Tips for Learning Programming from Scratch

Being a developer is a prudent career choice, given the world we live in today. Websites, video games, various apps and online tools dominate our lives, so knowing how to make those will certainly keep you busy. Of course, it’s so much more than making money, it’s your own expression as well. You see how things are, and you have the means to make some of those things easier, so you get to work. However, what if you have zero experience in programming, how should you approach this goal of becoming a developer then? Well, here are a few suggestions to get you started.

What do you want to do with your skill?

The first thing you need to know is that you can’t code everything and that knowing one programming language will give you certain restrictions as to what you can do with it. That being said, with your knowledge and creativity once you master a certain language there will be a lot of things you can pull off within that system. 

So, if you wish to create complex platforms and algorithms for online tools or apps, you probably want to be a backend developer, whereas if you wish to deal with animations, tabs and everything that happens on screen or home page, you most likely want to be a front-end developer. It is also possible to do both and be a so-called Full Stack developer. However this is mainly for web design, video games use different engines, so you will have different learning aspirations if you go with that route. 

Pick your programming language

Once you decide why you want to code, you will have to do some research on what makes the most sense for you to learn. You can find out what some of the recent languages devs are using, or find out what are the most popular and why. Find out their pros and cons and most importantly if they can meet what you have set out to do. 

Find courses and tutorials

Finally, when you pick the language you wish to master you will need to find decent courses or tutorials.

You can check places like Udemy or Skillshare or any other platform that specializes in courses. See user reviews, see what students made after attending the course, and decide if it will do.

Then the rest is really about persistence and patients, and of course, practice.