10 answers
Omar
Student
2
Questions
Updated
1263 views
What would be the best way to get a head start in computer programming?
I would like to know some good internships, resources, or ways to gain more experience in programming. I am currently a high school student, so I do have lots of time but I would like to get a head start. I was going to learn from resources online and I found this free online course but I never finished it and still have no experience. I would appreciate any suggestions and tips on how to get started.
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10 answers
Barbara Patti
OKR Consultant at okrindo.com
14
Answers
Palo Alto, California
Updated
Barbara’s Answer
To get a head start in computer programming, start with online resources like Codecademy, Coursera, or freeCodeCamp. Finish any free courses you've started. Look for internships or volunteer opportunities at local businesses or schools. Join coding clubs or participate in competitions to gain experience. Practice regularly on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank. Networking with professionals and attending tech meetups can also provide valuable insights and opportunities.
Anna Babu Palathingal
IT engineer
3
Answers
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Updated
Anna’s Answer
Getting a head start in computer programming as a high school student is a great idea! Here are some suggestions, resources, and tips to help you gain experience and build your skills:
1. Start with Online Courses and Tutorials
FreeCodeCamp: Offers free, comprehensive coding courses in various programming languages and web development.
Codecademy: Provides interactive programming courses for beginners.
Coursera: Offers free courses from universities like Stanford and Harvard. Look for introductory programming courses.
edX: Similar to Coursera, with courses from top universities.
Khan Academy: Provides beginner-friendly courses in computer programming.
2. Interactive Coding Platforms
LeetCode: Practice coding problems and participate in coding contests.
HackerRank: Solve coding challenges and improve your problem-solving skills.
Codewars: Practice coding by solving challenges and improving your rank.
3. Books for Beginners
“Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthes: A hands-on introduction to Python.
“Eloquent JavaScript” by Marijn Haverbeke: A great book for learning JavaScript.
“The Pragmatic Programmer” by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas: Offers practical advice for becoming a better programmer.
4. Build Projects
Personal Projects: Start small with projects like a to-do list app, a calculator, or a simple game. Gradually take on more complex projects.
Open Source Contributions: Contribute to open source projects on GitHub. This is a great way to learn from real-world code and collaborate with others.
5. Internships and Work Experience
High School Internships: Look for local tech companies or startups that offer internships for high school students.
Summer Programs: Participate in coding bootcamps or summer programs for high school students. Some examples are Google's Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) and MIT's Summer App Inventor Workshop.
Volunteer Work: Offer to build websites or applications for local businesses, non-profits, or school clubs.
6. Join Coding Communities
GitHub: Share your projects, collaborate with others, and learn from open-source code.
Stack Overflow: Join the community to ask questions and learn from experienced developers.
Reddit: Participate in subreddits like r/learnprogramming, r/programming, and r/coding.
Local Coding Clubs: Join or start a coding club at your school.
7. Participate in Competitions and Hackathons
Google Code-in: A competition for pre-university students to contribute to open source.
Hackathons: Participate in local or online hackathons to build projects in a short time frame.
8. Mentorship and Guidance
Find a Mentor: Look for a mentor who can guide you, provide feedback, and help you stay motivated.
Online Forums: Engage in forums like Dev.to or freeCodeCamp's forum for advice and support.
9. Practice Regularly
Daily Coding: Set aside time each day to practice coding. Consistency is key to improvement.
Code Reviews: Review your code regularly and seek feedback from more experienced programmers.
By combining these resources and strategies, you can gain a solid foundation in programming, build impressive projects, and gain valuable experience that will set you up for future success.
1. Start with Online Courses and Tutorials
FreeCodeCamp: Offers free, comprehensive coding courses in various programming languages and web development.
Codecademy: Provides interactive programming courses for beginners.
Coursera: Offers free courses from universities like Stanford and Harvard. Look for introductory programming courses.
edX: Similar to Coursera, with courses from top universities.
Khan Academy: Provides beginner-friendly courses in computer programming.
2. Interactive Coding Platforms
LeetCode: Practice coding problems and participate in coding contests.
HackerRank: Solve coding challenges and improve your problem-solving skills.
Codewars: Practice coding by solving challenges and improving your rank.
3. Books for Beginners
“Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthes: A hands-on introduction to Python.
“Eloquent JavaScript” by Marijn Haverbeke: A great book for learning JavaScript.
“The Pragmatic Programmer” by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas: Offers practical advice for becoming a better programmer.
4. Build Projects
Personal Projects: Start small with projects like a to-do list app, a calculator, or a simple game. Gradually take on more complex projects.
Open Source Contributions: Contribute to open source projects on GitHub. This is a great way to learn from real-world code and collaborate with others.
5. Internships and Work Experience
High School Internships: Look for local tech companies or startups that offer internships for high school students.
Summer Programs: Participate in coding bootcamps or summer programs for high school students. Some examples are Google's Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) and MIT's Summer App Inventor Workshop.
Volunteer Work: Offer to build websites or applications for local businesses, non-profits, or school clubs.
6. Join Coding Communities
GitHub: Share your projects, collaborate with others, and learn from open-source code.
Stack Overflow: Join the community to ask questions and learn from experienced developers.
Reddit: Participate in subreddits like r/learnprogramming, r/programming, and r/coding.
Local Coding Clubs: Join or start a coding club at your school.
7. Participate in Competitions and Hackathons
Google Code-in: A competition for pre-university students to contribute to open source.
Hackathons: Participate in local or online hackathons to build projects in a short time frame.
8. Mentorship and Guidance
Find a Mentor: Look for a mentor who can guide you, provide feedback, and help you stay motivated.
Online Forums: Engage in forums like Dev.to or freeCodeCamp's forum for advice and support.
9. Practice Regularly
Daily Coding: Set aside time each day to practice coding. Consistency is key to improvement.
Code Reviews: Review your code regularly and seek feedback from more experienced programmers.
By combining these resources and strategies, you can gain a solid foundation in programming, build impressive projects, and gain valuable experience that will set you up for future success.
Ishaaq Razack
Data Scientist
1
Answer
Washington, Washington
Updated
Ishaaq’s Answer
Hi Omar, it's great that you want to get a head start.
Online courses such as the one you mentioned are great ways to start programming. I would suggest you begin by learning a language such as Java or C++, as they'll give you a strong foundation in key concepts such as variables, data types, etc. Also, make sure to choose a course that gives you practice assignments -- the best way to learn programming is by doing it!
Once you feel comfortable programming, you can try doing coding projects you find online. They look great on your resume when applying for internships; I went from getting no replies during my college internship search to multiple job offers after adding two projects to my resume.
Additionally, joining a coding club at high school or college is a great way to see what others are doing.
Feel free to comment if you need any clarification!
Online courses such as the one you mentioned are great ways to start programming. I would suggest you begin by learning a language such as Java or C++, as they'll give you a strong foundation in key concepts such as variables, data types, etc. Also, make sure to choose a course that gives you practice assignments -- the best way to learn programming is by doing it!
Once you feel comfortable programming, you can try doing coding projects you find online. They look great on your resume when applying for internships; I went from getting no replies during my college internship search to multiple job offers after adding two projects to my resume.
Additionally, joining a coding club at high school or college is a great way to see what others are doing.
Feel free to comment if you need any clarification!
Rajesh Kumar Subbiah
Manager
39
Answers
Florham Park, New Jersey
Updated
Rajesh Kumar’s Answer
That's great to hear that you're interested in getting a head start in computer programming! Here are some suggestions and tips to help you gain more experience:
Online Resources: Utilize free online platforms like Codecademy, Coursera, or Khan Academy to learn programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++. These resources offer interactive lessons and projects to help you practice and understand programming concepts.
Practice and Build Projects: Apply your knowledge by working on small coding projects. Start with simple challenges, like building a calculator or a basic game, and gradually work your way up to more complex projects. This will help you gain hands-on experience and improve your problem-solving skills.
Open Source Contributions: Consider contributing to open source projects on platforms like GitHub. This will allow you to collaborate with experienced programmers, learn from their code, and improve your own skills. Additionally, it will provide you with valuable experience working on real-world projects.
Participate in Hackathons: Look for local or online hackathons that welcome high school students. These events often have coding challenges and provide a great opportunity to learn from others, network, and gain practical experience within a short time frame.
Seek Internships or Volunteering Opportunities: Look for internships or volunteer positions at local tech companies, non-profit organizations, or educational institutions. These opportunities can provide you with real-world exposure to programming, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
Join Coding Clubs or Communities: Engage with like-minded individuals by joining coding clubs or communities at your school or online. Collaborating with others who share your interests can help you learn from each other, share resources, and stay motivated.
Remember, consistent practice and dedication are key to improving your programming skills. Don't be discouraged by setbacks or unfinished courses. Keep exploring, experimenting, and seeking new opportunities to learn and grow. Good luck on your programming journey!
Online Resources: Utilize free online platforms like Codecademy, Coursera, or Khan Academy to learn programming languages such as Python, Java, or C++. These resources offer interactive lessons and projects to help you practice and understand programming concepts.
Practice and Build Projects: Apply your knowledge by working on small coding projects. Start with simple challenges, like building a calculator or a basic game, and gradually work your way up to more complex projects. This will help you gain hands-on experience and improve your problem-solving skills.
Open Source Contributions: Consider contributing to open source projects on platforms like GitHub. This will allow you to collaborate with experienced programmers, learn from their code, and improve your own skills. Additionally, it will provide you with valuable experience working on real-world projects.
Participate in Hackathons: Look for local or online hackathons that welcome high school students. These events often have coding challenges and provide a great opportunity to learn from others, network, and gain practical experience within a short time frame.
Seek Internships or Volunteering Opportunities: Look for internships or volunteer positions at local tech companies, non-profit organizations, or educational institutions. These opportunities can provide you with real-world exposure to programming, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
Join Coding Clubs or Communities: Engage with like-minded individuals by joining coding clubs or communities at your school or online. Collaborating with others who share your interests can help you learn from each other, share resources, and stay motivated.
Remember, consistent practice and dedication are key to improving your programming skills. Don't be discouraged by setbacks or unfinished courses. Keep exploring, experimenting, and seeking new opportunities to learn and grow. Good luck on your programming journey!
Jet Villavicencio
Technical Program Manager
2
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Jet’s Answer
The free online resource you've embarked on is a fantastic first step! To truly reap its benefits, it's beneficial to complete the course fully.
Once you've completed the course, a great way to apply your newfound knowledge is by identifying problems that can be solved using the skills you've acquired.
Advent of Code is an excellent platform offering programming challenges, perfect for you to put your learning to the test: https://adventofcode.com/
Once you've completed the course, a great way to apply your newfound knowledge is by identifying problems that can be solved using the skills you've acquired.
Advent of Code is an excellent platform offering programming challenges, perfect for you to put your learning to the test: https://adventofcode.com/
John Tomkins
Professional Services Leader
3
Answers
Droitwich Spa, England, United Kingdom
Updated
John’s Answer
In addition to what has already been mentioned, I recommend signing up for a free ChatGPT (or similar AI/GPT provider) account and begin asking it questions about programming. You can also have it create examples and talk you though how they work. You'll find that the AI assistant can be a very powerful learning partner!
Olafare Michael Oluwabukola
Blogger
1
Answer
Lagos, Nigeria
Updated
Olafare’s Answer
Okay, so if I want to really be good as a beginner in computer programming you must have a initial design techniques and if you don't have you can go online and then search on YouTube you can search on behance.com and you have to get some inspiration first that's what our advice cause that's what comes first before anything. Been a programmer you just don't work without direction: we work based on a particular problem and then we break it into pieces and I will solve it pieces by pieces and at the end of the day you come up with something big and in a real life scenario that's how life is you just don't work without direction. You can try up learning Python and start as a beginner and then you bring it into something bigger at the long run so but as a beginner right now you need to learn all the basics and when you're good with that you move ahead. You just don't go learning from I place you start from the beginning from the bottom when you learn the basics you will understand how big things works and that's how it's always be. I'm so sorry if my writing didn't have comma or other signs I'm just lazy to type so am using speech to text and I hope you get my points. Peace ✌️
Isabel Dominguez
Student
101
Answers
Corning, California
Updated
Isabel’s Answer
Hello Omar!
Kickstart your journey in computer programming with complimentary online platforms such as Codecademy, Khan Academy, and Coursera. Concentrate on mastering beginner-friendly languages like Python or JavaScript. Engage in coding contests on websites like LeetCode or HackerRank to hone your problem-solving abilities. Become part of coding clubs or virtual communities for mutual support and building connections. Seek out internships or volunteering roles related to coding, even if they're casual or within your locality. Think about initiating mini personal projects to enrich your portfolio and display your talents. Remember, regularity and practice are the stepping stones to becoming proficient in programming. Keep pushing forward!
Kickstart your journey in computer programming with complimentary online platforms such as Codecademy, Khan Academy, and Coursera. Concentrate on mastering beginner-friendly languages like Python or JavaScript. Engage in coding contests on websites like LeetCode or HackerRank to hone your problem-solving abilities. Become part of coding clubs or virtual communities for mutual support and building connections. Seek out internships or volunteering roles related to coding, even if they're casual or within your locality. Think about initiating mini personal projects to enrich your portfolio and display your talents. Remember, regularity and practice are the stepping stones to becoming proficient in programming. Keep pushing forward!
Great advice from Isabel. I especially liked the mention of "volunteering roles". It is always heartening to see some results from putting into practice what I am learning. For example, when I started volunteering for organizations in my town I made many new connections and contributed my skills to do the tasks that they needed help with. This allowed me to use and sharpen my skill, and learn from others. So, learn and put it into practice by volunteering, don't wait for an internship assignment. You can use the volunteering experience as a stepping stone to an internship.
Suresh Jasrasaria
John Easton CEng FIET FBCS CITP
Design large computer systems for companies
35
Answers
Winchester, England, United Kingdom
Updated
John’s Answer
Hi Omar!
The only real way to learn to program is to actually write code. The more practice you get, the better you will get at doing it. That said, a few suggestions...
1. Do the online courses, but find ones that can easily be picked up and put down. I did one that was 100 days long - every day - and that was too much of a commitment, so find things that teach in small chunks that you can go do other things too.
2. Consider helping or leading a code club at a local school. This will give you some practical experience and get you to learn alongside the kids. You don't need to be a coding expert here and will learn lots by helping the kids debug their code. Teaching something is a great way to learn it.
3. Try lots of languages and find the one(s) that work for you. Don't be told that you should learn a specific language. Find the ones that you get on with easily. Once you've picked up the first one, the next one is going to be easier.
4. Write code! which takes me back to the beginning. You have to learn by doing.
Hope those suggestions help
The only real way to learn to program is to actually write code. The more practice you get, the better you will get at doing it. That said, a few suggestions...
1. Do the online courses, but find ones that can easily be picked up and put down. I did one that was 100 days long - every day - and that was too much of a commitment, so find things that teach in small chunks that you can go do other things too.
2. Consider helping or leading a code club at a local school. This will give you some practical experience and get you to learn alongside the kids. You don't need to be a coding expert here and will learn lots by helping the kids debug their code. Teaching something is a great way to learn it.
3. Try lots of languages and find the one(s) that work for you. Don't be told that you should learn a specific language. Find the ones that you get on with easily. Once you've picked up the first one, the next one is going to be easier.
4. Write code! which takes me back to the beginning. You have to learn by doing.
Hope those suggestions help
Kimberly Vides
Junior Cybersecurity Analyst
11
Answers
Gainesville, Florida
Updated
Kimberly’s Answer
Hi Omar!
It's great that you're interested in getting a head start in programming. Here are some suggestions to help you progress effectively and efficiently. Remember, every expert was once a beginner, so stay curious and persistent!
*Choose a Beginner-Friendly Programming Language:
- Python: Ideal for beginners due to its clear and readable syntax. It’s used in web development, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
- JavaScript: Essential for web development. It allows you to create dynamic and interactive websites.
- Java is a popular and versatile language for desktop, web, and mobile applications. It has a more complex syntax but is highly valuable.
*Explore Online Courses and Tutorials
Free Courses:
- Khan Academy: Offers interactive programming courses.
- Codecademy: Provides a variety of free courses for beginners.
Paid Courses:
- Coursera: Offers courses from renowned universities.
- edX: Another excellent platform with high-quality courses.
*Practice Consistently
Dedicate regular time to practice programming. Consistency is key to solidifying concepts and improving your skills.
Platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank offer coding challenges for practice.
Free Apps for Practice:
- Mimo: An interactive app for learning to code on your phone.
- SoloLearn: Provides free courses for various programming languages.
It’s normal to encounter errors and challenges in programming. Consider these as learning opportunities. Use online forums like Stack Overflow to find solutions and connect with other programmers. Remember, every mistake is a step towards mastery!
*Work on Personal Projects
Working on projects that you’re passionate about can be a great motivator. You might try: Creating a simple game, automating a daily task, and developing a website. Host Projects on GitHub: an excellent platform for hosting your projects. It allows you to showcase your work, collaborate with others, and build your portfolio. GitHub
*Participate in Internships
Are a great way to gain real-world experience. Many universities and tech companies offer internships specifically for high school students. Here are some sites where you can look for opportunities:
- Internship.com: A site with listings of internships in various fields.
- USA Jobs Pathways: The U.S. government's Pathways program offers students internships.
Keep pushing forward, and don't be afraid to ask for help or seek out resources. Your dedication and hard work will pay off, and you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish. Happy coding!
It's great that you're interested in getting a head start in programming. Here are some suggestions to help you progress effectively and efficiently. Remember, every expert was once a beginner, so stay curious and persistent!
*Choose a Beginner-Friendly Programming Language:
- Python: Ideal for beginners due to its clear and readable syntax. It’s used in web development, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
- JavaScript: Essential for web development. It allows you to create dynamic and interactive websites.
- Java is a popular and versatile language for desktop, web, and mobile applications. It has a more complex syntax but is highly valuable.
*Explore Online Courses and Tutorials
Free Courses:
- Khan Academy: Offers interactive programming courses.
- Codecademy: Provides a variety of free courses for beginners.
Paid Courses:
- Coursera: Offers courses from renowned universities.
- edX: Another excellent platform with high-quality courses.
*Practice Consistently
Dedicate regular time to practice programming. Consistency is key to solidifying concepts and improving your skills.
Platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank offer coding challenges for practice.
Free Apps for Practice:
- Mimo: An interactive app for learning to code on your phone.
- SoloLearn: Provides free courses for various programming languages.
It’s normal to encounter errors and challenges in programming. Consider these as learning opportunities. Use online forums like Stack Overflow to find solutions and connect with other programmers. Remember, every mistake is a step towards mastery!
*Work on Personal Projects
Working on projects that you’re passionate about can be a great motivator. You might try: Creating a simple game, automating a daily task, and developing a website. Host Projects on GitHub: an excellent platform for hosting your projects. It allows you to showcase your work, collaborate with others, and build your portfolio. GitHub
*Participate in Internships
Are a great way to gain real-world experience. Many universities and tech companies offer internships specifically for high school students. Here are some sites where you can look for opportunities:
- Internship.com: A site with listings of internships in various fields.
- USA Jobs Pathways: The U.S. government's Pathways program offers students internships.
Keep pushing forward, and don't be afraid to ask for help or seek out resources. Your dedication and hard work will pay off, and you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish. Happy coding!
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Sahitya