learn to code

learn to code Learning new skills can be frustrating. The natural ups and downs on the path to progress can cause learners to become stuck, encounter mental blocks, or even give up altogether. As a former college professor in the field of education, I can say with certainty, a little knowledge about educational psychology goes a long way when you want to be a successful student of code. With a few tips, you can take charge of your learning and persevere.tischset Reasonable GoalsClever marketing will make you think you can learn Python in a day or JavaScript in a week. The truth is you probably cant, and thats okay. If you are a beginning coder, there is a lot to learn. Sure you could memorize vocabulary words for key concepts, but there is no getting around the fact that it takes time to process the logic of writing programs and practice to make your code work. You have to start with reasonable goals, both short-term and long-term.Your short-term goals might be to work through the In troduction to jQuery section of Code Academy this week or solve two Code War challenges over the weekend. Short-term goals are incredibly important because they give you a sense of accomplishment to motivate you to complete the long-term goals. Your long-term goal might be to complete the Front End Certificate for FreeCodeCamp in 8 months with a career goal of getting your first developer job in a year. Be sure you give yourself a realistic timeframe to complete your goals. A timeframe keeps you on task, as long as it is sensible. If the Udemy course you are taking has over 40 hours of videos, an unrealistic goal is to sit at the computer for 20 hours over two days and complete it. Be Picky With the Resources You ChooseThe resources that are available to learn code are vastI just looked at a blog post that referenced over 400 free courses to take in April 2018 alone And thats a good thing. With so much variety, you can afford to be picky. Not every course or project is going to fit your needs, so dont try to force yourself into it. The result will fruchtwein likely be frustration and the feeling that you just dont have what it takes. Knowing your learning style will help you immensely. Think about how you best learn new information and always play to those strengths. People generally have a few dominant learning styles with the most common being auditory (do you listen to a lot of audio books or podcasts), verbal/linguistic (would you rather read the book instead of listen to it), visual (do you color code information, do you prefer figures and diagrams), or kinesthetic (do you learn by doing manipulating and building). If you are an auditory or verbal/linguistic learner, many resources are going to fit your needs like FreeCodeCamp, Code Academy, Udemy courses, developer podcasts. But if you are a visual or kinesthetic learner, you might need a different type of approach. For learning JavaScript, a visual learner might like Grasshopper. A kinesthetic learner might enjoy the JavaScript 30 Challenge by WesBos or Watch and Code by Gordon Zhu. Whatever your style, be sure to evaluate the resources you choose so that they meet your needs. Build Early and OftenThere is really no way around it. If you want to be a developer, you have to build. Experts say that you need to practice a skill for over 60 days consecutively in order for it to become a habit, and it takes over 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something. In other words, the mora you practice, the quicker you learn. The good news is, you dont have to be an expert. You just have to be able to build and troubleshoot at the beginning. Heres where goal setting is important how many hours per week or month can you realistically set aside for building? Once you have some coding basics down, you will naturally become inquisitive about how to do something on a website or application. Take those inquiries and make them a reality. One night out of curiosity, I looked up how to play audio files on a website, so I built a quick page with my top 5 list of songs to code to (here). It welches a small, manageable project that used very beginner level code and took just a couple of hours to build. Thats what is amazing about being a developer. If you can think of it, you can build it. What are you interested in besides code? Are you a dog trainer? Or a ghost hunter? Maybe a ballroom dancer? Whatever it is, you can build something around it. Youre a developerGet InvolvedMy favorite part of the Harry Potter series is that Harry is not alone. Learning magic, like code, is hard, especially when the most evil wizard of all time is trying to kill you, but Harrys friends Ron and Hermione give him strength and motivation, and eventually they defeat You-Know-Who. This makes sense from the theoretical perspective of social constructivism that we construct our knowledge through interactions with others, where each of us has strengths. Thats t he goal of most study groups to create a shared community of coders from various backgrounds with a variety of strengths. While everyone is generally working on their own projects, we happily help each other out when the need arises, and members love to collaborate on projects together. If you arent sure how to find a study group, start with some online groups and see if there is FreeCodeCamp chapter in your area. I attend their study groups regularly.Study groups are one thing. Meetups are another. My local JavaScript and Python groups have monthly meetings with guest speakers that both teach and inspire with a range of topics and projects, and the JavaScript meetings always have food which is a positiv I also attend events sponsored by WomenWhoCode. They have great workshops, code sessions, speakers, hack-a-thons, and put on a fabulous 2-day conference in the summer, and they started social events Who doesnt want to see the next big superhero movie with 50 of your tech friends? Jo in meetup.com and see whats available in your area. Contributing to these groups is the best way to overcome imposter syndrome, the feeling that you are a fraud. Final ThoughtsLets face it learning to code is hard. Its much more than a set of foreign languages - its a system of thinking, transforming that thinking into programs that work, and if you are lucky, youll have a flair for design on top of that. The journey is going to be long and frustrating at times, but you can do it. Always set reasonable goals. Evaluate resources to meet your needs. Build projects based on your inspiration. Get involved in the coding community. Most importantly, take time to reflect on how far you have come. Youre doing great. Related Articles Around the Web 11 Websites To Learn To Code For Free In 2017 Hour of Code Anybody can learn. Start today Codecademy Learn to code One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hired a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 million construction employees are women.pBut the construction industry has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel Innovation/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supported by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to exceed $1.45 trillion in 2023/a. However, most constructio n companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individual contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities/h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help drive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive option for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalar ies for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of kofferverstrker welders ($71,067), instrumentation technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or higher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to build something from the ground u p. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.