Every time there is a discussion on the future vision of a company or the future job market, one word that gets thrown around a lot is Automation. As companies move towards Automation and counting on machine learning algorithms to enhance customer behavior, there is a rising demand for people with programming and data analytics skills.
For individuals to be ready for future jobs and have a stable career, it is important to have great programming skills. So, how can you become an expert programmer? Here’s the ultimate guide to helping you land your dream job and set you apart from the competition.
Be Through With the Basics
A common mistake that most people learning programming make is to skip the fundamentals. They tend to skip the first few chapters and jump into the details. This is because the first chapter or the introduction part of the course seems mundane and boring. However, that’s where you would find the information on basic tools, data structures, variables, syntax, control structures, text editors, etc. If you skip these portions of the course, you might find yourself feeling clueless or coming back to revisit the course often. And thus, the time taken to finish your programming course would be longer than usual.
Instead, make it a fun game by trying to reward yourself for every chapter you finish. Rather than studying all the time, take breaks, set up alerts, and quiz yourself as you go forward with the course. This would save you time on revision later while making sure you are through with the basics.
Online Learning
Online learning is the new normal. For example, you can sign up for one of the many masterclasses available online to learn the nuances of programming. Along with the courses, you could also test your knowledge by taking the mock tests and certifications, which will help you hone and assess your learnings. Constantly testing your knowledge and upskilling yourself is essential to find success as a programmer.
Most of these courses also have discussion forums where you can interact with your peers, industry leaders, and teachers to have your doubts cleared. Talking to them and discussing the various challenges you face while coding could help you learn faster than ever before.
Hackathons
Hackathons are a great way to test your learnings. These events tend to happen over the weekend and bring together people from both technical and non-technical backgrounds. The participants solve a problem by building an application using a specific platform, programming language, etc. Hackathons usually have a time limit of around 24 to 48 hours. And within this time you will have the experience of working and making decisions under high pressure, building an algorithm, and creating an output.
These learnings can be replicated into a real-life work situation and hence can enhance your opportunities of landing a dream job. Numerous tech giants organize these hackathons over the weekends targeting college students and attracting prize money for the winner. While winning these events could be great, just attending them could be a wonderful learning opportunity too.
Code by Hand
Coding by hand means editing the functional code or a computer program manually on paper and pen. Hand coding involves writing the layout or function code in basic languages in the compilation stage before using tools to implement them. When you write code manually on paper, you need to be more cautious and ensure precision.
While writing code on hand, you cannot check if the code is right in the middle of it by running a test on the computer. This gives you the confidence, knowledge, and proficiency you need to excel in exams, interviews, and work. So, it always helps to embrace the age-old practice of writing code on paper.
Experiment With the Sample Code
It is easy to find sample code on the internet. While the easiest thing to do is copy-paste the code, there would be no learning in it. So, every time you look for a sample code online and find it, rather than using it as is, try to play around with it. The fiddling might cause some errors in the program. You would learn what went wrong and can come up with an innovative solution. You can always go back to the sample code and see how your output has changed from the original code based on the changes. This will boost your confidence and boost your ability to fix problems in the code even in the future.
We hope these tips come in handy and help you hone your programming skills. Happy learning!