Coding is hard and requires constant practice. You can easily get guides online, but you cannot learn to code just by following one. It requires practice, persistence, and determination. Learning how to write code depends on one’s interest and ability to learn.
Have you been looking for a job but failed to get the position? This is one reason basic coding skills are a must-have in today's world. But before we discuss its benefits here are a few basic things everyone should know about coding:
1) Master the Basics
No one becomes a pro overnight. Even a baby crawls before they can walk. So, start by learning the basics, and once you’re done, go for more difficult cases.
You do not have to enroll in a college to learn to code as you can sign up of an online course for free and find all the necessary information on the internet yourself.
2) Patience Pays
As indicated above, no one becomes a coding ninja overnight as computer lessons are broad and complex. Some start with very little hope of succeeding, but once they start and acquire some skills, their quest becomes unstoppable.
Unfortunately, others are enthusiastic but do not have the patience to learn. They want to master everything in a day and start earning, but that is impossible. Some despair and quit hence, hence the need for patience.
3) Set realistic goals
In all lessons, if you do not set targets, you won’t be able to measure your progress. Seeing your progress motivates to study more. For instance, if you plan to do PHP in a week and you achieve it, you will feel motivated to learn something different in the coming week like CSS, JavaScript, HTML, etc. Start by doing simple projects and proceed to complex ones as you progress.
4) Practice more
The more projects you handle, the more adept you become. Besides, you are able to know your limitations and up your troubleshooting skills.
5) Join Coding Groups
You will be able to get help easily by sharing problems with others in a community online. All you have to do is look for programming groups where you can join such as StackOverflow, GitHub, Livecoding, etc.
By being a member of such a community, it is possible to see what others are doing and learn from them.
6) Refresh Skills regularly
New technologies require new coding skills and therefore, there is no time a developer will be at ease. You master one thing today, and the following day another comes up hence the need to upgrade regularly.
7) Use Online Resources
There are many websites where you can easily get access to free tutorials and interactive courses for learning various programming languages.
These were some tips about How you can learn to code, now you must be wondering Why I should learn to code. According to Laurence Bradford, the following are reasons why you should learn some coding techniques:
Become a Master of Your time
When you learn to code, there will be no need for a 9-5 job. Working from home at the comfort of your house can become your reality, although there will still be deadlines to meet, so you will have to manage your time well to meet yours.
Work less but earn more
Writing code is not easy and not many people are proficient in it. The demand for programs is high due to new technological inventions, but experts available are few.
Competition for programmers makes the job attractive as jobs are well-paid to attract the few available. If you are a beginner, you may not be able to charge for services at first. But once you gain more experience, even the simplest tasks will easily get your expenses covered.
Choose your work offers yourself
If you check at the price of various jobs on freelance sites, you will realize that unlike programming jobs, others are paid much lower.
Most developers will tell you that once you acquire the necessary skills, you get many offers such that they have to pick only the best and say no to others.
You will build your professional portfolio
Once you do a few jobs and meet the expectations of clients, you will start receiving more offers than you can handle through referrals.
Your profile will rank higher, and soon you will never beg for work. Creating an account on social sites like LinkedIn will help you to get jobs thereby skipping the lengthy job application processes.
Working from Remote locations
Unlike most 9-5 jobs where you must physically present yourself, programming jobs can be done remotely. All you require is a computer and internet connection. It does not matter whether you are on vacation or not as you can work irrespective of your physical location.
