Become a web developer
In January, Udemy had a big $10 sale and I stumbled over some courses for web development.
I’ve been playing with Linux and Raspberry Pi for a while now. I got interested in learning how to run a web server (Nginx). I got interested in how to use all these geeky technologies (i.e. using Node.js to run a Ghost-Blog).
So I took the plunge and bought some courses. It’s been one month. I discovered tons and tons of resources for learning how to code. It’s 2016 and you can learn a lot (even for free, like FreeCodeCamp). This is great as you can learn to code without having a university degree. But it can be overwhelming because there’s just so much stuff. Some resources are good and some aren’t. You can get distracted pretty easily. There is a lot of advice on the internet: choose a project and begin. But how and where do you begin if you have zero programming language?
My journey so far
Picking up HTML and CSS basics is easy enough. I’m not proficient but I can cobble together a basic website. This is not programming although it’s still important to learn. As all websites use these technologies these are must-have skills.
Then I began with learning Javascript. And I suck. Following along tutorials is easy enough. You are spoon-fed in the beginning. But then you need to code something on your own and it just doesn’t work. You don’t know where to start. Then you write some code and it’s crap. You can google solutions and you can even understand them but you can’t come up with a solution on your own.
I’ve been trying to do FreeCodeCamp’s Basic Algorithms and failed. Even the easy ones are too difficult for me. It looks like I’m lacking basic (coding-related) problem-solving skills. And I need more practice.
So I bought a book called “Exercises for Programmers: 57 Challenges to Develop Your Coding Skills” by Brian Hogan. It’s geared towards beginners and those who want to learn a new language. It also has a good guide on how to tackle problems. Plus, the first exercises are way easier that the data algorithms.
I am frustrated. It’s hard to learn to program. It feels like other people can just do it and you can’t.
I like learning, I like tech and I want to learn how to make useful apps. I want to do something different than my day job. And I don’t want to give up. Isn’t it good that some things are hard? I can grow by raising up to this challenge.
So, after a month, I feel like I’ve been up to a good start but I’ve hit a roadblock.
What’s my plan?
- stick with Javascript, even though some people don’t think it’s a good first programming language (it has some weird parts)
- build something (even using a tutorial)
- follow along the coding challenges in the exercises book
- read the book “Learning to Program” by Steven Foote
- read the ebook “No Degree No problem” by Josh Kemp (it includes advice on how to become a web developer and a roadmap)
