Seeking a career in coding is quite popular these days. Despite the fact that some IT markets are oversaturated, the demand for coders is not stopping.
Some aspiring programmers seek education in colleges or universities. It is true that a diploma helps, but you have plenty of self-taught coders who are making as much and even more than those who have a university education.
Ultimately, it is about your desire to learn and real experience. Once you reach a point where you can consider yourself a proper coder, you can then start looking for work. But before that happens, you will need to work on some basics.
Below, you will find eight tips that should come in handy for beginner coders. Use these tips and create a routine that will help you become a better coder.
Learn From Available Resources Online
Practice is important, but you should not discard the theory. Whenever you have a moment or two and want to make the most out of the available time, check available courses on YouTube or education platforms like Skillshare or Khan Academy.
Coding is popular, and you can find plenty of great sources to learn without spending money. The more material you absorb, the more it will come in handy working as a coder.
Get a Comfortable Keyboard
Since coding is quite intensive on your fingers as you have to type a lot, it is recommended to get a comfortable keyboard. Treat it as one of your primary work tools, and do not be cheap.
These days, mechanical keyboards are quite popular not only because of their longevity and sound level but also because of robustness and less wear out.
If you can, test as many different keyboards as you can and select one you are most comfortable with. Remember that you will have to use it a lot, so pick one that you find comfortable.
Select Your Primary Coding Language
Being well-versed in multiple coding languages is an advantage, but you are unlikely to cover enough of multiple languages to consider yourself good due to vast amounts of information and regular changes.
Instead, pick one coding language and focus on mastering it while learning extra languages on the side if you have time to spare on that.
Keep Up With the Trends
Like mentioned in the previous section, changes occur quite often in coding languages. As such, you need to keep up with the trends, so you do not fall behind and get overtaken by other coders.
Of course, it is not just the coding languages themselves that develop. You also have software and devices that get released, and getting them might make working as a coder more efficient and easier.
Communicate With Other Coders
Overall, coders work alone in front of a computer and do not interact with others as much as some other professions.
Joining coder communities is worth it for two reasons. First of all, you will get to interact with like-minded people and share your ideas.
The second reason is that you are likely to run into problems when working, and lack of experience usually leads to trying to work out a solution yourself or seeking help. More experienced coders will give you a hand or point you in the direction.
Avoid Multitasking
Working as a coder comes with opportunities to multitask. If anything, you may find yourself doing two things at once while working. For example, while writing a code, you have a TV running in the background that distracts you from work without you realizing it.
Another example could be coding and switching to an internet browser to surf the net. It is one thing when you look for information about your work, but it is different when you are browsing for fun.
Multitasking hurts your attention span and leads to mistakes. As an inexperienced coder, you need to build a habit of focusing on your work first and foremost. Avoid multitasking so that you can avoid potential problems that stem from this habit.
Think Outside the Box
On the surface, creativity might not seem like a trait necessary for coders. However, there might be times when you need to think outside the box to find a solution to a non-functioning code.
The problem with creativity is that it is one of those traits you cannot really train effectively. Nevertheless, if you find opportunities to work on your creativity, take them.
Optimize Your Computer for Work
Optimizing your computer for work is the last bit of advice in this article. You want a device that does not restart randomly, feels sluggish, takes too long to load, and so on.
Lack of drive space is one of the most common causes behind poor computer performance. According to the information here, you should treat the lack of disk storage seriously and get rid of temporary storage using cleanup utilities. Removing redundant data, such as localization files and old system backups, helps as well.
Other than poor drive storage, you also have to consider malware, background processes, a cluttered desktop, and lack of system updates as some of the most common causes behind an underperforming computer.