December 30, 2024
Learn To Code
I started working with WordPress sites back in 2012. I had basic HTML knowledge but didn’t do anything complicated with marketplace themes developed by others. Eventually, I decided I needed a serious hard skill to make an income from. Bitcoin at the time was also on a downtrend. And while I had sworn never to get into computer science, I realized that I would have to if I wanted to learn a skill in the shortest amount of time with a limitless cap on how much I could earn from it.
So, following in the footsteps of my NASA father, I started my path to be a web dev mercenary, and taught myself how to code while Uber driving in D.C. for a couple of months. I would play radio songs in the car for passengers, while listening to advanced JavaScript lessons on YouTube with an earpiece. It was a means to an end that landed my first job in Newport News as a Multimedia Specialist and Programmer working on Army Virtual Learning Environment (AVLE) lessons for the U.S. Army Engineer School. My starting pay was $17.75 / hour that I was able to negotiate to $26 / hour 6 months later. And within 5 years I made it to $62 / hour. During that time I also taught my wife how to code, and she, too, has enjoyed a successful web development career.
By teaching her I was able to distill all of the lessons I learned into a syllabus that can get you started on the path to a coding career. You have to be committed though. Hungry to learn. Disciplined to keep going.
Step 1: Sign Up For Codecademy
Codecademy offers a treasure trove of immersive lessons you can dive into. It even comes with a terminal emulator that you can input command lines for real coding experience. While the catalogue of languages and subjects they offer are extensive, stay on track with the following course selections.
Lesson 1: Learn HTML
HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is the first language you need to learn. It’s the foundational building blocks for developing websites or software; the site structure.
Lesson 2: Learn CSS
CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a style sheet language used to create visually appealing layouts structured by HTML.
Lesson 3: Intermediate CSS
It’s equally important that you also learn how to create dynamic websites that are animated and responsive to mobile, tablet, or desktop viewport sizes.
Lesson 4: JavaScript
JavaScript is next language you will need to learn in order to bring a website to life by manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM), which is all of the HTML elements on the website. Mastering JavaScript will also enable you to easily learn other programming languages like Java, PHP, and C#.
Lesson 5: Intermediate JavaScript
After learning the basics, it’s time to advance your JavaScript skills. Here you’ll learn how to modularize your code to be reusable, interact with APIs, and debug errors. Locating and debugging bugs is the most important thing to learn here.
Lesson 6: Learn SQL
SQL, or Structured Query Language, is a language used to manage data. Whether you’re creating websites, applications, or software, you’ll need to learn how to interact with databases. As you grow with experience, you’ll become more valuable if you can manage thousands of records.
And that’s it! It’s important that you stay on this path. You can return later to check out the other courses, but the ones I’ve listed are the foundational lessons you need to learn that will enable you to eventually select advanced career tracks like being a React programmer, or building custom PHP websites, or converting Flash courses into JavaScript as a software developer.
Step 2: W3 Schools Tutorials
This step reinforces what you’ve learned. These tutorials include quizzes to help you solidify your knowledge. They also serve as a great reference for coding questions. Bookmark these pages:
- HTML Tutorial: The language for building web pages
- CSS Tutorial: The language for styling web pages
- JavaScript Tutorial: The language for programming web pages
- SQL Tutorial: A language for accessing databases
Step 3: Build A Portfolio
You’ll create several portfolio projects while completing the Codecademy course. Upload these to GitHub, a safe and professional repository for your work. For more advanced projects, I recommend The Odin Project:
It’s also crucial that you learn how to resize images under 250 kb for your projects. Basic Photoshops skills will go a long way.
Tools You’ll Need:
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code: Use this to write your code.
- Live Server Plugin: Install this in VS Code to launch your projects locally in a browser.
- GitHub: Post your code and portfolio projects here.
- PorkBun: For domain registrations.
- Bootstrap: A powerful CSS Framework for creating responsive websites.
Additional Help:
For extra guidance, check out DesignCourse on YouTube. It’s run by my friend, Gary Simons.