It's been nearly one year since I decided to become a professional developer. Spoiler alert: I recently got my first job as a junior web developer, so mission accomplished and ready for takeoff! 🚀

Now, I am taking some time to think back how my coding journey started. I made my decision with barely no previous experience in any programming language 😱

I'd like to share milestones of my coding journey with you before listening to your favorite ways for learning to code, maybe how you started your journey and what you'd recommend to a beginner!

How I started my journey

Although I was completely convinced and self-confident, I had to decide which ways to choose while learning to code. Of course I found plenty of websites, but then again I had to choose what suited me best. But how would I know ⁉️

Platforms that I personally used for learning to code

These are the websites I started learning with:

• Khan Academy: I remember watching some videos about the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
• Codecademy: Trying out their free courses on Python really got me going! I really liked their approach how to teach syntax & basics.
  • The screen was divided into three parts: Introduction left, text editor middle, browser/console right. It was perfect to get live feedback of what I was doing.
  • Thirsty for more and more, I got into the Web Development skill path, enjoyed quizzes and projects.
  • Eventually I got a pro membership.
• Udacity: I took some great video courses about mobile development and responsive design.
• edX: In order to learn about AWS, I took a nice course preparing for the AWS Developer. I was hands-on experience with the AWS free tier.

Other resources I use

• MDN: Mozilla Developer Network is one of my favorite resources for web development. It is a quick reference of anything inside HTML, CSS and JavaScript with rich and illustrative examples.
• Blog posts are super helpful resource I frequently use to learn new concepts or expand my horizons. What I like best about blog posts is the personal touch of their blog and getting to know the person behind.
• RTFM: Documentation is most often the starting point for my new projects.

What's your favorite way?

Enough about me! Let me hear how you started your journey learning to code. Did you use a website/platform/approach that was particulary useful for you?

P.S. I am planning to write an extended post about my journey and different paths for learning to code on my blog. So I'd love to include what resources you might recommend here. Thank you! 🙏