FCC courses vs. programming

Hi all,

I’d like your input on something.

I started FCC and was very excited about the program. Then I started (and finished, 97!) Python for Data Science and CS50 at EdX and found I really enjoy pure programming. I am an artist and designer but I don’t have an interest in web design as a profession.

Should I complete FCC since it is front end based? I’d love to skip to the middle and last section and ignore the front end work (I’ve done some before so I understand how it works with the back end). Perhaps I should stop FCC altogether? I hate quitting things but I need to focus on courses that will lead to a position as a programmer.

Thanks!

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Only the first chunk of FCC is focused on front end. If what you enjoy learning is logic and back end technologies, you can get by with just enough HTML, CSS, DOM manipulation to slap a face on your application.

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Good point, thank you!

Well…ideally I’d love to get into game programming as I have been into games since I was little. I enjoy working with data: storing, updating, presenting. Honestly I enjoy creating the process (algorithms), finding issues, and tackling them. With art, things are arbitrary. With code, it works like it should, or it doesn’t. And I find it very refreshing. I have no experience with CS to choose a path right now and I am concerned that this will lead to bad choices: wasted time and energy on learning languages and concepts I won’t use.

I will check out that github link. Thank you for your reply!

Alright…just checked out the link, amazing! Exactly what I’ve been looking for! I am already signed up for Effective Thinking. Thank you!

Just a quick note: I do not want folks to think that I do not appreciate what FCC does. I think it’s a terrific program, especially since I have been involved in non-profits for 10 years. I have seen how tight the purse strings can become. FCC is such a win-win for all.

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This course is built based on https://www.google.com/about/careers/students/guide-to-technical-development.html which is a guide for technical development path from Google. That’s absolutely amazing to follow.

This is terrific… thank you!

Been there. I hate to quit things too (kinda like hating to say no) but at some point you have to direct your focus and energy on the things you feel are most important and most beneficial for your needs. I made the mistake early on of taking on TOO much. I agree with the others who have stated that the front end FCC will basically give you enough insight to slap a face on your work. Congrats on the CS50 and Python on EdX. I signed up for the CS50 early on and was really discouraged/frustrated with it. But as time goes on I’m finding learning to program/Front End-wise easier for me to understand. Best of luck with your studies!

I am on your same boat. It is a question of planning according your goals.
The FCC full stack is a more practical goal
The OSSU is a more academical goal.

But the Front End is far from being just a design course. I am still on the tribute page, but I have checked out the harder javascript challenges and they are not exactly dumb!!!

Dont forget that these days a lot of the thinking is moving to the front end. And with things like WebAssembly the front end could house a lot of that “pure programming” that you mention.

But anyway Even the nerdiest geeky computer scientist today is learning a bit of web interface, because his matrix printer from 1982 is about to collapse.

Thank you and best of luck to you as well!

Thanks for your reply!

This is an interesting thread because I was under the impression that FCC was more focused on web development coding and in order to get into programming such as required to build computer (windows / pc) programs or even to run machines or automation, you need at the minimum a 4 year computer science degree. I am enjoying learning web development, but I would love to expand into non-web programming later. It seems from what I am reading here, that is doable using FCC and other online resources?

One way to transition to building desktop applications is to use Electron, which basically lets you write apps in HTML, CSS and JS using any of the modules you are used to.

It’s what VS Code and Atom were built with!

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