7 answers
Gavin
Student
Port Angeles, Washington
1
Question
Updated
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Any advice to get into Programming/Coding?
I am currently a new student in Job corps and i'm hoping to get a career in the IT field that involves programming/coding like a Web Developer or Software Developer but I also have no experience with it and would like some advice/insight on this career path. Does coding actually take high math comprehension to understand well? How long does it take for someone to fluently learn the coding language? Also what are some base rules to keep in mind about coding or programming?
#technology #programming #computer-programming #coding
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7 answers
Darrell Stam
Senior Principle Software Engineer
6
Answers
Hollis, New Hampshire
Updated
Darrell’s Answer
Hi Gavin,
Great job getting involved with job corps. Training and learning how to learn is key to software development. The field changes fairly quickly and staying on top of trends and technology will help you throughout your career. All programming languages have a vocabulary that contains rules, unique keywords, and special syntax to follow. Once you learn the fundamentals, learning the second or third language isn't that difficult. The same can be said for hardware design, and user interfaces. They change all the time, but the basics are the same.
Yes, math is important - but it is more about logic instead of calculus. If you wish to get into video codec work then yes, you will need a stronger math background, but if you wish to get into web applications, then logic is more important. Division is widely used too if you are looking at performance values (rates per second).
How long to learn a programming language - it depends really on your foundation. I was given one month to learn a new language. I definitely wasn't an expert after that month of trial and error programming, but I learned the syntax and made mistakes so that I became more proficient with time. Give yourself the freedom to not be afraid to make mistakes - that is how you learn.
As for how to get started - a hack-a-thon could be a good place (one example: https://www.hackerearth.com/challenges/hackathon/). You can try to get an internship or co-op too. Reach out to the career placement/development office at your job corps and see if they have local companies who are willing to bring you in.
Pick up a programming language book and create programs from the example from the book. Change parameters or logic to see what happens.
Get involved with a hackathon
Look for internship/co-op/job shadow opportunities.
Talk to your advisors since they know you better and they might have local contacts to connect you with.
Great job getting involved with job corps. Training and learning how to learn is key to software development. The field changes fairly quickly and staying on top of trends and technology will help you throughout your career. All programming languages have a vocabulary that contains rules, unique keywords, and special syntax to follow. Once you learn the fundamentals, learning the second or third language isn't that difficult. The same can be said for hardware design, and user interfaces. They change all the time, but the basics are the same.
Yes, math is important - but it is more about logic instead of calculus. If you wish to get into video codec work then yes, you will need a stronger math background, but if you wish to get into web applications, then logic is more important. Division is widely used too if you are looking at performance values (rates per second).
How long to learn a programming language - it depends really on your foundation. I was given one month to learn a new language. I definitely wasn't an expert after that month of trial and error programming, but I learned the syntax and made mistakes so that I became more proficient with time. Give yourself the freedom to not be afraid to make mistakes - that is how you learn.
As for how to get started - a hack-a-thon could be a good place (one example: https://www.hackerearth.com/challenges/hackathon/). You can try to get an internship or co-op too. Reach out to the career placement/development office at your job corps and see if they have local companies who are willing to bring you in.
Darrell recommends the following next steps:
Thank you so much! This is really informative and I appreciate the advice since it helps me figure where I can go from where I am now!
Gavin
Doug Bernhardt
Senior Principal Engineer - SQL Server Storage Integration at Dell
16
Answers
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Updated
Doug’s Answer
As Darrell said, you don't need to be a math whiz, there are plenty of areas of coding where that's not required. Phone apps, web apps, etc. Logic and problem solving are keys, and you also have to be willing to continually learn. Just try doing a project for fun, like creating a web page that performs a calculation or building a simple phone app. Search online how to do it, just try some stuff and see how you like it! Lots of developers get their start by just hacking away to solve a problem, then take the courses to get the degree!
Matt Shandera
Program Manager
4
Answers
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Updated
Matt’s Answer
I'll second (or third) some of the answers here. Software development is very multifaceted, some does indeed require high order math, but thats the exception not the rule. In a sense, software development is a little like art and learning to speak a new language. You're working with your language of choice to to express your thoughts and desires to the computer.
As far as learning, there are a TON of free or affordable resources you can use to use to learn how to write software. Many of these resources start you from the very beginning, meaning you don't need to know anything at all about technology.
My advice, spend a few weeks using one of my these resources. Go through a tutorial and see what you think!
For a totally free solution try Free Code Camp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/
I've personally had success with Codecademy as well. You'll find that you can learn faster than you think! Worst case scenario, you'll find out it's not a passion area for you!
As far as learning, there are a TON of free or affordable resources you can use to use to learn how to write software. Many of these resources start you from the very beginning, meaning you don't need to know anything at all about technology.
My advice, spend a few weeks using one of my these resources. Go through a tutorial and see what you think!
For a totally free solution try Free Code Camp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/
I've personally had success with Codecademy as well. You'll find that you can learn faster than you think! Worst case scenario, you'll find out it's not a passion area for you!
David Lee
Actuary
52
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
David’s Answer
For younger kids a great place to start is scratch.mit.edu, a graphical interface where you can learn basic coding concepts, make cool games pretty quickly, and see other kids' game designs.
Coursera.com and Udemy.com offer college-level and other courses. I like coursera because I can "audit" many courses for free (though you can't submit assignments or get a grade).
Google has some free programs to train up for various tech careers, but not game development per se https://grow.google/intl/ALL_ca/
After learning some basics,
Kids that like Roblox might try to understand how to make a game on that platform--the development kit is free to download.
Kids that like Minecraft (for Java) could try to make their own mod--tutorials abound, usually with ways to get the tools needed for free. But Minecraft for Java costs money.
Coursera.com and Udemy.com offer college-level and other courses. I like coursera because I can "audit" many courses for free (though you can't submit assignments or get a grade).
Google has some free programs to train up for various tech careers, but not game development per se https://grow.google/intl/ALL_ca/
After learning some basics,
Kids that like Roblox might try to understand how to make a game on that platform--the development kit is free to download.
Kids that like Minecraft (for Java) could try to make their own mod--tutorials abound, usually with ways to get the tools needed for free. But Minecraft for Java costs money.
Oh wow thanks for this info! That all sounds pretty awesome and I will have to give them a try.
Gavin
Tony Pearson
Master Inventor
50
Answers
Tucson, Arizona
Updated
Tony’s Answer
Gavin, I recommend installing Linux on an old computer. This will allow you to download all of the computer programming languages you want to learn for free. The Ubuntu or Mint distributions have a strong community of support that will help you. Red Hat/Fedora is another good option. If you don't have a spare computer, you can install Linux on an existing Windows system using "Dual Boot" option. This let's you choose from a menu and start up Linux or Windows when you boot up your machine. Third option is to create a bootable USB stick or DVD that let's you run Linux on any Windows machine without installing it first.
A good starter language is Python. It can be used to write games. It can be used to write websites. It can be used to write shell scripts. The important thing is that you learn the basics.
My colleague and I taught a class of 4th graders who to code in "C" programming language in 9 weeks.
Get Linux running (on an old computer, as dual boot, or as bootable USB)
Download Python or other programming languages
A good starter language is Python. It can be used to write games. It can be used to write websites. It can be used to write shell scripts. The important thing is that you learn the basics.
My colleague and I taught a class of 4th graders who to code in "C" programming language in 9 weeks.
Tony recommends the following next steps:
Mark Dalton
Engineer
2
Answers
Hudson, Massachusetts
Updated
Mark’s Answer
As Doug said, "you don't need to be a math whiz". Which ever programming language or path you choose to learn, find a problem that you want to solve. Start by outlining the potential solution then do some online research on any road blocks you come across. Google can be your friend, but finding a solution that best suits your problem may be time consuming. Don't give up try several solutions you find, test them to see which you prefer.
It could take years to become fluent in a programming language. You don't need to know every little thing by heart. Intelli-sense is also your friend.
It could take years to become fluent in a programming language. You don't need to know every little thing by heart. Intelli-sense is also your friend.
david kirk
Retired Computing Manager
478
Answers
Syracuse, New York
Updated
david’s Answer
You're off to an excellent start! C++ is popular, so some familiarity would help. However, trying to become proficient in all current languages will be a waste of time. You have already demonstrated the capability to learn another language, and my suggestion now is to be aware of the popular ones, but not necessarily competent in them. And it depends a lot on where you start working. For example, with web applications, a knowledge of Apache server commands is invaluable, as is some knowledge of PHP. Assuming you take a course in IT in college, your instructors may be sufficiently aware of local employers to advise you of popular languages. Another source is to periodically read job postings on websites that advertise jobs, such as indeed.com. A good site with some language info is at https://www.computerscience.org/resources/computer-programming-languages/ During my years as a programmer, I used over fifteen languages. All the best.