5 Ways of Learning How to Code

In today’s tech-driven job market, regardless of what type of job you do or the company you work for, it’s considered as an advantageous thing if you’ve a good understanding of how to code, even if that’s not exactly what you do. As this importance is increasing rapidly, learning code has become almost a must-have requirement for candidates looking to enter the tech field. A lot of beginners often ask “what’s the best way to learn coding?” And this is quite natural as there’s a multitude of ways when it comes to learning code.

Probably there’s not any single best way to learn coding – every method comes with its own pros and cons. When it comes to learning code, you should pick your preferred way that works the best for you. In this article, we’re going to present a breakdown of 5 different ways among which any single can help you accomplish your goal of learning code. But before we delve deeper, here’s the fundamental thing.

1- Why should you care for learning code?

Put simply, coding is an exciting field that can open up a new world of opportunities for you if you’re willing to learn. Despite the facts you may have already heard, learning code isn’t that much difficult, especially when you consider other skills that are mandatory to get high-end skilled jobs. If you can work hard, a few months time should make you prepared enough to get a job as a coder. Here’re the key reasons why you should focus on learning code.

It’ll give you valuable job skills. Once you’ve completed your journey of learning code, you’ll be able to pursue a career as a programmer or coder.

You’ll be able to do a lot of interesting things – from building responsive mobile games to developing your own website(s) from scratch, and much more.

You’ll be able to enjoy continuous job security as programmers and coders are in high demand across industries.

So, it’s evident that there’re a significant number of reasons why you should start learning code. Let’s dig in.

2- Different ways to learn coding

Although learning code is relatively easy compared to learning many other technical skills, it’s still something that can scare people, especially beginners. Initially, it may seem confusing and very difficult to master. Here’s the way out, just follow one of these methods of learning code that we’re going to discuss and try to keep in mind the tips we’ve shared here.

2.1- TAKE A COURSE FROM A REPUTED INSTITUTE

One of the best ways of learning code is to take a coding course from an institute with a proven track record. In general, these courses offer a complete educational experience compared to resources that focus on one language. These courses are thoughtfully designed to teach you the fundamental skills in a relatively short period of time. There’re lots of courses available, both online and offline, which can provide you with a good knowledge of coding. Do some research online and you’ll surely end up with a good list of institutes. However, if you’re doing a full-time job, then scheduling may be a little bit of problem for you.

2.2- TRY THE OLD SCHOOL METHOD OUT – BOOKS

Some people may think that textbooks on coding have become outdated, but in reality, some valuable ones are still being published these days, and they’re actually useful ones. Again make use of the web to help you out. A thorough search on the internet will leave you with some good books that can greatly help you in your effort of learning code. You can either purchase them in e-book form or have them delivered at your doorstep in physical forms.

While this method of learning code can ensure that you’re getting the information from an authentic source, they’re not going to update themselves when their information modifies. In that scenario, you’ll likely need to purchase the updated editions.

2.3- CHECK OUT FREE ONLINE TRAINING WEBSITES

The third method in this list of different ways of learning code is using free online training sites. There’re some good websites that can help you write your first code for free. You can find a wide range of tutorials on these sites that can introduce you to the fundamentals of coding in easily digestive ways like building a new project, site or game.

While these sites are good starting points, you’ll need to take the complete initiative to continue or further your journey of learning code after those introductions. In addition, it’s not possible to understand every concept on your own, especially if you’re a beginner. So, this method can get quite frustrating sometimes.

2.4- TRY OUT CODING TUTORIALS

When it comes to learning code from tutorials, there’re two types of resources – video tutorials and text-based tutorials. Video tutorials usually come in two formats – screen recording with teacher’s narration explaining codes and a combination of face-to-face video with screen recording.

One key advantage of the second format is you get a human connection that greatly helps in staying motivated and interested. Text-based tutorials are often step-by-step tutorials in nature. While these tutorials are abundant on the web, there’re a lot of outdated and sub-standard ones that can lead you to wrong or obsolete concepts and information. Another disadvantage of this method of learning code is that the tutorials don’t always accompany a test to help you check if you’ve got those concepts right.

2.5- JOIN A CODING COMMUNITY

If any of the above methods doesn’t help you in your journey of learning code, another useful way to accomplish your goal is joining a coding community. There’re lots of coding communities available and almost all of them are full of experienced people who’re willing to help aspiring coders like you. Try to find out a mentor and follow his/her advice, and you should be doing good. However, this way of learning code needs you to put a substantial amount of effort in, so you need to be motivated enough to stick to learning.

3- Tips to ease the process of learning code

The process of learning code isn’t something that can be done overnight, but it doesn’t need to take months after months either. There’re some key things you can follow to make the process of learning code easier on you. Let’s have a look at them.

3.1- RUN THE SAMPLE CODE

This is particularly important if the way of learning code you’re following involves tutorials and books. It often happens that you look at some sample code and get a feeling like you’ve understood the concept clearly. Of course, you may have learned it, but you may haven’t learned it, and you cannot ensure either.

So, here’s our suggestion – do something with that sample code. Get a compiler set up. Type the sample code into it, compile it and run it, and finally experiment with it. Remember that the best way of learning code is to experiment with it by trying new things.

3.2- TRY CODING GAMES

You can consider coding games as some different types of tutorials that are abundant on the web. These are a good way of making the process of learning code a bit more fun. One of the biggest advantages of this approach is there’re other coders who’re writing the same code, so you get to see different perspectives and methods. While they’ve the ability to critique your code, you can also evaluate theirs to learn how they did things.

3.3- FEEL FREE TO SEEK HELP

As we’ve already discussed that process of learning code may not be a smooth one and you’re likely to face difficulties along the way. If you don’t understand a concept, there’s a possibility that the way it’s explained just didn’t click for you. In that case, you can search the web for alternative explanations that may work better for you. If that also doesn’t work, probably the best and easiest way is to ask someone else to figure out where you’re getting it wrong.

There’re lots of ways you can use to ask questions. You can post your question on the message board of a coding community, ask an expert you already know, discuss it with your fellow learners etc. Remember that every coder, at least some point of time in his/her journey of learning code, has been in your shoes, so feel free to ask for help. It’s a fact that a new interpretation of a topic or a fresh pair of eyes can quickly resolve what may seem like an unlearnable topic or an immovable bug.

Final takeaway

When done right, learning code can be super interesting, exciting and fun. However, it’s important to maintain regular practicing if want to become a master of them. It’s also advisable to try not to use the same coding patterns for everything you do. Instead, you should keep on learning new ways to improve your coding ability. Try to make learning a habit by trying a new piece of syntax, a different way of debugging a program, among others.