Hello DEV Community!
I'm Richa, and I'm about to begin my journey as an Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) student.
Before starting college, I'm building my foundation in programming and computer science. I'm currently learning through Harvard's CS50x and exploring concepts like C, Python, algorithms, and problem-solving.
I have previous experience with Python and SQL from school, and I'm excited to take my skills further by building projects, learning new technologies, and understanding how software and hardware come together.
My goals for this journey:
- Build strong computer science fundamentals
- Create meaningful projects
- Explore AI, robotics, and technology
- Learn from the developer community
- Document my progress along the way
Excited to begin this new chapter and grow as a developer. 🚀
Top comments (6)
Okay. What is up with this Harvard CS50X? I see it everywhere.
A lot of younglings are drawn to that.
I checked it out, it hammers young ones with nonsense (one youngling here on dev.to was seriously led into the bushes by those people).
Is this course mass marketed to people?
Is there some sort of PR/marketing/google ad campaign?
Also... disregarding the fact that random uni courses on C without proper in-person mentorship will just confuse newcomers more...
I do not even understand why people are listening to Harvard. I mean... Harvard?!?! Seriously?!?!
It is like... sitting down with your divorce lawyer during discovery, and he suddenly bursts out and starts talking some opinionated things about cpu pipelining while the other side's lawyers try easing your pain with
Yeah... MIT was his dream, but his dad forced him to be a lawyer. Don't worry it'll pass. It generally takes circa 5 minutes and he'll back mentally. Just keep up a smile and treat him like he's a programmer God..As I stated already to another youngling:
The most important step - I personally think, not a law of nature - as a newcomer to programming is to put yourself into the right mood and mindset.
Search for the TV show Parks & Recreation and focus on April Ludgate.
Become April Ludgate.
Learn how to eyeroll and not take people seriously.
It is really necessary to learn this, because this defense mechanism will keep alive your innate skill of skepticism
Skepticism is the most important in this industry, because most education materials, tech write ups and articles are marketing/PR. Heck, a lot of them are even about directly taking money from you (buy this course!) or making you the product (data harvesting).
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I agree that it's important to stay skeptical and not assume any course has all the answers. I'm using CS50 as a starting point because it gives me some structure while I'm beginning my journey. I'll definitely be exploring other resources and, more importantly, building projects along the way to learn from real experience. I appreciate the advice!😊
Don't feel down if it seems that the Harvard course is non-structured and starts feeling like marshes of Louisiana.
Don't feel frightened - imo - if it confuses you. It tried to cram too many things into one course, aka... take it as a man-made product instead of a gospel. There are good things in it, there are bad things in it, and maybe the teachers themselves have heavy biases.
Nowadays research is not peer-reviewed... well teaching was never peer-reviewed so it is highly subjective. They might claim that the course is good for you, but they have no evidence. Don't forget that. They cannot prove or guarantee to you that the course will work for you.
Welcome to the journey! 🚀 One thing that helped me over the years: build projects earlier than you think you’re ready. Even small projects will teach you lessons that books and courses can’t. Keep sharing your progress—I hope you’ll enjoy looking back at these first posts a few years from now.
Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it.😊 I'll try to start building projects as early as I can, even if they're small. Hopefully, I'll have plenty to look back on in a few years.
That’s exactly the right mindset. Small projects have a way of turning theory into intuition. Wishing you a fun and rewarding journey!