I’m new to coding, and I want to learn for the opportunity to switch careers. These courses however, does not teach me anything. The hints aren’t helpful, I cant get anywhere on it. I’ve had to look up the answers to the last 10 or so questions. Is there a better website with courses that teach you as you go, instead of just throwing you into something you can’t understand?
Just to get the obvious out of the way, if the site didn’t teach anything I doubt it would still be in existence 10 years after its initial inception, considering it is a donor-supported nonprofit organization.
Anyway, learning to code is hard work and takes a lot of time, patience and perseverance. Learning it on your own is even harder and takes a lot of discipline. I would highly suggest you use the ask for help option when you get stuck. You can also open threads on the forum to ask for more information about subjects. Never the less, you are going to have to look up information no matter what. No one place can teach you everything you need to know.
“Is there a better website”
Nope
That’s not true.
That’s literally the reason we have a forum like this. There are always people ready to help.
no, this is one of the best websites to learn and figure out how to get answers. We are not tired of answering your questions. Keep asking and we will help to the best of our ability.
Hello and Welcome to the Forum @christopherscalf97 !
You have made a great choice to learn coding and consider a career change.
I can only speak from my own experience which began about August of 2022 in my late 60s years of age. I only provide my age to show that one is never too old to take on the challenge of learning.
freeCodeCamp.org is by far the best platform course layout, in my opinion. I have visited many other coding sites, more out of curiosity, but also to see how others offer their courses. At the top of the scale is this site for how they do make instructions mostly clear. Granted there are a few that are a bit confusing; but most are clear.
And, as @AbbyGTech mentioned in their post, this forum is awesome for helping us figure out problems we have learning code.
As well, the full course is offered on the freeCodeCamp YouTube channel. There are great articles with examples in the News category (found in the menu on Learn), and if you need inspiration, the Podcasts offer great inspiration with the various interviews.
My suggestion is, instead of looking up the answers, if you are stuck on a step, do a search for the guidance for that step. Usually, the question has some discussion in the forum; but not always. And, if you do not find what you are searching for, use the help that appears after 3 unsuccessful attempts. This allows you to post all of your code and your questions or error messages so the forum community is able to help you on your coding path. If you do not understand a response, keep asking for clarification. Somebody will be able to explain in a way you do understand.
Remember: No question is dumb, or stupid. It is a sign of learning and growing in our skills. There is no limit to how many questions a person can ask, either.
Wishing you good progress on your coding journey.
Hi,
I’m new like you and understand your frustration. I think the best way to learn would be with a real-life tutor, because they can explain things better, answer your questions, and give actually good feedback when you get a problem wrong. The bot gives very bad feedback when you enter an incorrect solution. Most of the time it’s meaningless, or actively distracts from the correct method. Mostly you’ll find your mistakes are tiny spelling or syntax mistakes. Make sure everything is PERFECT; there is no room for error in coding.
I do find that I am learning from this course. The language used in the instructions is often obtuse and confusing. However, you get to understand the meanings of the coding with practice.
Some tips:
- Take notes. I suggest getting a note-taking app. Every time you are introduced to a new topic, copy-paste the instructions (as much as is needed for future reference) into your app, adding any additional commentary you find necessary. Because there are a ton of new terms being thrown at you constantly. When an old term comes up again that you forgot, you can look it up.
- Make liberal use of the forum. First check your code a couple times for spelling/syntax mistakes. Then hit “submit code” 3 times so that the “help” button shows up, from which you can click to go to the forums. I haven’t yet had to post my own forum post because the help was already there on the forums. I find that 75% of the time, the mistake was still a spelling or syntax mistake, and the forum helped me find it.
Hope that helps!