It’s a major misconception that you need to be fully prepared before you start a career.
The truth is you need to be prepared just enough.
This applies to learning to code, too.
For example, while on the job, even Senior Developers will use Google hundreds of times per week to look up how to solve certain problems.
Hundreds of times per week, For a Senior Developer!
Think about what this means for a minute…..
If a Senior Developer (making healthy 6-figures, by the way) is still learning as she goes, then what does that mean for you, who just wants to learn enough to land your first coding job?
It means the world is your oyster!
You don’t need to learn to code completely, you need to learn to code just enough.
YouTube and Udemy Teacher Colt Steele’s Advice on Learning to Code
Colt Steele is a celebrated coding instructor who has over 200,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, was the 2016 Udemy Instructor of the Year, and recently built out the Foundations to Core course from Springboard (use code CAREERHACKERSSB for $500 off).
He has always loved teaching and has mastered the art of working with beginners to gain the needed skills to enter the field.
And Colt gets the philosophy of learning “just enough.” You don’t have to be fully prepared to get your first job!
“Scale down your expectations as far as what you need to know. You need like 2 [programming] languages, 2 skills…..nobody is going to be an expert.”
This applies to himself too. Even though he started teaching himself to code since he was a young teenager, that doesn’t mean he knows everything. “I’ve been writing CSS for 15 years or something, but I’m still researching things I don’t know about in order to make a course about it,” he says.
Bottom line is, what if you let go of the idea that learning to code has to be daunting?
Be a little more light and playful. You don’t need to memorize an encyclopedia of knowledge (like a doctor might).
Instead, you can relax and trust your ability to learn over time. What employers really want is someone with just enough skills who is eager to learn.
Related: Daily Job Hunt issue 101 – Prove your Soft Skills
Foundations to Core – Focus on Real Projects
Colt’s Foundations to Core course also focuses on a good project-to-lecture ratio, which is what makes his teaching so engaging and popular. As you go, you’re not just reading and watching an instructor speak. Rather, you’re actively solving problems.
“The most important part especially with an online course where you can open a new tab, get distracted, check your phone,” Colt concedes. “As soon as you’re bored, you could just [check out].”
“When I structure my courses now, every video is gonna be about 5 minutes or less. There’s going to be no more than 3 or 4 videos before there’s at least a quick quiz, if not bigger exercises, and then bigger projects sprinkled throughout.”
While no one is saying the Foundations to Core course is a walk-in-the-park, it’s for sure something that is achievable, even if you have zero experience in tech.
It’s all about showing up each day and improving. After a few months, you’ll be ready to start pitching entry-level web development roles. ; )
“I am not thinking too far ahead, just want to take it one thing at a time.”
– Sachin Tendulkar
Springboard’s Foundations to Core Course will take you from zero knowledge to fully-employed web-developer, in less than a year. Apply now. Use code CAREERHACKERSSB for $500 off.
Take Action to Propel Your Life Forward
So, if you’ve been thinking about diving into a code program like Springboard, you can take off the pressure to be web-development-master-tycoon before you enter that first job.
You need to learn to code, but just enough.
And with Springboard, you can also expect:
- 1-1 industry mentor and career coach along the way, having you feeling connected and supported while you are going through your course, and up to the first day at your new job
- 100% online and flexible schedule
- $23,000 average increase in salary after completing program
- Project-based curriculum. giving you evidence of your skills and value, which you can show directly to hiring managers.
Springboard’s Foundations to Core Course will take you from zero knowledge to fully-employed web-developer, in less than a year. Apply now. Use code CAREERHACKERSSB for $500 off.
