Hi,
I’ve been looking into learning programming languages with the hopes of a career in maybe developing or might do something in fintech but not sure what I want to do at the moment- just want to give my self a wide variety of skills in most areas. I’ve been learning some java and came across freecodecamp. I hear a lot of people say programming can be self taught and there are lots of free resources out there but im not sure where to start, theres so many youtube channels, courses etc. that i get bombarded with and i want to just stick with one programme that will teach me the stuff i need to know to get me that job. As in is completing all the ciurriculum on freecodecamp sufficient for me to get a say for software engineering job with amazon. (I understand there will need to be a lot of self study but to teach me the fundamental core skills needed)
I’d really appreciate the advice.
I really do recommend following the freeCodeCamp curriculum in order, if you’re not specifically looking for a different technology path.
Hi @Titan-rush99!
I think that FCC is a great place to start. It teaches the MERN stack and python. FCC also has a great youtube channel that includes videos on other programming languages outside of web development.
Also since you mentioned Amazon I found a couple of FCC articles that might be of interest to you.
I would also do some more research on what it takes to get into a FAANG company cause I heard the coding interviews are no joke. But with the right preparation it is totally possible.
Another great resource would be Cracking the Coding Interview. I just started the book and it is awesome and very detailed. The problems are mainly written in java and c. Even though I am nowhere near “job ready” I am glad that I got a jump start with this book.
Hope that helps!
As someone with similar aspirations I’ll give my 2 cents;
The logic behind Java, Python, JavaScript is pretty much identical but creating a working/studying environment is a little different for each.
(I didn’t mention C or C++ because setting up the environment requires even more steps, incl. a compiler)
If you’re starting off, I’d recommend JavaScript because it is a functional language and can be learned by simply using notepad (but preferably VS Code or Atom) and your web browser.
If you start learning JavaScript and are practicing in VS Code / Atom (editors), consider writing the JavaScript inside the .html file rather than link to it, this’ll allow you to ‘run’ the code in the Editor. (Otherwise if you’re editing and run a standalone .js script file, the Editor may not be able to find the html objects referenced.)
Next is Python, it has a lot of uses and is relatively relaxed and intuitive. JS and Python are also 2 of the most popular languages from what I’ve read.
If you decide to study Python absolutely install Anaconda and download the Jupyter Notebook add-on. (You can YouTube Jupyter Notebook.) It allows you to write in cells directly in your browser window, and just press SHIFT-RETURN to execute the code in that cell.
It also has an auto-save feature and everything is done in your browser window.
This makes starting off and practicing the basics second nature, rather than manually executing your .py file from the CLI.
Once you learn the basic logic of one language, you’ll be able to port that over to another. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Schedule a steady amount of practice each day if possible. If you hit a wall, ask for help.
I’m a newbie too. Wish you all the best!