Learning to Code: Helpful Advice for Absolute Beginners and Prospective Bootcamp Students
By: Rasha Baig
Tags: HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Codingbootcamp

Three weeks ago, I began a 12-week software engineering bootcamp with the intention of changing my career. Coming from a nontechnical background, I was excited for the opportunity to build out a new skill-set but also a little nervous. Is 12 weeks enough time? Could I do it?

The more I talked to my classmates, instructors, and other developers, I realized it wasn’t about how long the bootcamp is. Technologies are always changing, and you will continue to learn well beyond the classroom experience. The most important skill a bootcamp will teach you is how to learn. And if you have the determination and dedication, you can do it.

So far, the program has been challenging and incredibly satisfying at the same time. Learning a bit of knowledge and then being able to build something out of it shortly thereafter has been really enjoyable. Below I’ve included some advice and insight from my experience for other beginners who are also coming from a nontechnical background.

Learning the Command Line Interface (CLI)

The CLI can definitely look intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll learn to love it. I would recommend taking the Codecademy course called Learn the Command Line. It helped me get really comfortable with commands, without jumping directly into the terminal. After the course, you’ll have practiced the commands enough to remember the ones you’ll be using most frequently.

Text Editors

There are many programming tools available, and investing the time to find what works for you is certainly worth it. After trying a few different text editors, I landed on Visual Studio Code. Learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript at the same time means learning a lot of new syntax all at once. Visual Studio Code is really helpful, because it provides information about what different CSS properties and Javascript methods do. In addition, Visual Studio Code extensions like Quokka, Prettier, and Live Server can be helpful as well. These tools have helped me focus more on writing code and less time debugging, formatting, and googling syntax.

Demystify with Chrome & Developer Tools

Thankfully, you don’t need to spend time wondering what’s happening behind the scenes with your CSS. You can right-click and inspect a website you like to see how it’s made or inspect your project’s elements and play around with different CSS properties to see how they change your layout. Chrome also has helpful extensions like Pesticide that can help resolve CSS layout bugs.

Break it Down

At first a problem can seem overwhelming to solve, however a few simple steps can make it much easier to tackle. If you can talk through the steps needed to solve the problem, you can certainly translate your words into code.

1. Define functionality. What do you need to accomplish?

2. Define a process. What steps do you need to get there?

3. Use pseudocode. Pseudocode is great for thinking though your process and building a framework for your logic. It also makes it a lot easier to look at code you’ve written in the past and remember what you were trying to accomplish.

4. Use console.log().If you’ve written some code and can’t figure out why something isn’t working, try using console.log() to figure out where your code is broken.

5. Organize and Pay Attention to Detail. Following naming and formatting conventions like using camelCase in JavaScript will make it less likely to run into trouble. Using meaningful names for variables and functions is also a great way to avoid getting lost in your code.

Practice and Reinforce

I found that it’s really easy to understand a concept, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to implement it. Practice what you learn with code challenges, projects, or code-alongs. Don’t worry about not knowing enough to start building a project. You’ll most likely end up surprising yourself with how much you do know.

Also practice speaking code. This will help you learn all the new terminology, which will also help you set up your Google searches better. It’s also good practice for the real world, where you’ll probably have to communicate your code to your team.

We All Learn Differently

Reading technical documentation can be difficult at first, especially if you are coming from a nontechnical background. Definitely do practice reading and using resources like MDN, but if you need a visual try watching videos to help you build a foundation. I’ve purchased a couple Udemy courses that I’ve been following along, that have been great. The Web Developer Bootcamp is one that I would highly recommend.

Meet Other Developers

There is so much you can learn from your peers. Going to Meetups is a great way to meet other developers who are just as passionate as you are about learning something new. If you are self-learning, it’s also a great way to build a community for yourself.

Don’t Compare Yourself

Everyone starts at a different place, and we have our unique strengths and weaknesses. Rather than comparing yourself to someone else, reflect on what you know now that you didn’t know a couple weeks ago. If you enroll in a boot-camp, you’ll see that everyone has a different level of experience. Focus on developing your skills rather than catching up to your neighbor.