How I learned to Code

This is how I learned to code. It may not have been the quickest or most efficient path, but it worked for me and was completely free. This is focused strictly for the Python programming language, some resources below are language agnostic however.

Many times I have been asked how I learned so I have provided the below resources for how I got started. I am completely self taught and have never taken a formal computer science course at any academic institution, hence I believe this list can aid anyone in learning.

Codeacademy

Everyone has to start somewhere and this was where I began. It was strictly for syntax and is free for python 2. One can easily pick up python 3 (just uses parentheses for print statements etc), but the syntax for each is very similar for the basics.

I completed the course in its entirety (the free version).

MIT 6.00 Intro to CS

This youtube playlist by Prof. Eric Grimson is an excellent free resource. It is an older set of videos, however this helps gets one into the mind of the computer scientist and is a more formal introduction that I found very helpful.

I watched and took notes for all 24 lectures.

Project Euler

Project Euler was a great resource for testing out in the “real world” what I had learned from Codeacademy and MIT 6.00. This is more geared to those with a math background like myself, however the first 50 practice problems are great to get started with.

I solved the first 50 problems over a period of time and the most valuable thing I learned here was being able to parse an english question into a programmable answer.

Python Standard Library

The Python standard library is an excellent resource, period.

I read, took notes, and toyed with examples in the docs throughout the tutorial.

Packages

When comfortable with basic python, if you are interested in DE, learn pandas.

I did not know it at the time, but I began my journey truly understanding the software I was working with when I started using 3rd party packages. It is much easier to look at simple python packages (maybe not pandas at first) and what those developers made to see how others write code.

Conclusion & Quotes

It is hard. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Don’t Give Up. Google is your friend. Structure your thoughts in a concise way. Adopt a growth mindset. Ask questions the smart way. I leave you with the following quotes:

“If you knew success was a certainty, what would you attempt to do?” - Anonymous

“I’m pretty tenacious when it comes to problems.” - Roger Penrose

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” - Oscar Wilde