How to learn to code or get into tech

Thursday, October 13, 2022

How to learn to code or get into tech

Just start

I drafted a note to a friend and pointed him to a few resources. I am pasted it hear for safe keeping, since I am afraid it will get deleted on accident. Learn how to program is a rewarding skill for many people. Programming gives us the ability to be creative, architect solutions and stimulate our brains.

Here are a few broad tips and tricks about getting into tech and learning to code I think will help most people. Your mileage may vary. My experiences and opinions are my own.

Getting into Tech / Learning to Code

If I started from scratch, I would complete any class online front to back to see if you like the technical aspect. Make notes of what you do / don’t like. You can specialize in anything.

There are basically 3 ways into tech

Teach yourself to code to be an engineer and transition into another role
Go to a bootcamp - learn to code or UI/UX theory and transition into another job
Go get a computer science or analytics degree (i.e. STEM)

I went the bootcamp route and I am NOT a full time software engineer. You can turn any of this experience into jobs in product management, design (UI/UX), engineering or project management work (what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, how long will it take to build, how to build it, what it will look like, all questions people ask).

Do not pay for a bootcamp until you’re 100% certain you want to work in tech. Do not pay for any bootcamp without a job placement or career services component.

You can learn the exact same concepts in a bootcamp, using some of the resources listed below for free/cheap.

The benefit of a bootcamp is access to a tutor / instructor / classmates / networking. But that’s just my opinion.

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Personally, I think LinkedIn learning classes has the best overall material, with the most consistent structure.

Youtube has people constantly trying stuff out so you can see what you like. It can be never ending.

YouTube university (lol) is free, so is free code camp, but it’s the missing structure and depth of content LinkedIn learning has built in.

LinkedIn Learning ($30 a month) can let you try out lots of sub fields quickly.

Small differences in HOW you learn, will make or break your experience.

Examples of watching and doing to learn the exact same concepts

MERN Stack Youtube Course (3-5 hours): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLillGF-RfqbbQeVSccR9PGKHzPJSWqcsm

Teacher is Brad Traversy, he breaks everything down.

MERK Stack LinkedIn Course (25 hours): https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/become-a-mern-stack-javascript-developer?u=100110546

Multiple classes, but you won’t tie it all together into one project.

Reading and trying things out in a browser:

FreeCodeCamp (small, text based, conceptual, goal oriented lessons): https://www.freecodecamp.org/

Mozilla Foundation (good Hub for documentation) https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn

Odin Project (have not used this personally, but the Ruby on Rails is mildly popular in Chicago): https://www.theodinproject.com/

Codecademy (it’s gamified and not my favorite, but has worked for some people) : https://www.codecademy.com/

W3 Schools: https://www.w3schools.com/

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Chicago specific:

The ads for programming bootcamps in Chicago - at Northwestern and the University of Chicago are scams. The schools sell their name to a company call “trilogy”. Avoid.

Join Code for Chicago and join a project: https://codeforchicago.org/

Join People of Color Code in Chicago on Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/peopleofcolorcode/shared_invite/zt-1gzcvn445-JheqrIuUOo9inF1XhktSUw

Basic stuff to download or learn how to use:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

https://www.python.org/

https://nodejs.org/en/

https://www.figma.com/