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10 Comments

Where to begin in the tech world when trying to self learn?

Hey guys, when I was a kid and first got a pc (2003), I was addicted. My parents would dictate a time because I would spend all my time on the net. I learnt Photoshop quickly and became a graphic designer. I always wanted to learn coding as a kid, but found it too daunting. I wish I had more interest and regret not using that time to follow through with it.

Now at 29 years old I have nothing but time. I was wondering if someone can put me on a path? No goals really, just want to get to a level where I can make web apps and programs. No vision really, just want to be "tech" literate. Any suggestions or tips are appreciated!

  1. 2

    I recently taught myself to code and if I was to do it again I would start with Free Code Camp as the very first thing is did. There’s a really helpful community there.

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      Hi,

      Did you complete Freecodecamp, I'm looking for a coding buddie.

      Regards,

      1. 1

        I did. Unfortunately, I can't commit to being a coding buddy. Where I do have enough time to comment on IH posts, I, unfortunately, don't have enough time to commit to something like this. It's a great idea to find a buddy on this endeavor; I'd suggest reaching out on the Free Code Camp forum. Best of luck!

  2. 1

    I would recommend going through one of Free Code Camp's programs to see if you like it enough to go further with a paid course.

  3. 1

    Hey, I want to tell you that it is never too late. 29 is still young!

    Now, If you are looking to learn new technologies like AI, AR, VR, I built a resource of resources which you can take a look at. It's called, Learningin.tech.

    It's totally free and has 12+ categories with practical based resources.

  4. 1

    Hey Harry! You've come to the right community, IndieHackers is awesome.

    First, I would pick something that you're interested in, then learn to code or build something around that. Motivation runs out, but if you're genuinely interested and curious about something you'll keep on going. Tying a passion to your coding journey will really help. It's how I got started and how I'm still going strong today.

    I'm actually writing How to get your first SAAS customer and its a simple and iterative process to building a product that generates MRR (Monthly recurring revenue). If you're intersted, drop your email and I'll notify you when it launches. Otherwise, I'd be happy to answer any more questions you have!

    Goodluck, and remember, small daily steps compound quickly!

  5. 1

    Hi, Harry,

    I've met the same question as you before. I'd like to give you my take of "tech" literate besides learning coding. It's certainly a plus if you can code, but it's not necessary if you just want to be tech literate, not wanting to be a professional coder in your career.

    In any digital project, there are usually three roles in a team: coder, designer and product manager. I suggest you be a product manager instead of coder for your next step. In that case, you can certainly learn a lot from IH or product hunter community.

    If you need go one step deeper in to actually building some product, there are vast choice of blockchain projects which is openly welcoming new members to join like MetaGame (https://metagame.wtf/) where I'm leading a China team for MetaGame. You can take whatever role you want in MetaGame to contribute.

    Learning from Youtube or twitter is very difficult as you need peer, challenge, and feedback besides watching endless content flow. So I suggest you self-learn by a way called PBL (Project Based Learning) to work on some actual projects like MetaGame to gain working experience.

    BTW, if you want to be literate in coding some basic stuff, I think you can use notion.so to make some to-do-list etc. for you to understand more about logics of programming. Low-code or no-code tools like notion are very good for us to understand tech. Thanks,

    Jason

  6. 1

    hey,

    I have a lot of success stories on my page if you want some inspiration :) https://www.nocsdegree.com

    Some recs:

    • Net Ninja (Youtube)
    • Scrimba (online platform where you can pause the video and edit the code!)
    • Colt Steele's Udemy course

    I have a lot of resources listed here:

    https://www.nocsdegree.com/learn

  7. 1

    I would start from going through some tutorials on Javascript. Simple language, that you can use both on frontend and backend. Language is main tool for developer, it makes sense to start from it.
    Then html/css. It's an easy part. But a lot fun making your first site.
    Then probably, you should learn some modern and simple frontend framework, like React.
    From backend side it will be NodeJS and ExpressJS framework.

    Then make goal to build simple SPA site with REST API. Then iterate on it, add database, auth, data validation, new pages, etc. You will be exploring new things on every step, but in the end It will grow to some real project. At this point you will be able to find a developer junior position and make money with programming, if you want it.

    Whole process will take few months if you will persistent enough.

    Any kind of courses, youtube videos, articles, mentors will help you on every step.

  8. 1

    Hey Harry,
    I highly recommend you to follow this course : https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-web-development-bootcamp/

    Good luck on your new journey!

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