7 Tips to Learn Programming as Self-Taught

Learning a topic from zero as self-taught is always a challenge, but if you aim to learn to code, there are some tips that could help you. In this post, I will explain what I wanted to know before I started this exciting journey.

1. Choose a simple programming language

Start to study a simple language because, in the beginning, the most important thing is to learn programming principles and logic. By simple language I mean a language with a simple syntax. I suggest choosing Python because it’s relatively simple and if you have a problem, there is a large community that can help you. An alternative to Python is Ruby.

2. Study using a simple book or an online tutorial

Starting as self-taught with a too complex book or tutorial could be tedious because you could think that programming is not for you. In reality, programming is quite exciting, but you can understand it only by having tangible results, so use a simple book or tutorial and enjoy this world where you are the god.

3. Do many problem-solving exercises

Practice is important in every field and in programming it’s essential! The exercises should be oriented to problem-solving and not only to language syntax. For example, the following exercise is great:

Write a function that, using recursion, converts an integer to a string that contains the integer pronunciation.

For example: 11 => eleven; 42 => forty-two.

4. Always ask yourself “What happens if …?”

Be curious. When you are studying, if you have a doubt about a special situation, test it by executing the code. During the practice try to experiment with new solutions, because if you always do something the same way, you won’t learn anything!

5. Don’t give up

It’s always possible not to understand something, but don’t give up! Today there are a lot of nice people online ready to help you, so if you don’t understand something, you can use platforms like Stack Overflow or r/learnprogramming to get help.

6. Start a personal project

After having learned language principles and syntax, start a personal project. It’s a really good way to understand what programming is because you often need to find a clever code implementation. Another key suggestion is to get some code reviews from someone more experienced. If you don’t know anyone that could help you, ask for help in the communities mentioned above.

7. There’s always something else!

The programming world is various and big. When you finish reading a book, start to read a new one that deals with a different topic to extend your knowledge! When you’ll find your favorite topic, begin to master it by studying more specific books!