Absolute beginner programmer? Follow this direction

(• Reading Time: 3 minutes •)

First things, first

What is your ultimate goal?

Is it to learn on the side so you can be familiar with programming in general?

Or is it for you to dig deep into coding and create a career out of it?

You need to know this answer and be clear upfront as it can impc

 

Where to start

Two options:

  1. General programming or
  2. Web development

 

1. General programming

If you’re interested in programming in general, I recommend Python. It’s a much better entry level language.

Here is an excellent tutorial on introduction to Python.

Udacity Python Programming course
Udacity Python Programming course

And here's what to learn after Python. Using these will keep you occupied for the first 6 months at minimum.

 

2. Web development

When you start learning to code, you need immediate wins otherwise your learning will feel aimless. Web programming gives you quick wins.

Start with HTML, CSS then finally Javascript.

You can follow this to find out about other top places to learn web development for free.

 

Here’s a rough timeline:

  First month of web development

  • HTML - one month daily practice at least 1 hour per day.
  • CSS - one month daily practice at least 1 hour per day.

You can actually finish both CSS and HTML at the same time if you spend 1 hour to 3 focused hours a day.

 

2nd month of web development

  • Revisit HTML and CSS
  • JavaScript basics. This excellent course will introduce you to the core parts of JavaScript.

 

3rd to 6 month of web development

5 Javascript Projects to Build (For Beginners) by Andrew Sterkowitz
5 Javascript Projects to Build (For Beginners) by Andrew Sterkowitz

 

Over 6 month to 1.5 years

  • Web frameworks (choose the one that's most popular in your area – React, Vue, Angualar, Django, Flask)
  • And building more projects.

I don’t believe in recommending too many things at once because newcomers become overwhelmed. And then make zero progress.

So start with these.

 

Key takeaway: choose either general programming or web programming then switch to project mode as soon as you learn the basics.

   

Thanks for reading

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Heads Up - I love research so I tend to back my advice and approach with concepts from Behavioral Psychology and Neuroscience.