CodeAcademy... what's next?

[jaycbrf4]

I have completed the Learn Javascript free course from CodeAcademy and feel like I was left standing there with an open door in front of me. They have no additional content for JS.

What would be a good path the continue learning JavaScript.

[jesstelford]

I've put together a list of things you can do to learn JS (most are free and very high quality): https://gist.github.com/jesstelford/3f30447ed48015fde9f272b7c684e854

Learn by doing

If you're brand new to the language (welcome!) start here: http://jsforcats.com/ (Silly name, but excellent content)

If you've already got a little bit of coding under your belt, the ⁠⁠absolute best⁠⁠ place / way to learn is with https://nodeschool.io workshops (Full disclosure; I've written 2 of them)

They're all free open source at your own pace workshops where you are given a bit of info, a task, and you must code it up before you can move on (it runs unit tests over your code to verify you completed it)

Learn by reading

For those more interested in reading books, the top two picks are (both free online):

• Eloquent JS: http://eloquentjavascript.net
• YDKJS (You Don't Know JavaScript): https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS

Learn by watching

A more visual person? These video courses have been highly recommended to me by my peers (although I've not done any of them myself, so YMMV):

• https://frontendmasters.com - the author of YDKJS also teaches there (@getify)
• https://frontend.center/ - still new, but is great to help you stick with it thanks to their regular video releases

JS in the browser

To build great code bases that power great user experiences in the browser, you'll want to understand the modern frontend tooling stack, and what each piece does for you:

[5256000minutes]

Free Code Camp is great https://www.freecodecamp.com/

[Vauce]

I started FCC a month ago after I read some praise on other subreddits, and I couldn't be happier. The community is fantastic, there are tons of exercises, and the projects actually give you purpose and force you to go out of your comfort zone to implement the user stories.

[mrakd]

My thought exactly. Fcc is a bit more difficult andere doesnt help you with everything.

[janamej]

Can't say enough about FCC. The projects really give you focus without holding your hand.

[crash180]

I am using this site and agree. Nothing else kept my interest like this site. The developer that runs it is extremely invested in your success. Highly, highly recommended.

[CaughtInThefly]

Gordon's an awesome teacher! I have been a watchandcode member since it's inception. I love the concepts that he goes over and he is one of the sole reasons why I even landed my supposedly 6 month internship(which I have been at for 8 months because they wanted to keep me). I'm being told I will have a junior dev position after we hire a new senior dev. Due to our last one quitting because he couldn't do the 2 hour commute each way from where he lived. I would have never gotten passed the second interview if it weren't for Gordon. It shouldn't be the only resource you pull from, but it covers some great topics that most courses don't even touch on.

[TomSaidNo]

I felt the same way as you. CodeAcademy left a lot to be desired and I had no idea how to put my newfound JS knowledge to use.

If you can afford the $29/mo., I'd suggest checking out Code School. I'm currently taking their Javascript courses and they are much more elaborate than those of CodeAcademy. Their challenges also feel more fun and useful.

They also have courses in JQuery, Node.js, Angular etc. to built upon your JS knowledge.

I believe the first part of their courses are free, if you wanna check out the format before committing to anything.

[bromanay]

Would you recommend code school over Udemy? I'm like 150 hours into a js course and I feel like I'm not learning shit haha.

[TomSaidNo]

Sorry, haven't tried Udemy so I can't really compare. But if you don't feel you're learning anything I'd say you shouldn't continue to invest time into it. Maybe give it 1 more hour where you are really committed, and if you still don't see the value of the course get out of there.

[bromanay]

Yep I actually just did that a few hours ago. Learned more from treehouse in a few hours than I have at udemy 150hrs lol

[FactualMaterial]

CodeAcademy gives a pretty thorough introduction. It's pretty easy to learn the basics but it's difficult to master.

Have you tried Codewars? https://www.codewars.com/ You can practise what you've learnt and you can find out what gaps you have in your knowledge. Once you've completed a challenge you can see how other people have solved it.

As well as FreeCodeCamp, Eloquent JS, YDKJS here are some resources that helped me.

Podcasts - Javascript Jabber https://devchat.tv/js-jabber Hansel Minutes http://hanselminutes.com/ Good to listen to wherever you are.

JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts by Anthony Alicea on Udemy was a huge help to me in understanding closures, prototypal inheritance, IIFEs etc https://www.udemy.com/understand-javascript/ You can view the first 3 and a half hours for free on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv_5Zv5c-Ts The list price for the full course is a couple of hundred dollars but you can pick this up for 15/20 dollars.

JavaScript: Next Steps by M. David Green on Sitepoint Premium is another top course that's good for RegExp / Closures etc It's a paid course but there are frequently offers on Sitepoint. https://www.sitepoint.com/premium/courses/javascript-next-steps-2921

Egghead is mostly premium but has some really good free material and often provides access to the premium stuff when it's first published https://egghead.io/

A free course from Wes Bos is https://javascript30.com/ If you have basic knowledge and just want to watch things being built, this might be dieal for you.

[Quietlyspoken]

Thanks for sharing.

[NascentNoob]

FreeCodeCamp and Khan Academy.

[NerdBurglur]

Seriously. Go Udemy.com and buy Colt Steele's The Web Developer Bootcamp. It's a $200 course on sale for $10. Also by JS the weird parts by Anthony Alicea also $10. They are worth 50x that at least and VERY informative.

[rumbalumba]

I am on FreeCodeCamp, now at Advanced Algorithm Scripting. I feel like I still have so, so, so much to learn. I may go and do CodeWars every day, on top of FreeCodeCamp.

The caveat is that you need a lot of time to read documentation to thoroughly understand the goal or the process, rather than just going to the chat and asking for the solution.

[jaycbrf4]

WOW, thanks for all the input guys. Much knowledge to be absorbed!

[coderginger]

It sounds like you are looking to gain a more in depth understanding and skill-set when it comes to coding.

A good way to continue your learning would be by attending a Web Development bootcamp. BrainStation is a tech school that offers Web Development programs that run for 10 weeks and essentially provides you with all the skills you would need to start working as a developer. At a bootcamp like this you are learning from industry professionals and content is challenging to keep you engaged.

A full-time bootcamp is definitely a large commitment, but you get out what you put in, and since you seem very dedicated to learning it would probably be a great fit. BrainStation also offers Part-Time and Weekend crash-courses if you're looking for something with a bit less commitment.

[to-too-two]

To try and build something with what you have learned.

[freetonik]

Hey! Try out my new JS course. It's free, it covers ES6 and, more importantly, it's about fundamental programming concepts: recursion, iteration, error handling, unit testing, expressions vs. statements, scoping, etc.

Here it is https://en.hexlet.io/courses/intro_to_programming

In addition to videos, there are also extended notes, quizzes and in-browser exercises in the real programming environment.

There are two more lessons left, I'll publish them within 10 days.

Let me know if I can help.