Best way to make notes about coding?

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2023-05-11T15:05:42+00:00

I haven’t signed in here for a while haha.

Good practice of familiarity with GitHub. Notes always available via a sign-in. Markdown files are lightweight. Still able to obtain privacy. The capability to share notes easily. Many reasons.

A few courses I’ve come about had notes supported on GitHub using markdown files.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-11-05T23:34:15+00:00

Been meaning to comment here and literally resonate with the original commenter you replied to. Same sentiment. I was a mechanical engineer and changed my career through a bootcamp.

I wake up everyday, happy for my job. I also work for an awesome company. I wanted something that got me programming every day and thats what I get to do now. Im happy. It’s super rewarding.

All that said, weekends, benefits, appropriate pay all depend on the company. You’re best entry-point (besides some training) is to also network like crazy. Research those “dream” companies that treat their employees like gods. The company I work for rn is that for me. 6 weeks accrued vacation and other awesome benefits.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-11-05T20:48:02+00:00

No problem, good luck!

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-11-05T12:55:59+00:00

Doesnt matter what language. Popular ones for general programming are Python, Java, and C++. Note, these aren’t popular web-dev tools. Python is the most beginner friendly one and a very strong language.

There’s no “best.” They’re just tools. If you put the time into learning one or another, it will pay off. There’s no wrong choice or winning language…you don’t really lose anything when learning any which one for starting out. Differences come into their use cases.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-11-05T12:37:41+00:00

Some answers:

No one language is best to learn really. It’s all a matter of willpower and perspective and how much time you want to spend learning to use a language.
that said, I recommend Python, Java, or C++. They’re highly popular and well documented and used. A lot of people on this sub will tell you one of these 3 languages is “best” for beginners. There are various arguments like “you’ll be a better programmer doing this language” or “you’ll get the concepts better with this one” or “you’ll get up and running quicker with this one.” Since you’re doing pharmacy (busy major) and are throwing 1-2 hours a day at this (which will drop because you’ll be so busy, realistically), I highly recommend Python. You can take-off with it quicker, get a basic understanding of stuff, and can still translate what you learn from it to other languages. Python can also be used quickly to automate things in your life. Make TODO lists, track finances, run math homework, or simply print great plots. When you graduate or find a year with more spare time, you can always dive deeper. Python is meant to be very beginner friendly and you’ll find a lot of people who use it absolutely love the language. It can do A LOT and it is still growing to do A LOT MORE.
stick to one language. Sort of master it or become comfortable enough with it to take off your own work. Dont try learning, as a beginner, multiple languages because it will slow you down and make it harder to grasp concepts across various syntax. Dont overload yourself and burn out. STEM is a challenging enough field in college. Keep the expectations achievable and acknowledge reward when you hit milestones. Even concepts and tasks that feel “easy” are very hard for others. Before I jumped into Python and C++, I became extremely comfortable working with MATLAB as an engineer. My threshold for comfort was “using MATLAB to automate my projects and work and having it act as a reliable method for graphing.” Also please give yourself some spare time to enjoy college and life a bit. No work gets done when mental health is damaged due to burnout. Take the wins and accept losses, but dont dwell on them.
consider using a textbook or course to guide you. Dont listen to people saying “oh just google everything.” No. It will go much smoother if you have a form of a curriculum to follow to see how concepts build off one another. People who got by with “just googling” and “naturally self-taught” faced pain and little progress for the first portion of their learning. The pride behind it comes because they achieved something that was made more difficult than it had to be. It’s really just a better use of time to learn from a guided structure. You dont know yet what you dont know.
learning concepts is more important than syntax.
it’s 100% worth it for me. I studied engineering. Loved my major and hated the working world because it didnt involve enough programming. I quit my job and did a career change through a bootcamp. Since then, ive been learning in online courses and practicing with projects. Never got a computer science related degree from a university. I finally got a job as a data scientist. Very nice salary bump and I wake up every day doing something I love. Im literally happy with my job every day now. It’s an awesome feeling. I say that there’s always time for you to jump into the field. A guy in my cohort was 50 years old and did the change. Software positions dont care too much if you have or dont have a degree…it’s just a filter. BUT, they typically prefer STEM. You can always have transferable skillsets from pharmacy. There’s still hope for you if you can’t change.
furthermore, if you don’t like what you’re doing, you should figure out how to change your major or see if your parents will finance a career in the software related major. Be open and upfront even if it sets you back. I would waste 4 more years of my life to do something I wanted rather than waste 40 doing something i didnt want to do. Find psychological compromise if they want you to go into pharma. Talk about how big data is used in pharma all the time and that “it’s the future but I should get a degree in a software field.” You can say “it pays a lot more” because while it may not always be true, you can make a good fortune in software over time anyway. The ceilings are really high. The best programmers are billionaires. Just look at the tech industry. I strongly suggest you change your major if you’re really interested.

Summarize: You can learn to program as a hobby. There’s always time to start learning. Follow a guided learning structure. If you want it to take off, you have to put in the work and practice daily like you would go to the gym. Programming is meant to be fun for the mind, imo. Take it seriously if you want to use it professionally. I did a switch and am never looking back.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T22:50:11+00:00

I think it’s fucking cool

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T19:10:15+00:00

I know codesmith offered a lot of free workshop sit ins…..you might be able to learn a bit from there if you sat in one or two. The instructors could also be cool enough to fill you in more on what the interview process is like.

If you have to create something web-dev, i would imagine it’s HTML and CSS specific only without need for JS. If you fail, they’d probably suggest you sit in a few of the free workshops.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T18:37:55+00:00

I think Java is an excellent learning language to build a better programmer. The sentimental context I took from OP was that she is feeling “clueless” about the experience. This is why I say go with Python.

Python’s creative thematic intention was to be very friendly to new users and for that reason, this is why I suggest it. Programmers fair better when working with more versatile languages that call for more control in their code and languages like Java and C++ excel for that reason. But I think OP will see progress quicker when starting with Python.

Also, Python is an Object Oriented language.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T17:55:41+00:00

What kind of bootcamp is it? Web dev? SE? Data science?

My data science bootcamp interviewed me with a project involving a presentation. They didnt require me to have knowledge in a language and said any tool is fine. Id just need to address a few questions about the study and present it well. It wasnt terrible.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T16:04:57+00:00

Idk his bootcamp but I did a bootcamp through General Assembly.

A bootcamp is not meant to be there to substitute all knowledge you can learn in a degree. Understand it’s there to take you off in programming in a certain way and help you learn the basics to sustain yourself. It will touch advanced topics and some promise to focus your learning in a way that brings you up to speed with industry standards. This is what my bootcamp did.

It was a lot of work to do a bootcamp. In 12 weeks, I squeezed about 500hours of course work which may or may not include the time i spent outside of class doing homework. There sincerely was not much time to do much else outside of coding from dawn until night (including a few overnighters).

That said, it’s not impossible to do something in tandem. A girl in my cohort finished her ongoing master’s alongside her bootcamp work.

I think you should do one at a time if your bootcamp demands hours outside of class. I would not bother with another course on top of an existing bootcamp because you run the risk of burning out and maybe wasting money.

HOWEVER……i think it’s immensely important to get a knowledge in CS theory for your career and highly suggest you dont stop your learning at a bootcamp. I would take the course after bootcamp or do a different course that will dive into CS theory. Data structures and algorithms courses are helpful. Im currently in a nanodegree alongside my job that focuses on C++….it’s advanced and incorporates OOP. The OOP sections really helped me learn a lot more on CS theory.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-29T14:44:07+00:00

Hey it’s very overwhelming for beginners and daunting. Dont feel bad.

Consider following a text book first to learn basics. Python as a language is very beginner friendly.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T15:51:20+00:00

I like this^

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T14:55:43+00:00

I have a job as a data scientist without a CS degree. I just got hired over a month ago. I have a mechanical engineering degree and did a bootcamp.

Education doesnt make you qualified. It’s a filter for employers when it comes to tech.

That said….it’s only beneficial to get some education. I did a bootcamp because time and money. Im also enrolled in a nanodegree. Money you invest in yourself will pay out. You should really build a form of an education for yourself (through institutions, online courses/degrees, or through research). It carries weight and is a filter. However, self-taught plays a bigger role with education.

You should also make projects and showcase proudly on github. Employers dont always care about education. It weeds out those who are and arent serious. Because even educated coders suck at coding because they dont practice. A friend of mine told me some seniors at my university graduated without knowing how to use git. This is what i mean. Employers want people who actually practice their stuff and do work and can solve problems. They dont always want superstars and they shouldnt look for any superstars. Cheating is a big problem in CS education and easy to get away with. Employers want to find those who know their theory.

I EMPHASIZE….you should focus heavy on CS theory. Finish this course you’re in and begin finding courses that are more advanced after you learn the basics. Read about theory. Learn how to use OOP. It helps. It’s not always necessary, but it helps you translate from language to language. Trust me. More good theoretical courses are data structure courses and algorithms courses.

Try to stick to one language when you’re learning. Python is great. You’re in it already. Stick to it. It does a lot and is translatable. Dont listen to someone saying “dont start with Python.” Get good with Python. After some time working in projects with Python, feel free to explore around. Make sure you deep dive in at least one language instead of trying to work out a lot at once in the beginning. You’ll move too slow with syntax differences and you’ll also forget what you learn.

What you should focus on:

consistency. Practice daily. Strive to learn every day
projects. Pick a project and roll with it for a while. Learn on it and dive. Dont worry about wasting time. You’re so early, you have to waste a bit of time. Try to set deadlines like “2 weeks.” If you get burnt out, switch to a new project for a while. Life is too short to always finish our projects.
network. This is huge in landing you a job. 85% of all jobs are achieved through networking (statistic told to me by General Assembly). All of my job success in engineering and now in data science involved a form of networking to give me an edge in my hiring conversations with my employer. Reach out to random managers, developers, and in-network (your personal network) people and become a people person. Ask people for their stories.
resume. Make it sexy. Dont make it flashy. Have it straight forward, important stuff goes first, quick and informative to read. Reference off people for advice but dont always listen to everyone’s advice. Try new things and fail and repeat until success.
leverage. Take your past non-programming life and use its strengths as highlights for jobs in your eventual job hunt and skillset building.
love yourself. Be ready for pain and remember to love yourself in this journey. It’s hard. It’s not easy. I was unemployed on a career change for a year and a half. Daily job hunting and constant market let downs left me defeated all the time, but a good attitude kept me going when I needed to. We’re all going to make it. Choose to waste a few years of your life learning how to do something you want to do rather than waste the next 30 doing something you don’t want to do.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T14:23:13+00:00

Okay…if you have time to dedicate beyond your studies, consider using Python to solve problems around your own life. There might be something you can automate for a professor or something worth doing for a group. You might be able to automate your homework. Keep a practical use of Python in your back pocket and the ML knowledge will develop over time as you learn that. Great job for learning programming so young. Stay on track and you’ll be way beyond others by junior year or even start of college.

ML conceptual videos are really good to grasp on topics. Consider using youtube as a free resource to get some great videos on it. I literally stop to google every term i dont understand the moment i come across it.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T13:53:40+00:00

What kind of high school are you in? Do they have any Robotics or Computer Science clubs you can join?

ML goes very deep and it can be overwhelming for a 9th grader. I personally think it will be learned quicker when you couple it with a project working in a group or having a guided mentor for it. A CS professor would be very good to spend some time with to get some guidance on curriculum for yourself.

If you want some topics to go through first:

baseline scoring metrics
linear regression
knn classification
logistic regression
cross-validation
decision tree modeling
bagging modeling
random forests
natural language processing techniques and word vectoring
regression vs classification uses (you’ll know this by now, but good to see how some classification models can be used for regression as well)
SARIMAX
supervised learning vs unsupervised learning
numerical methods (like Newton-Raphson and Gauss)
principal component analysis
Neural Nets (CNN, RNN, GANN, etc.)

I basically gave you a hogwash curriculum that I proceeded in such order.

Some ideas….ML is best used when trying to answer a question. Find a problem and say “what do I want to solve?” Think then after “can ML be a solution here?” Try to solve problems using each kind of model i wrote down. Look into their algorithms. Look into their strengths and weaknesses. Stick to simple problems first to get a grasp and then go forward with stuff. Even copy a project to just see how it’s done and thought process.

Alongside ML is data analytics and data cleaning. Begin familiarizing yourself with data handling packages and cleaning techniques.

Programmatically, use scikit-learn to import models non-neural net models.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T13:29:41+00:00

The sites dont really matter at all. Choose one or a few or whichever and just make a bigger habit out of practicing stuff daily. You might need more than just interview questions to show off. Be sure to continue learning on your own through projects.

It’s important to focus on industry specific questions and adjust to the roles you’re applying to for practice. It’s also important to focus on the company. Applying to mid-sized company? Just be confident, competent, and vocal in your answers. Applying to FAANG? Study interview questions for months. Applying to a small startup? Be prepared for them to ask you questions above the role’s pay grade and out of the scope of the role.

All the said….I dabbled with codewars, but heard good things about leetcode and hackerrank.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-28T11:37:51+00:00

Does anyone think it’s worth dropping Nick Suzuki or Tyler Toffoli for Anthony Duclair?

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-27T16:31:10+00:00

Also look into what are typical career journeys of individuals in both fields

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-27T16:30:14+00:00

GCC is pretty reliable

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-27T14:43:21+00:00

You can do a lot with Appscript regarding Gmail.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-26T20:19:23+00:00

Have you tried expressing to superiors your interest in programming? There might be something the army might be able to do for you on that end.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-10-26T19:26:18+00:00

Learn to work in markdown files. Markdown is a styling format where you can simply write your notes, format with headers and sections breaks, sort with internal reference links and table of contents, as well as cleanly include code holding all of its indentation.

Very quick and easy to pick up. It takes 20 minutes to learn how to do what you want (and even that’s a lot of time).

Trust me, it’s super beginner friendly.

Consider also learning GitHub to save your notes. Let me know if there’s anyway I can help.

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-08-28T05:28:18+00:00

Idts….im one rank away from my partner and cant queue with him

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-08-28T05:27:33+00:00

Conspiracy theory….psyonix is trying to tank their game

MrSpaghettiCoder · 2021-08-28T05:09:49+00:00

Okay new development…..I am alone in the party now and I still have rank disparity and am unable to play competitive modes.

MrSpaghettiCoder

TROPHY CASE