How to Start Coding: Top 5 Tips for Beginners

Do you love learning, enjoy solving puzzles, and have great communication skills? Programming could be the perfect profession for you! Computer programmers’ median pay in the U.S. is about $86,000 per year.

Most people use the terms “programmer” and “coder” interchangeably. Computer programmers know how to code but not all coders advance to the level of programmer.

Do you want to advance to the level of a computer programmer? You’ll need some coding experience. Learning how to code isn’t easy but it’s fun, rewarding, and worthwhile.

Are you wondering how to start coding? Here are the top five tips for beginning coders.

1. Identify Your Goals

There are different types of coding skills depending on your goals. Is your end goal software engineer or mobile app developer?

Your end goals matter because you’ll learn different coding languages for different goals. You can always go back and learn new languages later, but you’ll save a lot of steps if you start with the end in mind.

That leads us to our next step…

2. Choosing Coding Languages

Most people have heard of coding languages such as Java, JavaScript, HTML, and Python. Computers read instructions, and those instructions come in many different computer languages.

Java is one of the most prevalent computer languages used for everything from web development to app creation. Java is a good language for beginning coders because there are lots of entry-level jobs available if you know this language.

3. Learn the Fundamentals

Learn the fundamentals first. No matter which language you choose, mastering the basics is a must for coding for beginners.

You’ll need an understanding of variables, control structures, and data structures. You’ll also need to know about syntax and the software tools that help you learn faster.

Coding is all about writing programs that give instructions to computers, and most programs operate under the same underlying concepts. There are lots of great free resources on the web about coding such as this c# tesseract ocr tutorial.

Tutorials also bring up another of our top five points…

4. Great Learning Resources

There are lots of great online coding courses so you can learn right from the comfort of your own home. Try a few free online tutorials to see if you like coding. Remember that learning to code takes persistence and patience.

Although books seem old-fashioned when you’ve got everything at the touch of your fingertips, a few good reference books are a great resource.

Practice writing your code into a code editor. You can find code editors for most languages online.

5. Practice

Practice writing programs over and over until you gain some confidence.  Also, join a couple of online communities where people support each other in learning code. You can get quick answers to your questions in these online forums.

Learn How to Start Coding Now

You can learn how to start coding right now from your computer! Learning to code is tough and sometimes frustrating but also a fantastic skill to have and a must for programmers.

You’ll always be learning when you’re coding or programming because the code and programs are always changing. Don’t let that frustrate you, but keep a growth mindset.

Is technology your thing? We’ve got lots more articles like this on the blog!