How I would learn to code (if I could start over)

i first learned cody in college having worked as a software engineer for nearly eight years how would i learn to code if i could go back in time what would i do differently here are the 10 things i would do if i could start over again number one do it the best way to learn anything is by doing it here's a quote from confucius a renowned chinese philosopher what i hear i forget what i see i remember what i do i understand passive learning like plainly reading textbooks and watching lecture videos is the biggest mistake

i made initially it's not an effective way to learn coding is about active learning you must write code to understand it reading and watching online tutorials isn't wrong but when you do always follow along write the code finish the exercises run the program and check your answers you need to do it to make it your own number two build your career early if you're in college put in the best effort for the 4.0 gpa the gravity of your gpa depreciates as your career grows but it is vital for your first job if i had an

excellent gpa i might have started my career at a fang don't let your summer breaks go to waste find internships in fact that's my biggest regret i didn't do any don't be embarrassed because you don't have a fan internship learning something is better than relaxing on a beach whether you are in college a boot camp or learning to code by yourself start a project don't stop at the minimum requirements you will need far more than a simple crud and some certificates to be competitive spend at least a month perfecting it treat it as an unpaid

professional work working on projects is the best way to learn to code and build experience if you're wondering what or how to start a project number three copy not the code but the idea copying is one of the fastest and the most effective ways to learn anything that's how i quickly learn to code and play the drums for example try to copy games like sudoku or minesweeper i've made my own version of bomberman what data structure should you use what algorithms how would you change the bumps to explode all together answer these questions as you

copy try copying my bookkeeping app if you would like a challenge what about drumming instead of creating my own drum beats and fills i copy the pros it saved tremendous time and effort in inventing my own here's my point you need skills to copy someone else's work as an amateur focus on the techniques initially creativity comes later you need a strong foundation in math to architect the next skyscraper likewise you need a strong foundation in coding to build the next amazon or facebook start by mimicking a relatively simple idea that already exists there's plenty of

resources for you to use as a reference remember it's not the time to develop the world's most original idea i hate to disappoint you but even if you do you're not the first number four be proactive don't wait until you are 100 ready you never will is there something you want to build like a website a mobile app or a game just begin be aggressive google how to create a website search how to make a game on youtube you can find the answers to 99 of your questions on google once you start you'll arrive at

the right questions naturally how do i add a button how do i change the color on click how do i make my game character jump search for the answers as the questions come up in fact that's how we do it at big tech we sketch a high-level design and then fill in the details as we code had i known that google is the way the truth and the life i wouldn't have been so unconfident in starting a project your project will never kick off if you wait until everything is perfectly planned out an app is

a giant collection of search results stitched together as needed don't wait just do it number five invest get a macbook trust me on this i've been a windows user for more than 30 years it wasn't until recently when i tried an m1 macbook that i realized the power of apple silicon a delay is the greatest enemy to productivity and concentration nothing is more annoying than a shitty old laptop that takes years to load compile and run you need to invest in a setup that helps you immerse into focused undisturbed and uninterrupted learning there's a reason

why a macbook is the default developer laptop in some companies i can't emphasize more the significance of a robust development machine start with an m1 macbook air it costs less than a thousand dollars and is powerful enough for entry-level developers now's not the time to be pennywise and pound foolish invest in your learnings before we go on further let me introduce an app i use daily grammarly grammarly is a cloud-based typing assistant that reviews spelling grammar punctuation and writing style with over 10 million daily active users it's the most popular grammar checker on the planet

before publishing i review everything i'd write formally with grammarly including my youtube scripts announcements and webpage articles it's the core of my writing the centerpiece that empowers me to deliver my ideas effectively to the audience download the app or install the chrome plugin to get your writings automatically checked on apps like gmail outlook word notion in social media try it out you can get started for free and when you sign up please use my affiliate link an affiliate link tracks whether you click and make a purchase if you do i may get a commission using

affiliate links is optional but it enables me to create a free video like this number six master a programming language one of my biggest mistakes as a beginner was hopping around several programming languages without mastering any commit yourself to learn one programming language deeply establishing one sturdy in-depth foundation in a single language is paramount to having a shallow knowledge across multiple once you master a language you'll realize that all programming languages are virtually identical as a starter i recommend python it's an immensely versatile and easy to learn language with many applications across the industry i

wish i had learned python first it's also the best programming language for coding interviews the language syntax is so concise that you can implement the same solution with the minimum number of codes compared to other languages that's precisely what you want more time less coding number seven be autonomous being autonomous or being able to work independently is arguably the most critical skill in the industry learn to solve a problem without relying on others your best friend is again google googling is a skill anyone can search but not everyone can search well pick up the skill

of finding your way out before asking for help here's a challenge put your project on a cloud service like aws azure and google cloud all by yourself i recommend aws as it's the market leader and has a free tier cloud computing technology is one of the best skills to learn now use this opportunity to provide high visibility of your work and prove that you can finish the job independently learn to handle things on your own don't stay as an individual contributor become an independent contributor number eight learn how to debug printf system that i'll print

console the writeline echo console.log i don't remember most of the libraries and methods in any language but i do remember those that i put to the console why because they are great for debugging for instance open up your chrome browser press ctrl shift j on windows or command option j on a mac to bring up the chrome developer console type in console.log this you can see all the properties and values stored in the object in javascript not every language outputs the entire content to the console but you get the point visual studio code and visual

studio are the best ids in the world don't look elsewhere learn how to put breakpoints they are the best way to debug take advantage of debugging tools and debug often if you're not debugging in between development you're doing it wrong make debugging a habit number nine lead code early do me a favor and stop arguing how relevant the code is in real life just do it it doesn't matter who's correct because you'll have to lead code to clear the coding interviews anyways like it or not the system is not changing anytime soon so better start

early than be late for starters i know how intimidating lead code can be however it's a skill that can be learned and improved for what it's worth even fan engineers delete code two to three months before jumping the ship why because it's hard i was never good at it and still don't think i am but the difference is that i never gave up do you want to join a fan know your data structures take time and space complexity seriously get them wrong and you lose the game the questions might not be relevant in real life

but complexity analysis is learn to optimize and write efficient code brute for solutions are unacceptable at things when i know how i crack my fang interviews check out this video number 10 win adopt a winning mindset you're a winner if you strive to be better than someone you were yesterday whatever you do promise me this do your best it's okay to fail but learn to accept failures as a stepping stone to victory coding is hard and you won't survive without the right attitude if i could go back in time i would discipline myself in these

three areas one perseverance learn to sit for hours concentrate until you reach a meaningful milestone failure is a part of the learning curve giving up is not two humility there's no room to grow if your cup is already full embrace the fact that computers can never be wrong but you can if you're fighting your laptop you're fighting the wrong opponent three determination never lose sight of your goal do everything you can to realize your ambition seek help when necessary again google and youtube are your best bets where there's a will there's a way everything i

mentioned here can be done in parallel meaning there's no actual order these are 10 genuine pieces of advice i would give myself if i could travel back in time which one did you find most useful let me know in the comments below don't forget to like and subscribe if you find this video helpful thanks for watching i'll see you in the next one peace [Music] you