Take it and do it: how to pump in programming and development

5 signs that it is time for you to learn, 25 online services for pumping skills and 5 practical tips for professional development you will learn from this article in 9 minutes.

How to understand that there is a problem


Stamping on the same level of skills - the road to nowhere. A good programmer always learns, and therefore grows in professionalism and price. It also drives the IT industry, which is rapidly changing and requires fresh blood from developers. Fresh and qualified. So, BLS predicts that by 2026 the demand for programmers will grow by 24%, and the turnover rate in IT is already higher than in retail stores. Because along with the need for personnel, the requirements for them are growing.

So, if you were waiting for a sign to start pumping over, then here it is. And to whom this is not enough, keep 5 signs of a programmer's frostiness.

  1. Your code is poorly understood by colleagues, and if you have to make changes to it, then everything breaks down.
  2. You yourself are afraid to approach another's code and rule it.
  3. You solve problems arising in work for too long, and writing code for you is a struggle, not a pleasure.
  4. You are not interested, but scary to learn new programming languages.
  5. You can hardly explain your tasks to your tech-colleagues and do not know how to talk about working with humanities from marketing.

Do you recognize yourself in at least one point? You need to urgently change something.

First steps to resolve


Understanding the problem is already good. But leap skills not to take. You will start with enthusiasm, but quickly exhale, and with it your growth will stop. Facebook blogger Joma Tech believes that for constant change, everyone needs a system. We tell the points how to build it.

Change the approach

Vacations are over, it's time to work. You need to implant in your head an understanding that pumping skills is not temporary, it should always be so. It will be difficult, sometimes painful, but over time, every step will begin to add strength.

Create habits

Someone advises to allocate 20% of working time for development, someone thinks that 15 minutes per day is enough. Joma says that it takes 3 weeks to form a habit. Determine how much time you can spend on your studies every day and do not give up at least 21 days.

Set deadlines Fix

big goals, cut them into small sub-goals and set your time limit before reaching each. It will be good if other people find out about this plan - for example, a timlid who is ready to put you on a new project. Responsibility is a good motivator.

Where to download online


Choose the appropriate level, stack and comfort format. Do not be afraid to try new things - for example, games and chellendzhi praise both beginners and experienced developers. Note: most services are in English.

Courses and Materials


Bento - training materials on 80 programming languages.

Code School - courses on development, programming, work with data, cyber security and much more. You can evaluate your current skill level and customize your training plan.

Udacity - courses from leading world engineers and date of scientists. Exclusive programs for blockchain development, VR, robotics programming and other highly relevant areas.

Lynda is a service from the Linkedin team with a bunch of video courses in different programming languages.

Safari Books Online - online courses with a teacher, materials for studying yourself or as a team.

Coursera- programs of Russian and world universities online, a large selection, there are free courses.

Confreaks.tv - videos and presentations from world IT conferences. You can not fly - look and learn from home.

Training Services


Hacker Rank - training, tutorials and puzzles on manually selected skills. There is even preparation for an interview if you sink into it.

Codeacademy - tasks for practice in web development, data science and programming, access to participation in real projects and training materials.

Code Chef - a lot of programming tasks for different levels of knowledge, you can read other people's solutions. There are monthly challenges.

Exercism is a free service for training in 48 programming languages. After completing the task, you can disassemble it with a mentor.

Coding Bat - tasks for the practice of code in Java and Python.

Leet Code - you can test, debug and write projects online in 14 programming languages.

Code jam is an online competition from Google with a solution to algorithmic puzzles in several rounds. Those who go to the finals are valued in large international companies.

Project Euler - regular challenges, on which you need to solve mathematical and programmer problems.

Hacker Earth - real tasks from companies, including IBM, Amazone, Adobe and others. You can try to solve problems on your own, or you can team up.

Codility is also an assignment for programmers from real companies, only in the Challenge format. At the appointed time and day, the battle for the first three places starts - for those who solved the problem faster than anyone.

Games and interactive


Python Challenge is a game, passing each level of which you will better learn the language and its capabilities.

Codin Game - games in 25 programming languages.

Code Combat - learning computer science and programming through games for adults and children. The site is translated into Russian, the interfaces in the games are in English.

Mimo is a mobile application where you can easily pump languages ​​from HTML to C #.

Grasshopper is a mobile application that teaches the basics of JavaScript through games.

Swift Playgrounds is a service for upgrading IOS development skills with games, tasks and puzzles.

Warriorjs- A game for learning web development scripts. You will be using JavaScript to help your hero-warrior pass through obstacles.

Code Cards - virtual cards, under the jacket of which you are waiting for tasks on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and Rails. Each language contains 53 cards with tasks - you can choose one or mix.

What else will help you grow professionally?


If you search through the entire Internet (which I did) and interview the practitioners of the code on “how to get better”, then everything will be reduced to a list of 5 tips.

In pumping hard skills you should not forget about the following 3 things:

  1. Read technical literature . The books describe the basics you need to know, and sometimes do not interfere with and re-read. Perhaps with a new experience, you will otherwise see fundamental truths.
  2. Learn someone else's code . Open-source solutions and open libraries are a wealth of experience. Read the code of the best engineers, try to understand why it is written this way and not otherwise. And then try to repeat - write the studied code from scratch yourself. Principles of good programming will fall quietly in the head, but firmly.
  3. Participate in offline events . Hackatons, mitapes and competitions - all this activates the brain and teaches us to look for solutions to problems in stressful situations and in a short time. Burning deadline at work will no longer scare you.

And if you don’t give a damn about software skills , then:

  1. Work not alone . Team up with more experienced developers, join big projects and community. The ability to work in a team is highly valued by IT giants. Besides, you better learn how to explain a technical problem and pronounce its solution. A fresh look at your code will find errors that you yourself do not notice.
  2. Share your experience . You can write a blog, teach courses and speak at conferences. When you teach others, you will feel responsible, which means you will be thoroughly prepared for possible questions and try to look at your usual knowledge from a different angle. As a result, you will thoroughly understand the issue, plus develop communication, expertise and self-presentation skills.

Eventually


Continuous development will help to become a productive and expensive specialist, and most importantly - dispel the routine. Or maybe you will become that very super-programmer who works like 10 ordinary ones? In any case, let it be a bonus, not a goal.

Make mistakes, ask questions, take calls and do not be afraid of criticism and loss. Take tasks as entertainment, and complexity as the heaviness of tired legs in front of a new step. After all, pumping skills just make you cooler.

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