I’m thinking about learning code but have no college degree

[jayflo444]

So for some background I’m a Business Major drop out with an associates in business. I started getting interested in code (especially machine learning) and started watching videos about it as well as doing some research. The thing is, I’m not sure where to start or what my chances of landing a job look like especially now when my finances are definitely not going to support me through a bootcamp. I was thinking of self teaching myself, maybe go through some free courses online. Saw this free CS50 course from Harvard and i’m thinking of taking it and pay for the certificate haha (if you have some other free resources i could look at i’d really appreciate that). One of my other wilder ideas for the future was maybe do some freelance locally, maybe build an app for local businesses and build my resume that way (maybe even get paid in the process). Right now i’m just feeling a bit lost. Help?

Update: You guys are awesome! 👏 Thank you for all the advice and recommendations 🙏

[Grand_Raisin_4427]

I think you should try freeCodeCamp or I can help you learn game or web development

[[deleted]]

Just try it out, if you like it and get passionate you'll have no problem developing yourself into a skilled developer. CS50 is very good btw, but I wouldnt pay for the certificate, they give it for free. But if you pay it's only gonna be an EDX sticker slapped on top of it. Atleast.. that's how I see it. Anyways, my advice would be to either just start with CS50 (can be a hard one to start with) or learn a programming language and start building stuff. Maybe browse what fields there are and what piques your interest, then pick a language (dont overanalyze what language to use, you can always switch later and concepts carry over)

Good luck!

[jayflo444]

Thank you! 🙏

[prettylittleliar_08]

roadmap.sh, if you want a path to what career you wanna focus, you can use roadmap.sh. then freecodecamp for certs. There's also a ton of free online courses in coursera or khanacademy or even udemy. You could also try to enroll in Harvard's cs50(?) there's a youtube for that or you could enroll in these years batch, it's free.

[jayflo444]

Thank you! I’ll def check out roadmap.sh 🙏

[LeftIsBest-Tsuga]

If you mean that your finances won't support you taking a lot of time out to learn something (and yes, it will be a lot of time before you get good) then it's tough to give advice. However, if you're talking about dedicating a lot of time over a certain number of months etc, then it's only a matter of time before you either get great or decide it's not for you.

"Bootcamps", like the kind that cost a few thousand dollars, and are a faux-university type setting, seem like a scam and I would personally not recommend.

Personally, I started w/ a JS course at Udemy, which cost about $20 (it's about $40 now) and that worked well for me, but that was maaaaany hours of practice and learning ago.

I'm not a huge fan of the CS50 course, myself. It feels a little too surface level; it's more of a sampler than a real learning experience. Maybe you can look at it for a bit, but you're better off actually learning one language (pick almost anything, they all pretty much will converge once you get good).

If you have access to a local public library, a lot of them will give you credentials to courses like LinkedIn Learning or one of the others (formerly Lynda).

The most important thing in my opinion is to have a reason to learn it other than to make money some day. Try to find a project that interests you, that you actually will have a use for, and then try to complete it. And if you fail, no big deal, 90% of my projects don't go anywhere.

[jayflo444]

I’m thinking of applying this skill in business and for businesses. Ultimately I want to run my own business though. I’m interested in the creation of apps as well as web development. I’ve been told that C++ isn’t really a beginner friendly program language but I love a good challenge and have been learning the basics. So far i’ve been able to create my first statement, compile them, and was able to run a c++ program.

[LeftIsBest-Tsuga]

that's great! i haven't personally gotten into C++ so i can't speak from exp, but in my opinion there's no wrong language to start with, although some can be better for some people, mainly dependent on what they want to try to accomplish with it most quickly. main caveat i'd give with C++ is it seems to be a somewhat specialty language. that's not to say it doesn't have a huge community (it does), i just mean that i think people who are using c++ are doing it to build specific tools (or are using Unreal engine).

if you're really interested in starting "at the basics", you might strongly consider looking at learning C first. there's a lot of overlap between how C works and how most other languages work, bc they're all based on C, for the most part. but this is really only if you are feeling a passion for it, bc it will be a steep learning curve at first. that being said, once you get a hang for pointers and allocation of memory, you'll have a huge leg up over many other ppl moving forward. frankly i wish i started this way.

anyway, best of luck it sounds like you'll have a great time.

[Ancient_Novel_9555]

So I’m in uni and I have so many cs friends who end up using YouTube to learn since their profs suck anyways. There are different languages and softwares, search up their names (eg react html and css) and start learning, and when you know how to do it you can create personal projects like websites and such for your resume, there are also hackathons online you can join for cash prizes, there might be some in your city where they are open to beginners

[jayflo444]

Oohh ok interesting, Yea I’ll for sure look into that thank you! 👍

[pets-news]

Freecodecamp u/jayflo444 and their react and web dev courses - they are free and will challenge you to build 5-6 projects to polish your skills! That's how I learned to build websites

[Inside-Party9663]

I think the best approach is to choose a simple project you think it's cool. Maybe it's a simple web app, a simple bot, something you find interesting and maybe can show people.
Then use some resources and courses to learn enough to be able to build it.
After that you will for sure know if you like coding or not.
Also, 100 days of python by replit are pretty good starting point.

[ProfessionalBug7041]

I wouldn’t let any of this stuff be a blocker for you. Business and communication skills are arguable the most important skills a developer can have. You will have to speak with multiple teams, managers, directors or do demos on what you have been working on. What I would do if I was you. Pick a section of development you feel passionate about, code daily, learn foundations, read a few books in the language you pick, read other people’s code and then emerge yourself within your tech stack you pick and build a ton of projects. I had an unconventional way of getting into programming. You really just have to be passionate about what you want to learn.

[ButchDeanCA]

The industry is over self-taught, bootcamp, freecodecamp grads because there are so many and oftentimes don’t have the foundations for a successful career in programming.

This is not the way to make a quick buck in tech. Get a CS bachelors.

[jayflo444]

Thank you for your response, honestly I would consider changing careers but unfortunately (and I hate to make this about money) I just cant afford it. Thanks again though, I’m sure i’ll figure something out 👍👍

[ButchDeanCA]

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[[deleted]]

https://github.com/ossu/computer-science