Course Path? (New Camper at FFC!)

#1

Hello! I’m brand spanking new to FFC and would like some input from the community on how you all started the courses. I don’t have any experience/education in coding whatsoever, but I am truly eager to learn more about this field end interview voice =). I started with the Front End Development Certification courses because I figured, "Hey, this is at the beginning for a reason, so starting here wouldn’t be a bad idea!"
Is this the right decision for a beginner, or should I have started elsewhere? I’m assuming that the courses go from easiest to hardest…? Where did you all start from when you first joined FFC?

I walked into this wanting to pick up something new to learn and play around with, but I’m quickly discovering how fun it really is, as cheesy as that may sound hah. I found myself playing around with each new piece of information that I’ve learned–absorbing the info and trying to make clear sense of it all, while also envisioning all the possibilities that can come from this and when I start learning languages–so much to the point where my excitement became a distraction lol. I know I’m just scratching the surface and I’m so sure that there’s going to be some really tough times, but I can’t help it–I’m excited. This feels like it’s going to be a great journey… I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s experiences, thanks!

#2

Personally, I think the best feature of FCC is its interactive coding/evaluation model. You will still have to seek out resources beyond what is simply taught, or even just as being a part of the FCC community, but the ‘wrote learning’ by actually ‘typing’ one’s way through all the lessons is invaluable.

Certainly I think that is why it provides a great deal more ‘value’ over similarly scoped ‘video only’ based courses, and as a former instructor myself has better educated me towards more ideal teaching paradigms in the future.

As perhaps with any course, at some point down the line, you will realize there are ‘answers available’ to fill in some of the blanks. Resist the temptation to do that to pass an assignment. It defeats the point.

Also don’t see the FCC projects as an end all/be all. Find applications you are interested in working on and on the side work on those.

As a very trivial example of this, I, for another project, wanted to learn how to draw arbitrary dynamic waveforms in the browser.

At least as I’ve gone thus far, for one the course doesn’t cover either ‘slider elements’, or HTML5 canvas, so I am ‘playing around’, at least starting with a simple sine wave (https://codepen.io/abalducci/pen/PQyzyN),

FCC has given me the confidence to at least get the basics in a couple of hours, but you still will have ideas/questions and it is important, at some point, to try and push outside your ‘comfort zone’ on projects that are interesting or challenging to you, not just what the course prescribes.

1 Like
#3

Makes sense. It’s really hard to understand web dev without understanding the front end. It makes sense to start at the beginning. Both the Data Visualization and Backend sections assume a good knowledge of JavaScript. But if you understand JS, then it doesn’t matter which order you do those two in. But I wouldn’t attempt them until you’re done with the Front End - you need that understanding of the front end and JavaScript.

If you can call the Front End section easy, then sure. Yeah, it gets hard. But if it didn’t, these jobs wouldn’t pay well. But we’re here to help you if (when) you get stuck.

There is a huge range of people here. Me, I was a semi-pro coder for a few years back in the elder Bush administration. I started web dev a year ago. But like I said, there is a wide range here. There are people with no computer background and guys that have been coders for years.

1 Like
#4

Firstly, welcome :grinning:

Secondly, it seems like you are here for the right reasons! The fact that you are enjoying it, is a massive plus!

I started learning to code when I was 15, in Computer Science at college. My old man is a programmer, and I think this probably pushed me in this direction. I had touched on making websites before, but usually designed them rather than worried about any of the code. Anyways, college saw me learning more traditional software dev, I struggled through it and got myself a job based on some coursework I did. Funilly enough, that was the last bit of code I wrote for ten years. Last year, I decided I wanted to do something that made me happy and got into web dev (via Python and netsec :sweat_smile:)

I think one of the biggest obstacles to overcome when you are new is to narrow down a field that you want to focus on! Once you have it, then crack on and learn! :ok_hand:

1 Like
#6

Yes I completely agree with you. FFC is just the intro into this world, for me. I’ve tried Treehouse before, but realized quickly that I’m not a video learner. I like the structure of learning on this site, and the challenges as well. Also during these challenges I’ve been strictly trying to figure things out on my own, not using hints or any other sources for the answer–just feels better when I get it on my own. Awesome waveform by the way. Looking at that example and thinking about what exactly made that happen… I hope I can get to that point with as little frustration as possible haha. Thanks for the advice!