Hey guys, so this is my first dev blog post😁 and all I can say is that I can't wait to share my thoughts and experiences here, be sure to stick around to read more and follow my podcast KCM (I prefer talking than to writing. forgive me 🤦♂️) or my social media accounts. Again I'm really new at this so, cut me some slack. Without wasting any more time let's get on with it!
So!….. Do you really want to code?? Like get on a computer and click-click-tap-tap and the machine does what you want right 🤷♂️? You want to code because it's new 🔥 in town and people make a lot of money from it?? If these or more are your reasons why you want to code it's all up to you but here are 🖐5 important things among many you really need to know before you begin the long journey of coding and successfully make it on 🔝.
1. There's no age when it's too late to learn how to code
Yes!! There's really no age when is past time or even too early for you to know how to code honestly. Be you a kid, teen, or college student you can start now to learn, all you need is the zeal to. Being a kids' tutor for the AfricaCodeWeek project which happens every year, I was able to help teach kids 🧒 how to code using code blocks and ever since, the kids have built really incredible projects themselves and have really blown me away, take a look here. I've seen a man of over 50yrs who just switched to coding, build real static and functional websites, and was shocked at what he could do and he is just one of many who are switching careers to software development, amazing😲!.
Thanks to the modern tech community of today they've really made coding a lot easier to understand and are more accommodating to anyone who wants to learn more unlike before when programmers were very rare to find and barely had time to share experiences or some other reasons🙄, I don't know! But it's much better now is all I can say. So no matter your age, no matter your reasons, it's all up to you now! All that is needed is your zeal and curiosity. So if you're still saying "age", your choice boss! I tried🤦♂️.
2. Know and research on a particular niche of coding language you want to learn before buying tutorials
As to everything else, coding/programming has different categories or niches you just have to choose which you want to be good at or have as a career. Often people start away with web development and struggle to learn and practicing maybe because their friends are doing it or the ads are so rampant and finally caught your attention, no😒!. But don't get me wrong, learning HTML and CSS is a pretty good start to learning how to code because it'll show you patterns, syntax and help you as you progress but all I'm trying to say is that, is not just web development that's out there, there's much more.
On the image above you can see how careers are broken down and what type of work you can choose to do if you choose one or more. For a more detailed view and understanding of what other careers are out there click this link to know more and make the right choice for yourself so to avoid entering the "tutorial hell😰", google it😋.
3. There's no shortcut to being a good developer
Yes! say it loud with your chest, no shortcuts!. Of course, there are short or clean ways to keep your codes like in JavaScript keeping a clean shortcode is of the essence because it helps you from having memory leaks and other issues that might occur after coding but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the epic underrated "impostor" syndrome😥 that people feel especially when they just started out coding or when they just joined a new company and are feeling not up to the task and also that feeling you feel when you see or meet senior developers that are younger or older or even same as age as you being a Pro. Don't be afraid, know why😏? Those people you see all were beginners at some point in their lives, they just started and continued growing, making mistakes, learning, and always practicing for many years.
The saying goes "practice makes perfect" isn't it?🤷♂️. The moment you begin to accept this now the easier it will be for you in the long run. Trust me, even I too feel like this sometimes but as soon as I knew that there's a sequence to these kinds of things it helped me mentally and even emotionally. If it's a web developer career you're going for then take the normal steps from Html, CSS, and Javascript then choose if you want to either be a frontend developer, backend developer, or a full-stack developer. To add to this, here is a tweet snippet for web devs newbies with a plan by my good friend on Twitter @js_tut
Don't go jumping straight to the top because you've seen job openings on that and you want it asap, trust me you'll crash at some point. This also applies to other coding careers, so take your time, learn more every day, challenge yourself, and do the #100daysofcode if you can and little by little you'll get there. I believe you can😊!.
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4. Find your learning curve and grow
Look you mustn't have to have a computer in your face for 20 hours a day to really learn how to code. If you don't have a process, a style to learning trust me you'll never really be good so much like, all in but very little out😑. There's something I have found in common with most developers I have met both on Twitter and physically is that they all have a process, a curve to how they got where they are today and they are not shy of saying or sharing how. I'm still learning honestly but I can tell you that I have a process to actually learning every day and I don't even need to code every single day.
Coding goes beyond just knowing a syntax of a particular computer language and then executing it. It's more like knowing why and how it works, able to solve problems that people find hard to, so finding your own curve, style, or process and growing with it is a very important pointer. Most people just browse through and start getting stuck at things that shouldn't even be a problem at all, so find yours and not someone else's. Like the saying goes "it's not how you start the race but how you run it and finish it😎".
5. Seek help in whatever way you can to the community
Google and StackOverflow are the best friends of software developers/engineers these days😂. Almost every question you'd likely have when coding has been answered or can be and it's stored on the internet and yes! it's not a shame to google when you're in a block, you can't know it all. If not why were these websites created in the first place? Make it a habit for you to reach out to the tech community when you're in a hiccup, join Twitter and follow good tech influencers, join the dev blogs to read up on tailored or different topics in tech, join anything you'll know that will help push you to become better. Just don't sit there on your own thinking you can or should know it all to be good.
As I said earlier that the tech community is now more helpful than ever, make friends with people in the same position as you, connect, grow together and watch as you increase your progress twofold and this is my favorite point because it really helped me, sometimes when I'm not having it or just being plain ass lazy, once my colleagues reach out to me or I dive into Twitter, I feel very much motivated again. So help yourself and be exposed in a way you never thought you could be, it'll help you trust me… again😂.
Now to sum it all up, these are just some of many but are the most crucial ones when starting out coding. If you have thoughts please don't be afraid to comment and again never think the best developers know it all, always stay humble and help others in whatever way you can no matter what your level in the industry is, as not only will it make you become better but also boost your self-confidence and reliability. Hope you enjoyed this?…..Thanks.
Till my next post😊🖐.