A friend of mine wants to learn programming: How should he go about it?
Hey,
I got a friend who approaches me every once in a while with an interest in programming. This summer holidays it seems like is finally up for it and he asked me how he should approach it
Because he told me he wanted to build something cool on a team, I suggested to him to set away time in the summer holidays where he can completely focus on learning, sign up for free FrontendMasters (via the GH Student Dev Pack) and take the Beginner web dev courses + React Beginner + Gatsby Beginner, so that we could work together on Pageturner.
Do you have any other advice for him on learning programming and shipping first little projects (besides joining Makerlog 😉)?
I think build something practical as early as possible is the best way to learn. Especially at the beginning abstract programming concepts can often be way too theoretical and difficult to grasp. At the same time I wouldn't start with a super ambitious project when starting out.
IMHO the best approach would be something small that he can ship as quickly as possible and then expand on it every time he learns something new. That way he can immediately put the things he learns in the courses to practice on his own project.
If he has any hobbies that would be a good place to start. Fan of a sport? Collecting minerals? Learning a language? You can always start with a list of some sort. Create filters. Add animations. Later, send reminders or emails for new entries. User management. Even payments.
He could ship the smallest possible version and then use it as a playground for all the cooler, more advanced stuff he learns during the courses.
Definitely +1 for finding a project they are really interested in.
I think finding what learning format you like is a good idea - whether it's online tutorials, ebooks, youtube etc
I have a list of free resources here - https://www.nocsdegree.com/learn/
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