Why I think learning how to code “in public” can be useful

👨🏼‍💻 How it started

I started “coding” years ago, but I wasn’t really serious about it. I knew I could do fantastic things with code, but for some reason I didn’t fully immerse myself in anything else than HTML-CSS and very basic JavaScript.

Over the last years, I spent a lot of time learning and working on UX and UI projects. But I felt frustrated because I was able to design fantastic things in Sketch, but I could not build something like a mobile app or a website by myself. After seeing new design tools like Framer, I realised that if I wanted to pivot from CRM consulting to Product Design and/or Programming, I would need to work tirelessly to develop new skills, mainly coding skills.

I had my Eureka moment when I created my first hello world app on React Native. The magic happened after a few lines in the terminal:

expo init AwesomeProject

cd AwesomeProjectnpm start # you can also use: expo start

In a few minutes and without particular skills, I had an app on my phone, with a custom homepage, a navigation bar, and a map with my current location. Then, I started to follow a MooC about React Native, and it became much more complicated. I was introduced to new concepts such as JSX, hot reload, flexbox, props, states, redux, and so on. It was so new and interesting, but at the same time it was too advanced for me. I needed to temporarily go back, and find a way to learn the basics. To do so, I needed an action plan.

🗺 My learning program

Learning how to code is easier when you have Google and StackOverflow. But I quickly found myself reading tons of articles and watching videos on YouTube. Sure, I was learning, but I lacked some focus, and concrete projects. I think it’s a problem that a lot of people have when they start: they just don’t know where to start and get confused because they don’t know what to do, in which order, etc.

I had tried several online classes in the past such as Treehouse, and Codecademy, and after some research I decided to get a Codecademy PRO account and follow the Web Development path. I think this is a good starting point, as it covers essential concepts:

• Learn HTML
• Styling a Website
• Getting Started with JavaScript
• Getting More Advanced with Design
• JavaScript: Arrays, Loops, and Objects
• Building Interactive JavaScript Websites
• Introduction to jQuery
• Intermediate JavaScript
• Learn the Command Line
• Learn Git
• Building Front-end Applications with React
• JavaScript Back-End Development
• SQL and Databases for Web Development
• Test-Driven Development with JavaScript

The PRO version is full of exclusive contents. I also like the projects and challenges where you work on your own, and using real APIs. Kudos to the mobile app they launched recently. It’s a perfect companion to learn on the go.

👉 In case you are interested in signing up for a Codecademy PRO account, you can use my referral link and get a free month. I really think that it’s a good investment, especially when you start and need to feel more confident, and build some fluency. But you also need more. If you are starting, I strongly suggest you to look for personal projects, and a community.

I also chose to participate to a bootcamp. At first I wanted to go to a bootcamp focused on JavaScript and React. But after attending live demos and reading reviews, I came to the conclusion that Le Wagon is probably the best bootcamp we have in France. Going to a bootcamp will be a great way for me to add additional languages/frameworks to my stack, meet like-minded people, and learn best practices. It will start in 65 days, and I can’t wait to start 🔥.

💯 No zero days

In the meantime my challenge is to code EVERYDAY, and practice as much as possible in order to become a better developer. ’Cause I don’t want to be like Peter in Family Guy:

A few days ago I listened to a great episode of The freeCodeCamp Podcast, in which Shawn Wang was invited. He stressed on the importance of “learning in public” and his transition into tech from finance, where he left behind a job that paid him US $350,000 per year. FYI Shawn now works as a developer at Netlify.

This website is the result of listening to Shawn’s advice. He convinced me that documenting my learning process is very important in order to see my progress, to stay motivated, and to share with the community, and hopefully help people in the process. Thanks Shawn 🙌

Thus, my next articles will probably include tutorials, insights, ideas, struggles, and strategies to stay motivated… so stay tuned!

📝 For those interested, the tech stack used for this website includes React, GraphQL, Gatsby, a git-based workflow with Netlify, and Netlify CMS. I may write an article about it soon in order to explain a little bit more how it works.

If you want to follow my project, here is where to find me: https://pierrerognion.com/

Why I think learning how to code “in public” can be useful was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.