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Emmanuel Akanji
Emmanuel Akanji

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Building a career path to software development with boot.dev

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Hey, new to the world of software engineering and tired of watching several tutorial videos on coding after watching them, you keep asking yourself what do I learn next. There are many resources out there that gives you information on different tools and languages but most of the time they never give you a particular order in which you should learn them.

Many new learners after watching hours of YouTube videos, find out they can’t build the most basic applications when they start a project alone. There’s nothing worse than wandering around from programming language to programming language and framework to framework trapped in the “tutorial hell”. Early on in my career, I was once like that, at the sight of a new programming language I get the urge to want to try it out. Not to say it’s a bad thing but for a beginner, this won’t help you grasp the concepts you need, after learning the concepts of programming language with one language, build things on your own to ensure you’ve grasped the concepts you just learned, only then can you switch to a different language.
The best way to learn is to write real code through building projects on your own.

About Boot.dev

This is why I’m introducing you to boot.dev, it’s a one-stop platform to help you learn about computer science concepts without the bore of a college degree or the rigor or fast pace of a Bootcamp. And as our world is becoming more tech-literate every day, it is gradually becoming the in thing to learn how to code. Naturally, an understanding of computer science concepts would go a long way to differentiate you from the average developer.

So if you’re a beginner looking for where to kick-start or a competent developer looking to refresh your knowledge of computer science concepts and fundamentals, you should get started with boot.dev.

About the Curriculum offered

Boot.dev offers a simple, linear curriculum that’s designed to prepare you for an entry-level role in backend development. And below is a list of topics offered in the curriculum.

  • Learn to code in JavaScript.
  • Learn Graphics in HTML5 Canvas
  • Learn About HTTP
  • Learn Python
  • Learn Object Oriented Programming
  • Building an SEO Link Analyzer in Python
  • Learn Algorithms
  • Learn Data Structures
  • Learn About Advanced Algorithms
  • Building a Maze Solver in Python
  • Building a Personal Project 1
  • Learn Go
  • Building a Social Media Backend in Go
  • Learn about Cryptography
  • Learn about Functional Programming
  • And Finally a Capstone Project This Approach of project-based learning has been proven to help students have a good grasp of things they learn. One thing I found interesting is the JavaScript course, I personally detest JavaScript but they way it's explained here make it easy to understand and grasp. I also took great interest in their cryptography course, as I'm not from a computer science background I have to comb through the internet and YouTube for useful resources to help me learn these concepts.

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How to get started

To get started with this wonderful curriculum you just need to visit boot.dev and then signup with your GitHub account if you have one or you google account, I’m sure everyone has one and if you don’t have a google account you can create one at google.com, then you signup with either of the accounts that you have.

You have access to the first 2 chapters of every course on Boot.dev are totally free and open. The more advanced chapters are also free, but only in "sandbox mode". While in sandbox mode you can read the lessons, write and run code, you just can't pass-off the assignments. To get access to the entire platform you would be required to pay either a monthly plan of $29, a yearly plan of $192, or a one-time payment of $499. I personally fill this curriculum is worth the price and should very well get you ready for your entry-level job as a backend developer.

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Support

A good thing about boot.dev is its support community there on Discord that provides access to other learners like you and also access to mentors who are always ready to provide assistance whenever you get stuck, There is something magical about learning with others as the motivation provided by a good group of peers is strong. You can keep each other accountable and move forward.

Get started today! Click here

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