How to learn to program?

There are many resources out there to help you get into the world of programming, learn the basics, or learn a new language or framework. But there are two problems: How do you really take up learning and not just be tempted? And how can you make learning really effective?

In fact, there are only three rules to remember for a successful learning strategy: what does computer engineer do

Go for a habit, not a goal

Learning alone brings suffering

Create

And now more about each of the points.

1. Concentrate on building habits, not goals.

We are used to perceiving the goal of any activity as an end in itself (excuse the tautology), but we need to get rid of this habit. If you set yourself the goal of losing 30 kilograms in 3 months, you can earn a persistent aversion to all fitness clubs in the world, hate diet bread and oatmeal, and flinch from a burger dreamed of in a dream. Will not work. It is much more effective to form a habit in oneself - to a different diet, to a different lifestyle, to a different schedule, without running every minute to the scales and not counting the calories in a restaurant with suffering.

The same thing works with programming. If you want to become a web developer in 21 days, you get nothing but frustration. If you say to yourself: “I need to devote 20-30 hours a week to programming and do it every day” (not “in order to”, but “because I like doing it”), in the end you will achieve a goal that even did not dream.

The principle of a gradual increase in the load works here (yes, like in sports). Start with 15 minutes of programming lessons per day. If you feel you can do more, increase the duration to 20 minutes. Don't try to leapfrog your own possibilities by running 10-hour marathons of coding - this may give you a false sense of satisfaction, but it will end up being tired.

Your goal: not to set a goal, but to develop gradually.

2. Learning alone = pain and suffering.

Anyone who is already a developer will tell you that programming is a social thing. It requires a community and a more experienced companion.

Experienced mentor

While at university, I worked for a small startup. It so happened that in one summer of work there I learned much more than in a year of study. There is some magic in working with a more experienced colleague that really speeds up the learning process . Working together reveals secrets that you could not have learned by studying the subject theoretically or even in practice, but on your own. This is why mentoring isn't going anywhere, no matter how independent teaching you are.

Community of like-minded people

My starting points for entering the developer community were my university's local student organization and online membership in HackerNews.

In the community, I haven't learned anything new about classes or objects. But I learned that no one likes JavaScript, that Rubyists are such hipsters in programming, and that in large corporations, local coffee shops look like methamphetamine laboratories. In general, here I learned to speak.

And here I learned not only to work as a programmer, but also to feel like one.

3. Create!

In my first year of studying web development, I created several projects:

• Clone Digg;

• Online store application (on Rails 4, joint development);

• GeekSquad style application;

• Online class;

• Application for learning foreign words

Realistic projects are important for many reasons, but one of the main ones is really fun and enjoyable.

In traditional education, little attention is paid to creating independent projects, and in vain.

4. Don't die out

This is the secret, fourth point, which is available to those who read the post to the end.

Chances are, there will come a moment when you want to quit programming to hell. Like everything that means anything in this life, programming is sometimes difficult and sometimes makes you feel like an idiot. This is why the first point is important:  Don't worry about how far you've come and how long you need to develop to reach the ideal.  Remember only what you have already done. Remember that this is part of your daily life. Then you won't burn out and disappear.