After two weeks of in-class prep, and months of pre-work, the start of my Sabio web developer training is this week. While I am nervous, I’m more excited, and in conversations with my fellow Sabio Fellows and professional developer friends, there are a few key things that you should keep in mind if you’re learning to code.
1.) Just start.
Start something. Lots of people make up excuses for why they can’t start learning to code: they want to “make sure” they learn the “right” thing or don’t know where to start. Once you start learning something you’ll have a better idea of where you want to go, don’t make up excuses for why you need to wait.
2.) Get used to being frustrated.
Every profession has its quirks, and from my very limited experience, and the much more extensive experience of my friends, it would seem that one of the quirks of working as a developer is that you are always frustrated in trying to solve the puzzles presented in your code. That’s part of the job.
3.) Always be learning.
There’s more than one way to do just about everything it seems, so you have to keep yourself open to learning if you want to be a developer. The learning, according to my friends with more experience, never stops.
4.) Give yourself a break.
You may not understand everything the first time, or the second time — or the third time. But maybe on the fourth time it’ll all make sense, and then you can build on that the next time. It’s ok if you don’t move as fast as you think you should, as long as you keep moving.
5.) Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
How are you going to learn if you don’t ask questions? The more you ask, the more you know.
6.) Google it.
This is related to question #5, it seems like every developer has a blog, there is so much information out there to answer your questions, if only you would look.
To learn more about Sabio click here. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @SaraChicaD if you have any questions and watch this video for more:
Sara Inés Calderón is a journalist and writer who lives between Texas and California. Follow her on Twitter @SaraChicaD.
