[Help] Training as a coder - where to start?

[matt]

Hi all,

A friend of mine is considering learning to code with the hope of being able to change his career path (currently he works in customer services). There seems to be a very wide range of online courses (paid and free) available, so I wondered if anyone with current knowledge of this area could offer some advice or insight on which skills are most sought after, which qualifications are well regarded, and any other tips on how to get a foot in the door.

If it is of any relevance he is bilingual (Spanish and English).

Thanks in advance.

 

[rbridd]

Harvard EDx CS50.

Free online course that teaches the fundamentals of computer science through the medium of coding.

It’s hard, but my 17 year old daughter completed it in 4 months.

 

[Shopes]

https://www.theodinproject.com/

This website is fantastic and completely free.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

There's a government website for finding apprenticeships

https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk

If you select 'Job Title' from the drop-down list and enter 'IT Developer' the search pulls up a list of mainly small companies and software houses offering apprenticeships in that area

 

[Guinness Boy]

Is it the job change going to be in the same company or industry?

Some business and design knowledge is pretty much a must if you’re going to work in the UK. Banging out code from specs only really happens in Eastern Europe and Asia these days.

I work for a technology company headquartered in London but every single coder is in Bucharest. The business leaders, sales and consultancy are what’s over here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clapham_gull]

I do a bit (well quite a bit) whilst we wait to employ a "proper" developer, mainly cloud based stuff.

My old school head says learn something like C#, but I code in Python now which I learnt in a week from a book.

It is much easier to learn a new language when you know at least one.

I'd suggest starting with starting with something like Python.

I do have a Masters in Computer Science which obviously helps...

 

[matt]

Is it the job change going to be in the same company or industry?

I don't think there will be an opportunity with his current employer to change paths, so it would be a new company/industry.

 

[dadams2k11]

Most highly paid programming jobs are either C or Python.

If they want to go in to building websites then that's html, PHP, java script and css.

I currently doing a Cyber Security Technician Degree and they are teaching Python which I already have a hand at through creating automating scans and enumeration.

I think Python is the easiest to learn, and like someone else said, it can be learnt in a month.

 

[KZNSeagull]

If he already has Windows and an Office 365 subscription, they could play around with Visual Basic and Access for no extra cost just to see if they enjoy it and have an aptitude for it, if they have not done that already. Lots of free courses available.

 

[Simster]

Most highly paid programming jobs are either C or Python.

If they want to go in to building websites then that's html, PHP, java script and css.

I currently doing a Cyber Security Technician Degree and they are teaching Python which I already have a hand at through creating automating scans and enumeration.

I think Python is the easiest to learn, and like someone else said, it can be learnt in a month.

Is that right? I'd have said the most readily available and lucrative contracts require knowledge of Azure or AWS with a .Net technology.

 

[Goldstone1976]

If he want to keep his options open and train in both coding and decoding I’d suggest the best place to start would be Cheltenham.

 

[RandyWanger]

I used the thecodeacademy as a bit of a toe dip a couple years ago to try understand more.

 

[The Optimist]

My wife did a UX Design course with General Assembly a number of years ago and they also offer coding courses. The course was wife did was full time for a couple of months, so expensive, but after finishing the job she got was a 50% pay rise on what she had been doing before. See the link below:

https://generalassemb.ly/browse/coding-courses-and-classes?topic=6&where=london

 

[ConfusedGloryHunter]

I have a recruited a number of junior/graduate software engineers, including an electrician who had done a degree in programming in his early 30s. I would say the specific languages they may or may not have done a course in didn't really matter (if you are meant to be a programmer you will be able to pick up whatever language your employer needs you to use), what made the best candidates stand out for me were those that had done their own personal projects and so could talk about what they learned, what mistakes they had made, what they would do differently and so on.

The main piece of advice I would give to someone thinking about becoming a programmer is to try and build something. Maybe a simple game using Unity 3D or Unreal - follow some tutorials (there are hundreds for free online) to get the basics and then create something a little more challenging. You can do this in your own time over a few weeks using a pretty basic computer and the internet and this should be enough for you to figure out if you have the right kind of brain for programming. If you are excited and giddy about your progress and proud of whatever you made then you are a programmer and just need to learn more stuff, however if you have no idea what is going on and find it all a confusing muddle then you are probably not a programmer. It may sound harsh but to my mind that is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to find out rather then investing 3 years in a degree or paying money for some online courses.

And the main skill you need to be a programmer - be good at googling stuff.

 

[Justice]

Just finished an excellent tv show about a coder girl set in 2224 The undeclared War.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I have a recruited a number of junior/graduate software engineers, including an electrician who had done a degree in programming in his early 30s. I would say the specific languages they may or may not have done a course in didn't really matter (if you are meant to be a programmer you will be able to pick up whatever language your employer needs you to use), what made the best candidates stand out for me were those that had done their own personal projects and so could talk about what they learned, what mistakes they had made, what they would do differently and so on.

The main piece of advice I would give to someone thinking about becoming a programmer is to try and build something. Maybe a simple game using Unity 3D or Unreal - follow some tutorials (there are hundreds for free online) to get the basics and then create something a little more challenging. You can do this in your own time over a few weeks using a pretty basic computer and the internet and this should be enough for you to figure out if you have the right kind of brain for programming. If you are excited and giddy about your progress and proud of whatever you made then you are a programmer and just need to learn more stuff, however if you have no idea what is going on and find it all a confusing muddle then you are probably not a programmer. It may sound harsh but to my mind that is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to find out rather then investing 3 years in a degree or paying money for some online courses.

And the main skill you need to be a programmer - be good at googling stuff.

The main skill you need to be a programmer is the ability to code complicated stuff simply. It is all very well googling and copying stuff but when you or especially someone else comes to maintain/change that code (particularly in an emergency), it is no good if they have to spend ages trying to understand it. Too many people think that coding is a competition - it isn't. Good, professional coders code simply.

 

[dadams2k11]

Is that right? I'd have said the most readily available and lucrative contracts require knowledge of Azure or AWS with a .Net technology.

He was asking about coding..

Yes Azure, Intune, O365, and AWS are on demand now but not .net in my experience.

I'm still getting job offers for £300/500 per day with my knowledge of the above. I'm more or an Azure architect/security engineer but like I said I'm currently doing a Cyber Security Degree which is more management direction.

 

[BBassic]

For learning you could go for one of the Code Academy type places but honestly one of the best ways is to Google "fun python learning projects" and pick something. Learn by doing. Doesn't have to be python of course, just picked it because it's everywhere and learning that will stand you in good stead to pick up other languages.

This is a good list: https://www.dataquest.io/blog/python-projects-for-beginners/

 

[WATFORD zero]

From my experience, coding is far more down to aptitude than language. When I started (nearly 40 years ago), all the investment was around finding people with right aptitude. Languages and technologies come and go, but the only thing that is constant throughout is logic and whether you can deal with complex logic. Learning to code doesn't necessarily result in a good coder (see KZN post 3 up)

I'm sure there are aptitude tests around still that may help (although there are other indicators such as a pasty complexion, few friends, Personal Hygiene etc )

 

[Badger]

It does somewhat depend what you want to code. For banging out fairly simple websites you'd probably be fine doing one of those short courses and working on a few projects.

However, if you really want to get deep into development work, you really need to take some courses on the fundamentals of computer science. I did a BEng (and later an MSc) in Computer Science and they didn't really teach any specific languages, it was much more focused on understanding how computers work, how to do design algorithms and how to design systems. If you want to write good code, you need the computer science grounding.

Programming languages are the easy part. Once you pick one up, it's really not difficult to transition to another. Don't start with a language course, start with a computer science course.
[MENTION=9822]KZNSeagull[/MENTION] makes a good point too. I've worked with a lot of very clever developers, who don't seem to understand they should be writing code which someone else can understand. I've always prided myself on writing simple and efficient code.