Hi there. I am currently going through some of the courses and getting ready to do the first project. I am going back to school in fall and saw that this is a good place to start getting the skills. I want to be ready and fully prepared for classes in a few months. Is there any advice anyone suggests? Any extra stuff I can practice on or links to places that will help me? Thank you so much
What are you studying in school? Computer Science? If so, I would recommend the JavaScript course.
I am starting computer programming. My first class I am doing is Intro to computer programming. I have been working on HTML and CSS so far on here. Good start…?
Well, its ok to learn HTML and CSS if they are interesting to you, but I doubt any of your courses will include those since HTML and CSS are not programming languages.
Planning to do as much of these exercises until school. I have slightly less than 2 months. If theres anything else anyone thinks will help please let me know
Ok, so definitely practice java? Anything else?
It should be noted that Java and JavaScript are two different programming languages. Do you know which will be taught? If any?
Do you know what language will be used in the class? If so, that’s what I would start with.
Back in my day we used c++ at the university where I studied computer science. So I got myself an intro to c++ book (you remember those?), installed linux (over a dial-up modem) so I could use g++ instead of having to purchase a Borland compiler and taught myself basic c++ before my first semester. It definitely made things much easier.
If you’re new to this and planning to study computer science then honestly my advice is just to do whatever course/material/etc that you find most approachable. Getting familiar with the general approach to building things with code, picking up some of the jargon and communication styles, getting used to looking stuff up on technical websites, these will all set you up to learn whatever languages your school teaches.
Do what you can to find out what will be gone over in class, and start doing it yourself, on your own. Obviously you can’t get everything, but you should be able to get something going in 2 months. Any high level context can help get you “ahead”.
You could do this by researching your class, or finding past semester resources if possible, or even emailing your professor (if you know who it is) to ask how you can get ready.
Everything else can be a distraction, which may or may not actually help you. For example HTML/CSS might help in understanding XML files, which would be important if your building a large and complex Java project, but odds are you will be going over basic syntax/control/data-types and object-oriented-programming.
The one other thing I’d recommend, which isn’t necessarily something you can do now, but its something I’d consider to be very important. Its to start networking and seeking out out-of-classroom resources to leverage. Stuff like clubs, events, job fairs, internships, etc. Networking/resources are the #1 thing upper education can provide that you pay for, but not everyone leverages. Be sure to leverage as much as you can while you can. As once you graduate you lose access to these and now have to fight for whatever resources are left.
Online resources like freeCodeCamp can help, but they are just one among many. Stay focused on what is relevant for your degree, and relevant for your situation as there will be vastly less competition and it can be vastly more specific to you.
Good luck, keep learning, keep building 
Hi Thomas,
What do you want to do exactly? (e.g. Front-End, Back-End, Full Stack, Pure programming like C++ Python or Java, or something completely different?)
I have some experience with this. First, I live in the U.S. and I used to be a public music teacher. Since teaching positions were becoming scarce and teaching was getting harder to accomplish, I decided to go back to school.
I also had a little “training” before I stepped into the classroom, which didn’t prepare me at all. This was a post-bachelor degree, so I didn’t have to take core courses (English, Math, etc.). It was a lot of exercises out of a book, and very little one on one feedback since they were online, and this was pre-COVID. I now have about $25,000 in school loans and didn’t get a front-end job until 5 years later.
My point is go through Free Code Academy from beginning to end and maybe check out Coursera Front-End course by Meta. It’s only $50 a month for about 6 months and I thought was a great beginner course. I also tried Udacity and didn’t like it. These options are a lot cheaper than school loans (if that’s what you’re doing) and you won’t be as frustrated. Also, listen to Code Newbie Podcast. There are people on there that can give you inspiration.
I don’t know your situation, but I know I would do it differently if I could go back in time.