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Discussion on: I've Trained Programming Interns For 6+ Years, Ask Me Anything!

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angelyoung24 profile image
Angel Young

What advice would you give to somebody going into the tech industry on a nontraditional path?

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codemouse92 profile image
Jason C. McDonald

Hi Angel,

My advice would actually be the same for any path. I myself do not have a computer science degree; I'm self-training through a combination of books, courses, experimentation, trial-and-error, and a whole lot of time on Freenode IRC.

  1. Read! There are so many good books and articles out there. (The list I posted in response to @justaguy on this article is a great place to start.)

  2. Write code. It doesn't have to be good code, it just needs to be code. Apply what you read. Work on a real project if you can, either of your own creation or an open source project already out there. Find something you care about and code for it. Learn what you need to learn as you go.

  3. Read code. When you encounter something unfamiliar, look it up. Open source is, again, a great place to start. And when you find what you think is an error or an inefficiency, figure out how to fix it! Don't be shy about this. If your PR gets rejected, you still learned something and proved yourself willing to help with the project.

  4. Talk to other programmers. DEV and Freenode IRC are two great places to connect with other developers. Also, find out if there are any meetups in your area, and attend those.

  5. Share what you know with others! Answer questions on IRC. Write articles on DEV. If you make a mistake, learn from it and keep going.

Someday you'll look back and realize that you're no longer a beginner.