask for help. Not just to ask, but to know when to ask for help and who to ask. One strategy I like to use is to set a timer for 30 minutes to an hour while I wrestle with something challenging. Once that time is up, if I haven’t made any progress I reach out for help. There’s no shame in needing help. Remember, you’re learning something new and questions are a part of the process.
Recommended Reading:
Learning to learn:
Growth Mindset:
https://hbr.org/2018/09/having-a-growth-mindset-makes-it-easier-to-develop-new-interests
Fear of Failure:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smashing-the-brainblocks/201801/how-conquer-fear-failure
