Home Upgrade Search Memberlist Extras Hacker Tools Award Goals Help Wiki Contact

I want to learn to code as a job. Where do I start?

Long story short, I was pre-med in university and decided that I wanted to be an entrepreneur instead. Since October have been trying e-commerce but have run out of funds. I've been applying for jobs but most entry level positions only pay 15 an hour. My goal is to use my income to funnel into e-commerce and eventually use my money to become an investor. But my current hurdle: no cash.

A lot of people online have been saying that if you learn how to code you can earn way more at an entry-level position. I already like being on my computer anyways, so I thought this would be viable. I took math up to calc 2 w/ A's so I think I'd be sharp enough to learn. My only issue is I have no insider knowledge on what exactly employers want. "Coding" seems like an extremely broad term, and I'm not sure what is relevant and what isn't. I'd really appreciate the insight of somebody in the field or someone familiar with what skills entry level positions want from newbie coders.

Any guidance would really be really appreciated.
One of the best suggestions I have for learning how to code is Codecademy. Not only do they provide well written articles, but they also provide you with a web-panel to develop within their virtual environments. No need to install anything on your computer other than a web browser.

https://www.codecademy.com/learn

If you are looking at taking more lectures, then Classcentral will hook you up. It'll provide you with free courses (some from Ivy League schools) and connect with other databases such as EdX, freeCodeCamp, and more.

https://www.classcentral.com/

Lastly, you can use Code Wars to develop your problem solving skills. Learning to code is part of the journey, but learning how to put that knowledge into problem solving skills is another can of worms.

https://codewars.com/

I also have a thread with more resources below.

https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6261531
You'll almost certainly need a degree for any programming job, but here are some paid and free jobs.

https://www.stacksocial.com/sales/micros...n-bundle-4

freecodecamp.org

(Feb 18, 2024 08:52 AM)DramaKing Wrote:  You'll almost certainly need a degree for any programming job, but here are some paid and free jobs.

---
---

Thank you! Sorry for the delay I was IP banned for opening too many tabs.

I had heard from some online resources if you participate in projects, build programs yourself, obtain certifications, etc., it can be enough to boost your portfolio. Does that have any weight?

The main reason I don't want to go to school to learn is because I have taught myself everything up to this point. I understand bio is different than CS and math, but even in my calculus courses, I was always self taught. I don't see the point in returning to school and spending 30-40k another 2-3 years to learn CS when I could just as easily learn to code on my own. What do you think?
(Feb 19, 2024 12:11 PM)isolationboy Wrote:  

Thank you! Sorry for the delay I was IP banned for opening too many tabs.

I had heard from some online resources if you participate in projects, build programs yourself, obtain certifications, etc., it can be enough to boost your portfolio. Does that have any weight?

The main reason I don't want to go to school to learn is because I have taught myself everything up to this point. I understand bio is different than CS and math, but even in my calculus courses, I was always self taught. I don't see the point in returning to school and spending 30-40k another 2-3 years to learn CS when I could just as easily learn to code on my own. What do you think?

I have seen some programmer jobs not require a degree. Ideally what you can to do leverage the requirements is to say you're working on it and link your portfolio. Ultimately, your portfolio will hold more water once you get an interview. Understand though that the HR department is given the requirements and will likely only give you the door if you've met the requirements.

A good resource that is underused is LinkedIn. Some recruiters on there will see your profile and also the portfolio (if you link it). I would try making a good LinkedIn profile and leverage that as a more personal approach to reach out and get networked in with an organization.
Udemy (warez disallowed) is a great resource
get certified in pentesting if your goin a secuirty route if its just programming apps games etc python java and c and c++ and C# are good places to start
Hope you make it!

I didn't finish school but have always been involved in IT.

Ill share my story so it gives you some hints and path to walk if you want.

(4 months here) So first job I got when I stopped going into school (because im such an antisystem kid) was being a support IT guy, I was basically that person that wired PCs when they didn't turn on, fixed stucked paper on the printer and other shit basic support does.

(9 months here) Then I got my first tech support engineer role where I supported some ISP that had business clients, so we were doing VoIP troubleshooting, switching and routing, firewall rules, stuff like that so I learned huge experience in understanding how networks work

(6 months here) Then I migrated into a DataCenter that gave me kind of like the same experience as previous but actually I worked with handhelds and helped transportation guys deliver tortilas in the USA lmao

(18 months here) In back experiences, I've always craved for a developer job, so I started to see some youtube videos, did my first CRUD using C# and MSSQL, so I had an interview were they asked me to do a Login and CRUD stuff per user so every user could see their registries (so thats like a video of 20mins) and I got my first dev job

(24 months here) I was always super cocky because I knew I could search google and stackoverflow much faster than anyone in my previous job so I thought I was ready for the next leap, so I joined a startup that sucked and made me become a Project Manger, IT Lead, Fullstack Developer and Business Analyst, so I learned shit tons in here but it sucked because I didnt want to learn to much in very short time so I burned out lol

(3 months) worked with some spanish guys and they thought I was like a god basically so I quit because fuck them they were expecting a senior

(12 months and still working here) got a remote support engineer job and still working here, rarely get a call per day and usually ignore them and close tickets so its free money since then

(28 months ) worked for a big consultancy in IT and I was very lucky to land on a place where they had so much money that I was basically creating MVPs that at some point were going to be migrated into GCP client instances

(17 months still workign here) that big company the consultancy assigned me to absorbed me and now im a GCP Developer (uncertified) but im crazy good by now and mainly working with python + react and sometimes go

So basically, watch some youtube videos for basic stuff like having users login, logout, and let those users write something into a DB, like a blog system and that's it you're good to go for your first job, but having the experience of a support IT will help you understand and talk to the IT team so you can start there
(Feb 19, 2024 01:18 PM)MIkesballsitchy Wrote:  Udemy (warez disallowed) (warez disallowed) is a great resource
get certified in pentesting if your goin a secuirty route if its just programming apps games etc python java and c and c++ and C# are good places to start

Thanks for your advice! I found a free python course from one of the resources another commenter gave me. I've learned that it can be better for beginners because the language is more complex and easier to understand. I was planning on mastering beginner python and then moving onto javascript. From that point on, not sure, but thats the plan for now.

(Feb 19, 2024 01:19 PM)google-cat Wrote:  Hope you make it!

I didn't finish school but have always been involved in IT.

Ill share my story so it gives you some hints and path to walk if you want.

(4 months here) So first job I got when I stopped going into school (because im such an antisystem kid) was being a support IT guy, I was basically that person that wired PCs when they didn't turn on, fixed stucked paper on the printer and other shit basic support does.

(9 months here) Then I got my first tech support engineer role where I supported some ISP that had business clients, so we were doing VoIP troubleshooting, switching and routing, firewall rules, stuff like that so I learned huge experience in understanding how networks work

(6 months here) Then I migrated into a DataCenter that gave me kind of like the same experience as previous but actually I worked with handhelds and helped transportation guys deliver tortilas in the USA lmao

(18 months here) In back experiences, I've always craved for a developer job, so I started to see some youtube videos, did my first CRUD using C# and MSSQL, so I had an interview were they asked me to do a Login and CRUD stuff per user so every user could see their registries (so thats like a video of 20mins) and I got my first dev job

(24 months here) I was always super cocky because I knew I could search google and stackoverflow much faster than anyone in my previous job so I thought I was ready for the next leap, so I joined a startup that sucked and made me become a Project Manger, IT Lead, Fullstack Developer and Business Analyst, so I learned shit tons in here but it sucked because I didnt want to learn to much in very short time so I burned out lol

(3 months) worked with some spanish guys and they thought I was like a god basically so I quit because fuck them they were expecting a senior

(12 months and still working here) got a remote support engineer job and still working here, rarely get a call per day and usually ignore them and close tickets so its free money since then

(28 months ) worked for a big consultancy in IT and I was very lucky to land on a place where they had so much money that I was basically creating MVPs that at some point were going to be migrated into GCP client instances

(17 months still workign here) that big company the consultancy assigned me to absorbed me and now im a GCP Developer (uncertified) but im crazy good by now and mainly working with python + react and sometimes go

So basically, watch some youtube videos for basic stuff like having users login, logout, and let those users write something into a DB, like a blog system and that's it you're good to go for your first job, but having the experience of a support IT will help you understand and talk to the IT team so you can start there

Thank you for sharing your story! The perspective helps, truly. I'm currently going through the beginner python course on freecodecamp. For basic IT, do you usually need certification or can you learn on the job? I have a job at a jewelry store lined up right now, but if I can work in IT/tech now for at least minimum pay I'd prefer that. I want to learn tech as quickly as I can. I could do that faster if I was already in the field, instead of having to switch from being salesy at the store then do code on the nights and weekends.
freecodecamp.org is pretty good also this is good https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn
Also youtube videos etc. But depends on what you want to work with though or what do you want to be able to create. I used to learn a lot and I could see myself getting good at it but I stopped , no idea why ... I guess just pure depression ... learned a lot of html , css and javascript. I pretty much know most of html, css and I know programming basics like loops, variables, functions etc. Was fun creating that text game on freecodecamp. I have thought about getting into it again too but I don't know how hard it is to get a good job or not ....
https://github.com/charlax/professional-programming

Some topics that you should learn.
(Feb 20, 2024 02:45 AM)Ph4n70M Phr34K Wrote:  https://github.com/charlax/professional-programming

Some topics that you should learn.

Saving this for myself, thank you!
I probably can't add much value to this, but I would say pick a language high in demand as there will be more positions open. and make a portfolio before applying. "A picture is worth a thousand words"
(Feb 18, 2024 08:52 AM)DramaKing Wrote:  You'll almost certainly need a degree for any programming job, but here are some paid and free jobs.

https://www.stacksocial.com/sales/micros...n-bundle-4

freecodecamp.org

This actually isn't true. Businesses could care less what degree or certs you have. Your portfolio along with networking is what's going to get you hired. There are coding bootcamps (some free, some paid) that will give you everything you could possibly need to get your foot in the door. The paid ones have the better networking and you also get career coaches until hired. It's worth noting that the most important thing to build is your portfolio. You can have a degree and you'll never get hired without that portfolio.
How much time available do you have on daily basis ?
HF Member Since 2010
(Feb 20, 2024 02:45 AM)Ph4n70M Phr34K Wrote:  https://github.com/charlax/professional-programming

Some topics that you should learn.

coming from you it seems more reasonable but this kinda link for once has been more decent than I usually expect them to be. I'm looking through it but I'm very glad it highly reccommends SICP (which aligns to my believe) and my second favourite book The Algorithms. Very good share.


To answer OP, coding is problem solving using languages as tools and that is all it is. Best way to learn is by solving problems (kinda like maths).
As you are a complete beginner maybe making one or two ToDo app like projects might be valuable to get very basic concepts down, but i would move away from the as fast as possible and try to tackle atleast something medium to hard difficulty. As in most skills you will learn the most the more you challenge yourself. I personally believe there is a lot of value understand programming from the very fundamentals so I'm a big fan of making things like interpreters, your own baby programming language, etc.... There is great resources for these subjects aswell. It might sound insane to do something like this but it will be way more valueable than making the 20th fake useless website.


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread / Author Replies Views Last Post
by yby1973Mar 30, 2026 04:29 PM 3 467 Mar 30, 2026 04:29 PM
Last Post: Nativeplays
by iGalaxyAug 26, 2012 07:15 AM 14 805 Aug 26, 2012 07:15 AM
Last Post: iGalaxy
by CozymanJul 8, 2012 02:30 PM 6 136 Jul 8, 2012 02:30 PM
Last Post: Cozyman