Aspiring software engineer with low high school marks - need guidanc

Career Advice
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I just finished high school, and I am very passionate about becoming a software engineer. However, my high school marks are very low :upside_down_face:, so I am not eligible to attend any universities. I am determined to learn software engineering on my own, and I am looking for guidance from someone like me or a more senior software engineer.

Specifically, I am wondering which coding languages I should learn first. I have done some research online, but I am overwhelmed by the number of options. I am also looking for advice on how to best learn software engineering on my own.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

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Hi there and welcome to our community!

You have come to the right place! You have a fantastic community of experienced and knowledgeable coders here, who can help you on your coding journey.

If you are a beginner, Iā€™d recommend beginning at the beginning of the FCC Curriculum and working through the certifications in order from top to bottom, starting with Responsive Web Design.

Anytime you get stuck, you can ask for help!

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100% agree
freecodecamp is practice coding with projects you build your confidences and self esteem becoming a great software engineer .
i highly suggest get a mentor in person , help you in your career path .
have goals {being a entrepreneur and software engineers open doors to financial freedom and work anywhere in the world} do speak shadow other software engineers
i am becoming a hardware and software engineer mentor my significant and business partner
dear education in technology you are a student that always learning mastering 1 skill at a time.
as a computer engineering student myself you will always mentoring and relationships soft skills is very important connect with senior engineers and university students and who are already in the working world
surround yourself with positive people and environment
check my linkedin Dalia.
and Ahmed Altaay {my senior engineer and significant }
all the best believe in yourself and people who believe your courage aspiration in life .

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Hey. Welcome to our forum. As @igorgetmeabrain stated, follow the FCC Curriculum. You can also check the FReeCodeCamp Youtube channel(https://www.youtube.com/@freecodecamp), it will be very handy. You will gather other resources as you move forward.

Be free to ask post on the forum whenever you get stuck.

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Hey,

I was at the same boat as you, about 10 years ago. Got low marks on my senior year, so I attended an under-funded university that I didnā€™t even like. Eventually I dropped out.
Today Iā€™m working at a space engineering company, which I hope sounds cool.
I am a full stack web developer, and have been focusing on web dev for about 7 years.

If you really wanna do it, I believe in you. The following are my views on the matter, with any little experience I may have.

First things first, what do you wanna build? Start with that, then find out ( on glassdoor, on linkedin, wherever ) if the market in what you want is doing good atm. If not, maybe find something similar that has as many employers as possible.

If I had to start over, at this time and ager, I would go for data science/engineer, or dev ops, something like that. The thing with amazon cloud and python, I think there is a certification for it. In my country, the market is pretty good at the CCNA cert route too.

When you figure that out, reach out again and we can find websites to study, open source projects to contribute to, and mini-project topics to practice on. :slight_smile:
Everyone learns better with different ways, I prefer watching good-quality videos, you may like reading docs and articles.

  • Know that you have a slight disadvantage because of college, and thatā€™s ok, but you have to try a bit harder than others do.
  • Keep it consistent, write as little as a few lines of code every day.
  • Focus on a track. You can be good at many languages, but what you want is to be great at one.
  • Meet new people, and talk about what you are trying to do. You do not have to attend dev meetups and stuff like that, just talk with friends whenever you are out. This will both keep you accountable and make some connections, we need those. I got most of my job offers that way.
  • The trickiest part is getting into to your first job. I got my first job from a teacher at the university. Extremely underpaid. After my ā€œtrial periodā€ they did not ever keep me working there. The next job was better, and then the third one was a real job.

Do not focus on enterpreneurship, at least at this point in your career. To have a business, you need knowledge and market awareness. It feels impossible to get those with no prior job experience.

Do not be afraid to fail! Do fail and believe in yourself. Build a portfolio on github. Make a few mini projects and read other peopleā€™s code that made similar projects. Keep practicing what you learn.