Learning to code is not at all easy. You may find many websites that try to push people into coding by citing it as an easy trade to master. However, it is one of the hardest skills to gather and excel at. It is more of experimentation than a guide that needs to be followed.

As a beginner, you may want to know what the journey holds, or what it’s like to progress from beginner to intermediate level. Learning experiences may vary from person to person, and you are completely free to choose your own path.

Here are 6 things you should know before you start programming. Knowing these points will give you a head start of what to expect, and how to approach programming.

Learn The Basics First 

A lot of beginners skip the fundamentals and jump directly to the shiny tools and technology. That’s not going to work in interviews or building any kind of project. You will become more confused and distracted if your fundamentals are not clear. So firstly choose the programming language you are most comfortable with (Python or C++ is good still it depends on your end goal) and understand the syntax and basic concepts (variables, conditionals, operators, loops, etc).

Make programs and build the basic foundation using your favorite language. If you are in college then colleges are good in teaching the basic concepts else you can take the help of the internet. GeeksforGeeks, Codecademy, HackerRank, etc. are good to build the basic fundamentals. Below are some useful tips to follow when you start with fundamentals. This will also build your problem-solving skills.

• • Most of the courses start with teaching the programming language, that’s good but understand how to use the programming language to solve the problems. For example how to solve the problem of the addition of two numbers.

• • Stick with one language. Don’t try to learn everything initially. Most beginners keep jumping to one language to another language which is just a waste of time. Initially, it’s good to stick with one language. If you want to become a Java developer then learn java. Learning the first language is difficult for most of newbie programmers but your brain will eventually get syntax once you start practicing every day.

• • Try to make programs every single day without leaving any gap even if it’s just one or two. Try to make small programs first and then move to the complex one but maintain consistency.

• • Adapt a good learning strategy. For example: instead of consuming all the theories first and then jumping to making the programs follow a 2:1 ratio between conceptual learning and active learning. It means after every two hours of conceptual learning spend an hour in practical exposure or active learning.

• • Make a small application or project based on fundamentals you have learned. For example, make a calculator or something that is interesting for you. Learn how to google when you get stuck somewhere.

Learn To be Patient

Patience is arguably one of the most important character traits of a programmer. You need to be someone who has the ability to stare at a computer screen for hours.

A seemingly simple problem can take hours, or even days to solve.

You can only learn by sitting down and spending hours debugging code.

I found it really difficult to develop the patience to cultivate this habit.

If you are like me, and get bored easily or have a short attention span, you will need to spend a lot of time training yourself to be patient.

Once you start to learn the art of staring at the computer screen and putting in hours to solve a problem, you are a lot closer to reaching your goal of being a good programmer.

Set a Goal & Move Towards It

With a goal, you will know exactly what you have to do (the key results or the steps) to accomplish the goal, how you will do what you have to do when you will do it, and what to expect along the way. You will even know how to avoid mistakes that routinely end other people’s careers and how to improve your chances of succeeding.

Your goal, then, is mandatory.

Finding Your Goal

Why are you interested in becoming a programmer or improving your coding skills? To find your goal, you can ask yourself the following questions, all of which proceed this question: Why do I want to learn to code or become a more skilled software engineer right now?

Am I doing it to get a job within 2-3 months, within 6–8 months, or within 1–2 years?

Am I doing it to start my own internet startup or build some kind of business?

Am I doing it for mastery, for my burning desire to become more knowledgeable and skilled in a specific area of specialization?

Whatever your goal is, make sure you do have one because it will dictate what career path you choose, what courses you take, for how long you should study, which coding school to attend, and more. 

Build Your Projects

Building your personal project is the best way to analyze and learn what you have learned. Building a project of your choice would give you a practical learning experience of the language in much detail as you would come across the implementation of the concepts that you have learned earlier and also learn how to deploy the project to be used by you and all others. Moreover, as you build your projects add it to your profile or your GitHub account, this would help you in the future when you look for a job in development.

Whether it comes to studying or coding you must do what interests you the most. You must enjoy the project area you choose so that you are passionate about it and it keeps you engage until built. If you choose something that is not of your interest you may end up giving up your project in the middle as you might eventually lack interest in it. So choose something that keeps you held upon itself like if like playing games then you might just want to develop a video game of your choice. Similarly, if you like photography you might want to build up your portfolio website showcasing your work or if you are someone who is interested in trading you might design an app or website to analyze your stock charts. Analyze and give it a thought that what you like before you begin to build.

Maintain Your Focus