Author Topic: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?  (Read 15023 times)

BlueLesPaul

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Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« on: July 07, 2014, 03:26:32 PM »
I have been dinking around Code Academy for the last little while and I must admit that I am not sure where to start.  I figure that learning to code could be a beneficial side hustle and could possibly transition into full time work.  I have a humanities background and no intention of going back to school, so I would need to learn it on my own or through work.  Any suggestions on coding languages that I should focus on or how to get freelance work, especially freelance work for a newbie?
« Last Edit: July 08, 2014, 12:12:08 PM by BlueLesPaul »

thefrugalnudists

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2014, 04:20:19 PM »
You can get an online second bachelor's degree through UMass Lowell in Computer Science. My wife is doing it now. It's 10 classes and it costs roughly 1,000 a class. She is focusing on Java. That seems to be a very high demand language to learn. When done not only will she have great coding skills but a degree too. And she will add 2 more classes at the end to get a Java Certificate.

gimp

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2014, 04:27:25 PM »
In before the storm. Batten the hatches, arrr, there be opinions about.

Your answer will be very different from someone who wants to get deep into the nitty-gritty of low-level hardware. You want a language that's easy to learn, fast to code with, powerful enough to do useful things, and is in reasonably high demand.

For all of those reasons, I'd probably go with Python.

More importantly, though, is the project. We don't learn from books. (Well, we can, but it's a shit way to learn practical skills.) So you need a project. "I want to create a program that calculates Pi to the 50th digit." Boring? "I want to create a program that fetches the weather from the NOAA, and displays a sun/cloud/rain icon depending on the predictions." Too easy? "I want to remake Pong." Not a fan of classic video games? "I want to ..."

The key is "I want to." Not "The book said" or "People online said" but "This is a project I want to do, because it seems cool / will improve my life / whatever."

For someone like me, that would be a large collection of scripts that automate certain tasks. It would be a couple games. It would be a chat system. Or a simulation or calculation to crunch numbers. Or an error-checking tool. Or a whole host of hardware-related things that wouldn't interest you. And so on.

You will do a terrible job if you learn only as far as to get freelance work. I've cleaned up the messes of such people before. You can learn PHP in 3 days and be coding in 4, but you will make a huge mess. You need to create some things for yourself, first.

Oh, and freelance is often PHP. I didn't recommend it because PHP is a poor first language, in my opinion. It's incredibly easy to write terrible code that somehow still usually works (until it doesn't, and the entire database of passwords is leaked), which means you don't get negative reinforcement, and you don't learn or improve. More practically, freelance PHP also tends to pay absolute garbage rates because of people who are just in it as a side hustle, and are willing to do 10-hour jobs for $25. That attracts terrible coders and terrible customers.

BlueLesPaul

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2014, 05:04:05 PM »
You can get an online second bachelor's degree through UMass Lowell in Computer Science. My wife is doing it now. It's 10 classes and it costs roughly 1,000 a class. She is focusing on Java. That seems to be a very high demand language to learn. When done not only will she have great coding skills but a degree too. And she will add 2 more classes at the end to get a Java Certificate.

Not really interested at this point to invest money into education.  I just finished paying off a Graduate degree, but maybe in the future.

In before the storm. Batten the hatches, arrr, there be opinions about.

Your answer will be very different from someone who wants to get deep into the nitty-gritty of low-level hardware. You want a language that's easy to learn, fast to code with, powerful enough to do useful things, and is in reasonably high demand.

For all of those reasons, I'd probably go with Python.

More importantly, though, is the project. We don't learn from books. (Well, we can, but it's a shit way to learn practical skills.) So you need a project. "I want to create a program that calculates Pi to the 50th digit." Boring? "I want to create a program that fetches the weather from the NOAA, and displays a sun/cloud/rain icon depending on the predictions." Too easy? "I want to remake Pong." Not a fan of classic video games? "I want to ..."

The key is "I want to." Not "The book said" or "People online said" but "This is a project I want to do, because it seems cool / will improve my life / whatever."

I have heard a little about Python as a good language to cut your teeth on.  I will probably try to learn that and go from there.  Thanks!

gimp

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2014, 05:07:10 PM »
You're welcome. Let me know how it goes.

Annamal

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2014, 09:53:50 PM »
Knowing a bit of SQL can come in handy in a variety of situations...

basd

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2014, 12:52:24 AM »
Knowing a bit of SQL can come in handy in a variety of situations...
True, but more in addition to another language (such as Java) than in itself.

I second the suggestions for Python and Java.

Annamal

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2014, 03:10:22 AM »
Knowing a bit of SQL can come in handy in a variety of situations...
True, but more in addition to another language (such as Java) than in itself.

I second the suggestions for Python and Java.
agreed  it's a good backup skill

rayt168

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2014, 04:48:48 AM »
If you wish to combine Java and Python, you may want to consider Jython. 

GuitarStv

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2014, 06:43:47 AM »
It depends on what you're looking to do.

In my honest opinion, programming is just logical thinking.  The language you're using isn't terribly important.  I do the bulk of my programming in C++.  I'm just as comfortable using Java, C, Python, Visual Basic, or any other language though . . . because the thought process is basically the same.  You're going to be using loops, making function calls, developing or using data structures, and returning values.  If you have a really clear idea of what you need to do, a few minutes on the internet is all you need to do it in any programming language.

Dodge

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2014, 06:51:39 AM »
Ruby on Rails. I've seen people who had 0 technical background, they took a few months off work to do one of those Ruby on Rails coding bootcamps in NYC, and are now getting offers for 6 figure coding jobs.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2014, 09:10:19 AM by Dodge »

kallinan

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2014, 07:14:38 AM »
Python & Java are excellent recommendations, and some of my favorite languages.  And Python has a smaller learning curve to see "Hello World."   But actually, I've seen more people asking for Ruby than Python lately professionally due to the prevalence of the Ruby on Rails web framework.   Ruby is a close cousin to Python, and would actually be my first recommendation.   But Python would be a close second.

Lastly, I totally agree with "find a project."  Even if it's for yourself.  Find a project to solve - it's the only way I get stuff done on my own.

gimp

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2014, 12:05:10 PM »
Ruby on Rails. I've seen people who had 0 technical background, they took a few months off work to do one of those Ruby on Rails coding bootcamps in NYC, and are now getting offers for 6 figure coding jobs.

This is one of the most retarded things I've heard this week. I'm not calling you a liar, I'm calling any such situation completely and entirely untenable. Nobody, after a few months of coding, is ready for production work - let alone for a six figure salary. Anyone that hires someone for so much, for knowing so little, is doomed to fail very very quickly - and the only such employers will be startups with a very high burn rate trying to get to the market first, who aren't gambling their own money. If such a thing was tenable and stable, we'd all be doing it, now wouldn't we? Every CS major would drop out, do a few months, and get a job for six figures. For some odd reason, they're not.

Java is an excellent language, very popular. Higher learning curve than python; you also need to write much more code to get something done. With that said, I have years and years of experience with it, so it's worth learning. However, in my humble opinion, I'd learn C++ before Java, simply because java is C++ light - meaning it does mostly what C++ does, except in a more forgiving way. If you're going to learn a massive, complex, and powerful language, I'd learn C++ simply because it forces you to be a better programmer. After learning C++, feel free to go with java and never use C++ again... I've seen a lot of people learn C or C++ first, and a lot learn java first, and I'd choose working with the C or C++ crowd any day. Java just isn't rigorous enough, and instead wastes your time with making you write boilerplate code to do simple things. Finally, the "enterprise" mentality has a strong grip on java, and how it's discussed - you'll see people proposing large solutions, way overengineered, with factories that build factories (you'll get why this is funny later) to do relatively simple things.

Ruby is a perfectly fine alternative to python. Similar in scope and complexity. Popular language.

Some wisdom I've accumulated in regards to learning programming from scratch. For a normal person - not a hardware hacker - there are precisely two options of a first language. The first is a low-level, compiled, language; it's going to be complex, have a steep learning curve, and be brutally unforgiving to mistakes. It will make you a good programmer, or make you quit. Such languages are C, C++, D, and I suppose Java to some extent, but I don't recommend the latter as you know. The other alternative is a high-level, interpreted (or interpreted-compiled, such as perl) language that is easy to learn, easy to develop, very forgiving on mistakes, and lets you accomplish simple tasks very quickly. Such languages let you avoid learning about architecture, hardware, history, and "computer science"; they just let you be a programmer. They also have a much simpler learning curve, so the attrition rate is much lower. For these reasons, for someone like you (OP) I recommend such a language.

(The third option for people who do hardware work is assembly - any flavor, doesn't matter, though x86, MIPS, ARM (targeted towards the Cortex M line, these days), AVR, and PIC are all excellent choices, with varying levels of complexity to code, and complexity to program, and even complexity to set up the tool chain. I highly recommend not doing this unless you're really into understanding how things work at a deeper level.)
« Last Edit: October 07, 2014, 09:41:16 AM by FrugalToque »

Dodge

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2014, 12:38:51 PM »
Ruby on Rails. I've seen people who had 0 technical background, they took a few months off work to do one of those Ruby on Rails coding bootcamps in NYC, and are now getting offers for 6 figure coding jobs.

This is one of the most retarded things I've heard this week. I'm not calling you a liar, I'm calling any such situation completely and entirely untenable. Nobody, after a few months of coding, is ready for production work - let alone for a six figure salary. Anyone that hires someone for so much, for knowing so little, is doomed to fail very very quickly - and the only such employers will be startups with a very high burn rate trying to get to the market first, who aren't gambling their own money. If such a thing was tenable and stable, we'd all be doing it, now wouldn't we? Every CS major would drop out, do a few months, and get a job for six figures. For some odd reason, they're not.

You're right, I also believe it's untenable at $100,000. Most people right out of the bootcamp got jobs at between $65,000-$80,000, which is entry level in NYC for this type of position. One person who also had a CS degree got $95,000.

Not all the employers were startups, but a lot of them were.

To clarify, is it your assertion that my recommendation to learn Ruby on Rails as a first language is retarded, or is it accepting the 6 figure job that's retarded, or is it the companies offering these jobs that are retarded?

The way I see it, it's a market inefficiency that won't last forever, so why not take advantage of it while you can? The skills will always be marketable even if the market crashes and you can no longer demand a stupid-high paycheck.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2014, 09:08:51 AM by Dodge »

gimp

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2014, 12:51:28 PM »
The companies offering are retarded. Ruby is a fine language! And if someone offered me good cash after a few months of "boot camp" obviously I'd take it. But I'd take it knowing that the company would probably fold soon if their offer was high enough (the higher the offer, the more likelihood, you know?) Which means if relocation was necessary, they'd be paying that up front unless it cost nothing more to move than gas to get there, you know?

I would definitely not recommend doing any such boot camp full time if it meant quitting your job and paying tuition, but learning it part-time, certainly. Build a couple projects, show them off, be able to talk at length about design methodologies and the reasons for choice A over choice B, and the weaknesses that would be improved... that's really all that's needed for an entry-level position. (Of course, I'd probably take 50k in Bumfuck, Egypt than 65k in NYC, purely as a question of money, if I had a family, but the demand is clustered in cities for obvious reasons. Having lived in many high cost of living areas, it's actually fun if you can figure out how to keep rent expenses low; 65k in NYC with roommates in Brooklyn is way better than 50k in Bumfuck, Egypt renting an apartment or house... if you don't have kids.)

GW

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2014, 12:51:53 PM »
HTML and CSS is easiest (front-end development). Javascript, C++, Python, Ruby can teach you foundational programming. Javascript is hot right now as companies start using NodeJS and AngularJS to handle web applications. C++ and the .net framework have stood the test of time.

In all honesty, it depends what your building and who your end user is going to be. Just pick something and go for it. And don't be afraid to fail. Even the best developers fail over and over again. It's the only way to build up your programming Kung-Fu. Just attack learning it, whatever you choose. The programming community is large and robust with tons of people willing to help you. Check your area for Meet-ups.

Again DO NOT FEAR making mistakes...Good luck!

$_gone_amok

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2014, 01:15:57 PM »
Front-end development (HTML, CSS) are easier. While back end work (server side, databases) are harder and requires much more technical training.

Another option is to learn Java, C# or Objective-C and dive head first into mobile application development.

You should also learn *NIX utilities, Git, and web software architectures frameworks.

Kaikou

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #17 on: October 15, 2015, 11:32:24 AM »
update or new discoveries

Koreth

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #18 on: October 15, 2015, 12:48:25 PM »
I will second gimp's recommendation for Python, and for the same reasons. It's an easy language to learn, and it's easty to quickly be come productive in it. Furthermore it's useful for all manner of projects, big and small, from simple little one-off scripts (download all these files, generate a big long random string to use as a password, simulate a 37-sided die), up through medium-sized applications (mailing list software, static HTML generator), to big complex applications (Reddit, Google). So it's quite versatile and powerful too.

I will furthermore second gimps suggestion of approaching the learning (at least partially) from a project-type basis. I've read books on Python, both the one's from O'Reilly, and Zed Shaw's "Learn Python the Hard Way" (which I recommend, don't let the title fool you). Books are great for teaching things like the syntax and keywords of a language, but what will cement such knowledge in your mind in a useful manner is actual application. And the best way to get that application is to be tackling problems which are interesting to you.

Louisville

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #19 on: October 15, 2015, 01:16:28 PM »
I am a 25 year Information Systems veteran. Here's what I wrote in and earlier thread about "coding":

Can the daughter really find a job "coding"?

What's coding boot camp? I've been in the information systems industry since 1996, and  "coding" doesn't really mean anything to me.  What computer languages did she learn? How long and in depth was the course(s)?

Computer programming doesn't happen in a vacuum, there's always a subject matter that a programmer is going to have to understand, so does she have any experience in business, science, administration, etc.? Was she taught any general information systems concepts like networks, databases, file systems, interfacing, etc., that she'll need to implement and deploy her "code"?

I don't want to be a wet blanket here, because I think an information systems career is one of the best bets a person can make right now. I'm just wondering what coding bootcamp is and if it's worth the time it takes to say it...

mm1970

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #20 on: October 15, 2015, 01:30:04 PM »
I just want to say that this is a useful thread.  I'm a 40-something year old engineer, and I feel like I cannot program my way out of a paper bag.  (Degree is in Chem E).

It's not totally true - I've done bits and pieces of visual basic, SQL, jmp scripting, Access - to analyze data and automate things.

But I'm not GOOD at it.

There are a couple of young guys that I work with (20's) who are GOOD at it.  Mostly Python.

I would like to be good at it.  There are data analysis type things that I do over and over.  If I were a better programmer, it would be faster for me to write a jmp script or SQL program to do it for me.  At this point though, it's honestly faster to manually do it.

I really need to work on this.  In all my spare time, ha!

Deo

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2015, 02:00:25 PM »
About me: I'm currently the head of a department of around 70 Software Engineers in one of the top technology companies in the UK.  I have been coding since I was 11 years old, and graduated from a top UK university with a masters degree in Computer Science. I'm heavily involved in the hiring process where I work, and have hired multiple ex Google and Amazon Software Engineers.  I'm passionate about programming and I spend most of my free time making my own computer games. :)

There is an important fact about programmers that is perhaps unique to the profession of Software Engineering: the effectiveness of programmers is an exponential scale:


An average programmer is worth 10 below-average programmers
A good programmer (top ~30%) is worth 10 average programmers
An excellent programmer (e.g. Google standard) is worth 10 good programmers
An amazing programmer (i.e. world class) is worth 10 excellent programmers

So, a world class programmer is worth 10,000 below-average programmers in terms of delivering value to a business. 

What do you need to get near the top end of the scale?

  • Be a math wizard. If you didn't love math at school and kick ass at it, chances are you're going to be a mediocre programmer at best
  • Be smart. Very smart. You kick ass at IQ tests
  • Have an extremely high emotional intelligence. You've got to personify approachable. You've got to be fun for others to work with.  Solo programmers, no matter how smart, are below average at delivering value in the greater scheme of things
  • Have integrity, and engender trust in others. This is essential to teamwork, and in a profession where throughput is an exponential scale, is an absolute must. This means having a great attitude, being willing to spot your own weaknesses, and having zero arrogance.
  • Have an obsessive eye for detail. The tiniest details matter a lot.
  • Be a completer finisher.
  • Be insanely passionate about making things. It needs to bring you joy.

My advice would be this: don't join the profession unless you have at least a few of the above characteristics, or else you're basically going to be delivering very little and will have a very frustrating time.
 

Quote
Ruby on Rails. I've seen people who had 0 technical background, they took a few months off work to do one of those Ruby on Rails coding bootcamps in NYC, and are now getting offers for 6 figure coding jobs.

It's certainly possible for an excellent programmer to pick up a new language in a few days. However, going from a "0 technical background" to being an effective programmer in a few months is simply not possible. 

[edit] And I forgot to answer the question!

I would recommend Python, Java or C#.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2015, 02:16:28 PM by Deo »

mm1970

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2015, 02:10:31 PM »
Quote
What do you need to get near the top end of the scale?

Be a math wizard. If you didn't love math at school and kick ass at it, chances are you're going to be a mediocre programmer at best
Be smart. Very smart. You kick ass at IQ tests
Have an extremely high emotional intelligence. You've got to personify approachable. You've got to be fun for others to work with.  Solo programmers, no matter how smart, are below average at delivering value in the greater scheme of things
Have integrity, and engender trust in others. This is essential to teamwork, and in a profession where throughput is an exponential scale, is an absolute must. This means having a great attitude, being willing to spot your own weaknesses, and having zero arrogance.
Have an obsessive eye for detail. The tiniest details matter a lot.
Be a completer finisher.
Be insanely passionate about making things. It needs to bring you joy.
So why do I still suck at programming??

:)

Deo

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #23 on: October 15, 2015, 02:18:09 PM »
Quote
So why do I still suck at programming??

I don't know - perhaps you don't own a computer? :P

robartsd

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #24 on: October 15, 2015, 02:29:50 PM »
What do you need to get near the top end of the scale?

  • Be a math wizard. If you didn't love math at school and kick ass at it, chances are you're going to be a mediocre programmer at best
  • Be smart. Very smart. You kick ass at IQ tests
  • Have an extremely high emotional intelligence. You've got to personify approachable. You've got to be fun for others to work with.  Solo programmers, no matter how smart, are below average at delivering value in the greater scheme of things
  • Have integrity, and engender trust in others. This is essential to teamwork, and in a profession where throughput is an exponential scale, is an absolute must. This means having a great attitude, being willing to spot your own weaknesses, and having zero arrogance.
  • Have an obsessive eye for detail. The tiniest details matter a lot.
  • Be a completer finisher.
  • Be insanely passionate about making things. It needs to bring you joy.

This list sounds pretty good to me. Someone who is average in all of these things could probably be an average programmer, but the kicker is that it is the product of these factors rather than the sum that predicts aptitutde for being a valuable programer. Complete lack in any one of these area will probably mean you deliver near zero value.

bobechs

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #25 on: October 15, 2015, 02:38:29 PM »
Quote
So why do I still suck at programming??

I don't know - perhaps you don't own a computer? :P

Can't he just rent, or is there a stigma associated with that too?

Deo

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #26 on: October 15, 2015, 02:48:47 PM »
Quote
Can't he just rent, or is there a stigma associated with that too?

Haha, touché. 

Well, there does need to be a love for computers and appreciation that nothing a computer does is ever inexplicable.

I think there is something to be said for owning a computer. When I was 12 and our family computer broke down, I scrubbed floors at the local corner-shop for a month to pay for the missing part. I loved my bike too, but I'm not sure I would have gone to the same length to repair it had it broken down.



« Last Edit: October 15, 2015, 02:53:35 PM by Deo »

teadirt

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #27 on: October 15, 2015, 03:15:23 PM »
I wanted to give my opinion about the freelancing option, if I could.

When I graduated last year with a CS minor, I thought I knew how to program. After about one week at a real job, though, even though I could write code, I realized I was still a complete n00b.

To me computer code is just like any other spoken language, the only difference being that code is meant to be understood by a computer. A 10 year old kid can speak perfectly understandable English, right? But could that 10 year old child be a news anchor? Or write a cookbook? Or read an intro physics textbook and understand the concepts?

My point is, knowing all the words and the correct syntax is like 10% of the battle. Software isn't code, just like a novel isn't English. Knowing what I know now after just 1 year as a developer, I wouldn't want to be a freelancer unless I had 3-4 more years under my belt. I have learned an astounding amount from others at my workplace, from architecture principles, to coding best practices, to design patterns, etc. Things that aren't part of "c++ 101", that I wouldn't even know to read up on.

I guess my point is, if you want to get really good at programming, try to land a gig where you are around people with a lot more experience than you. You will absorb their knowledge much faster than you could read it from a book.

Oh, and go to stackoverflow.com! you can thank me later.

mm1970

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #28 on: October 15, 2015, 04:08:15 PM »
Quote
So why do I still suck at programming??

I don't know - perhaps you don't own a computer? :P

Can't he just rent, or is there a stigma associated with that too?

ha ha!

My 9 year old son took his first programming camp this summer.  He already is better than me.

Perhaps next summer when he takes it, he can give me tips.  "Okay son, your mama needs help..."

stashing_it

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #29 on: October 16, 2015, 08:36:01 AM »
I'm going to join to chorus & say Python

I am an aerospace engineer who has been working in Fortran for the last 9 years, since college, because that is what everyone at my company knows.    I decided to update my skills recently, and learned python and it thinks like I think.

The nice thing about python is that a ton of stuff that I would have to manually code in Fortran,  like sorting, string functions, etc, is already done in Python

list.sort()
string.upper()


Stackoverflow is my favorite site for coding tips

I'm currently working my way through this list of  "How to become a python guru"
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2573135/python-progression-path-from-apprentice-to-guru

which is something you might be interested in after learning the basics


I have had a lot of fun doing kaggle competitions
https://www.kaggle.com/competitions

and hacker rank is pretty good for walking through a lot of basics
https://www.hackerrank.com/



« Last Edit: March 22, 2021, 05:51:34 PM by stashing_it »

robartsd

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #30 on: October 16, 2015, 08:38:22 AM »
Oh, and go to stackoverflow.com! you can thank me later.

I'll second the recommendation of stackoverflow.com. It seems that every time I'm searching for the answer to a question on Google if a Stack Exchange site is in the top 10 hits, it has the best answer.

GuitarStv

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #31 on: October 16, 2015, 08:49:09 AM »
I've never enjoyed the Python language, after a while all the hissing just blends together.

pompera_firpa

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #32 on: October 16, 2015, 09:00:31 AM »
I've never enjoyed the Python language, after a while all the hissing just blends together.

Guess you're not a fan of Parseltongue opera, then.

I second the recommendation of having a good project; I suck at just learning things for the sake of learning, I need a REASON to learn them. A Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

And honestly-- start learning whatever language you want, then learn others. In my experience, every language I learn makes me better at working in the one I knew before.

velocistar237

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #33 on: October 16, 2015, 09:11:21 AM »
What do you think of this?

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/exercism/

neo von retorch

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Re: Learning to Code: Language and freelance suggestions?
« Reply #34 on: October 16, 2015, 09:18:44 AM »
I'll second the recommendation of stackoverflow.com. It seems that every time I'm searching for the answer to a question on Google if a Stack Exchange site is in the top 10 hits, it has the best answer.

I'm always shocked when fellow "developers" have never heard of StackOverflow, and a little surprised that more company's looking to hire don't at least ask if you have a profile on there (if you do, and you're well-rated, you probably know how to code, troubleshoot AND teach.)