Code Newbie

This article was originally published on 07/17/2019 There’s a long list of headlines telling you that you need to learn to code, that coding is a smart and lucrative investment. And it’s true that the prospects look promising — computer and information technology occupations are projected to grow faster than all other occupations . But “learning to code” is vague, and the industry is huge. What exactly are you supposed to learn, and what kinds of jobs are available? Let’s add some shape to this idea of “learning to code” and breakdown some of your best options. We’ll divide the world of coding into four categories: web applications, mobile application, game development, and hardware development. Web Applications : If you’ve been on any social media website, or had to log in to a website, you’ve used a web application, or a web app for short. For the purposes of this piece, we’ll use “web app” and “website” interchangeably. Web apps can get very complicated, but they’re generally...

This article was originally published on 07/16/2019 A portfolio is supposed to be a body of work that you’re proud of, something that shows off your skills and talents, plus puts you in your best light. The thing that makes a portfolio hard for a person just learning how to code is that they probably don’t have a body of work that they’re proud of yet. Instead, they may have just a few projects from tutorials, maybe a few clones of products that already exist, and a handful of math problems they have coded solutions for. So, how do you turn this into a portfolio? The thing to keep in mind as a new developer without professional experience is that your biggest value is most likely not going to be your technical skills. A Twitter clone you’ve built from a YouTube video isn’t going to get an employer excited, but what you do have is the ability to learn things quickly and a deep understanding of the things you do know. You are ready to roll up your sleeves and dive in and take on a...

This article was originally published on 07/15/2019 There are tons of programming languages out there. But how do you know where to start? Which ones should you learn first and prioritize? The experts at Codenewbies walk the Afrotech audience through how to structure their coding journey. If you’ve decided to learn to code, then the next step is figuring out what language to learn. There are hundreds of languages you could learn, and if you end up coding professionally, you’ll most likely learn more than one. But how do you pick the first one to focus on? There are a few things to keep in mind. The first is how easy the language is to learn. Learning anything for the first time can be challenging, and it helps if we can connect the new thing we’re learning to something already familiar to us. For programming languages, one way to implement that strategy is to find a language that feels like English. If you saw or ran the following code, what do you think it would do? print “hello”...

This article was originally published on 06/19/2019 Learning to code is a skill that feels universal, accessible, and almost required. People who have never seen themselves as technologists are now contemplating entering the software development field without taking the time to evaluate their options and determine if they should learn to code. The thing is that it all comes down to timing. If you contemplate and determine that the time is now, here are some things you should consider: Are you financially prepared? There are plenty of free and low-cost programs to help you learn to code. Getting started is the easy part. However, the journey to learning how to code to the point of getting hired as a developer is much more difficult. You’ll be faced with two paths on this journey: self-teaching or enrolling in an intensive program. Intensive programs come in different shapes. Many traditional colleges and universities now offer continuing education programs in software development and...