I am truly a novice at coding. My husband has always been techy with a Graphic Design, IT, and soon to be Computer Science degree. He has a Systems Administrator job at Boeing and has had his CCNA amongst other types of certifications. He is encouraging me to become a programmer as I am unsure of what I want to do at this point in my life. I have a Law and Justice degree, but after working as a legal assistant for 10 years after the recent passing of my boss I am looking for a change. I have finished the first two sections of the Front End Certification, but I feel lost at times. Trying to have a positive mindset that I can continue down this path to see if it is the right one for me. I guess some words of encouragement or where to start would be very helpful in seeing if I should pursue this journey. Any suggestions as to what types of books or materials I should be reviewing to ensure that I get a grasp on coding, especially for beginners?
Learning to code is hard. I haven’t heard of anyone who found it easy. So you are in good company!
I wasn’t sure at first either if coding was for me. I kept getting frustrated and getting stuck. When that happened, I felt stupid and there are many times when I wanted to give up.
Some things I found out:
- It’s okay to ask for help. For the most part, people will be really supportive.
- You do get used to the frustration. It doesn’t go away, you just get used to it. I hated the frustration and now it has become a way of life.
- It’s normal to feel lost. You are getting used to a new way of thinking and solving problems you are not used to.
- The best thing you can learn is how to find the information you need. Knowing what to enter in google is a really important skill to learn. It is hard at first, but it will come with time.
- Surround yourself with people who are also learning to code. Find local groups if you can, or talk to people online. I am lucky that where I live there is a very active tech community, so I often hang out with other people who are learning to code. Most of them are learning different technologies, so they can’t help me with the technical stuff, but they understand my frustrations and they can offer support.
Not sure about resources. Early on, I learned mostly on freeCodeCamp and codecademy. For some things, I also used CodeSchool and UdeMy (the quality of course on UdeMy varies a lot, but some are great). Not sure about books. I haven’t read many books on coding, so someone else might be better able to answer.
Freecodecamp has huge gaps in knowledge, for someone brand new to the field it might be a little overwhelming. It’s like learning Calculus when you don’t yet know basic math. I would point you towards Harvard’s cs50, it’s the “basic math” of computer science, introduces you to the field and its different branches, including web development.
This course is more difficult than freecodecamp but it’s a difficulty that is linear, in the sense that you will receive all the resources you need to do each project and problem set. By the end of the course you should have a good grasp of all the fields in computer science, you might even find out that you don’t really like web development and would rather learn systems programming, for example.
Give it a try, it’s a free course and one of the best i’ve ever done online.
Coding isn’t easy but isn’t impossible to learn too
about being confused that will happen very often with you during your learning journey so DON’T WORRY
just hit one of these guides and see which one is more suitable for you
https://forum.freecodecamp.com/t/computer-guide-get-job-ready-with-1-fcc-cert-3-projects-2-courses-and-10-books/64027/
https://forum.freecodecamp.com/t/computer-guide-video-game-programming-comprehensive-foundations/69301/
https://forum.freecodecamp.com/t/computer-guide-computer-science-and-web-development-comprehensive-path/64470/
https://forum.freecodecamp.com/t/computer-guide-web-development-with-computer-science-foundations-comprehensive-path/64516/
@Marie000 I appreciate the fact that you took the time to write me. I guess it must be normal to feel frustrated and confused at times while coding. I really do feel stupid when I am not understanding something. However, it is quite exciting when I am able to complete a task successfully. I realize I just need to jump in head first and not give up.
@Selhar1 sometimes coding does feel like a totally different language to me so your comparison seems spot on. Thank you for recommending Harvard cs50 to me I will have to check that out.
@ryanjgross thank you for the words of encouragement I will continue to do all that I can to learn what I can and apply it.
@AhmedA-del thank you so much for the guides I will check them out.
@P1xt I am sure it will be a difficult challenge, but one I must face if I want to take coding seriously. Finished the jQuery section and jumping into the Basic Front End Development Projects soon. I thought I did fairly well on the jQuery part, but of course overlooked some silly mistakes like not including a # or something. Thanks!
Believe me every developer at some point feel that way. I do and I still feel that way some times but what keep me going is the fact that my today is better than my yesterday which means i have made progress in between my today and yesterday. Just keep coding and you will one day wake up and see how far you’ve gone.
Hi I am Louis from Singapore. New to coding! 
@onwuvic very encouraging, I guess I just need to take it one step at a time, one day at a time and improve a little each day.
@wakuiz I am new to coding as well and still trying to figure things out. Best of luck to you!
I’d like to share some tips with you:
- Code as much as you can (even if you’re tired): the more you practice, the more agile you’ll become.
- Never copy/paste (I mean if you have to copy something, type it, and unless you can’t do otherwise): it will make you get the syntax right faster and passively learn keywords.
- Hang out with coders (no matter their “level”), be curious of their projects, discuss their code and methods. You’ll be amazed at how much you can actually learn by doing that.
- Frustration/confusion while coding is the same as intensively inhaling and exhaling while running: it’s perfectly normal.
Cheers!
All the best to you too! Let’s join force and add excitement to our programming!
@wakuiz sure we can, but I am not sure if I’ll be of much help to you yet. I am still getting lost in the clouds at times. Just when I think I understand something the code doesn’t quite work how I want it to. In addition, trying to figure out how to do everything without looking at the code that is there from other samples. I made my tribute page but it’s a bit boring to me. Trying to figure out how to make it more interesting or appealing to the eye.