Mistakes make a person better in life. And the same applies while someone is learning to code. The journey of coding is a never-ending marathon, not a sprint. So when one starts to learn to code, he/she should be aware that the journey is not going to be smooth as butter. It needs rigorous practice, research, confidence, determination, and hardwork.
Many students make mistakes while starting their journey to become a coder. Many experienced personals experience these issues due to various reasons. But you keep learning, going, and you keep on achieving what you want to achieve.
In this article, we pointed out ten mistakes that everyone makes while they start learning to code. Be it very minimal or a serious one. So, get started.
Table of Contents
1. Researching more and not Starting
It happens with most of the beginners who tend to start their journey. Doing enough research about where to start is nominal, but researching more than what is required can waste a lot of time and confuse the student further. There are plenty of resources available on the internet. They will properly guide you through every aspect of the subject.
If you do not find them easily, follow these simple steps to get started with your first coding experience:
- Understand the coding languages and their uses.
- Know what you are capable of learning.
- Choose the language you want to learn wisely.
- Study the brief overview/contents of the language you are going to learn. And then,
- Start learning.
If you are still confused with the process, we have the right platform to get you going. Choose from different Live Coding Classes by Codevidhya.
2. Comparing Yourself with Others
“We get too bogged down by comparisons and competition. On the road to excellence, you are your own benchmark. You have to be your strongest critic.” – Anupam Kher
As discussed above, everyone has their capabilities. One must know what he or she is capable of learning. Everyone is different. They have their way of learning the same thing. One might understand a topic in a day, and the other might take a day or two. But that does not matter. What matters is, learning must not stop.
Comparing with others will demotivate you. So while learning to code, do not rush, stay with the flow, and do not ever think that you cannot do it. Because at the end of the day, you will succeed in what you are trying to achieve.
3. Pretending like you know everything
The world of coding is never-ending. No one knows everything. You keep on learning all your life. Even the best of the best programmers learn from every day. The rate at which technology is advancing, there is something new every other day. Languages evolve, get updates, the new framework gets published, new languages come to the world.
Technically, there is no end to this. Therefore, while learning to code, if you have a stronghold over a language, it does not mean that you know it all. There is always more to it. Never overestimate your capabilities and keep the learning process going throughout your life.
What you can do is, keep yourself updated with the trends, know the areas you need to sharpen, ask for help whenever necessary stay confident.
4. Not asking for help when required
As discussed in the above point, this is a big river of knowledge. You never know when you can get stuck. And if you do, this is not a bad thing. The best of the programmers get stuck in their work. So at any point in time, if you are stuck with your code and do not know how to proceed further, ask for help from someone that you believe can fix it.
That’s never a bad practice, but instead, it improves team-building skills and enhances communication. These are some crucial skills that programmers must possess.
5. Giving up
For a beginner, learning to code can be tiresome sometimes. There are so many topics that revolve while learning a language for the first time. Always remember, “Why you started it?” The journey is really interesting if one is determined, persistent, and knows what he/she’s doing. There might be ups and downs throughout the learning process, but giving up in-between must not be an option.
Instead, if you are struggling with the journey, there are plenty of solutions that might help you out in the process. Follow these strategies which can help you get away from giving-up this beautiful journey:
- Relax for a week if you are taking in too much.
- Find a different approach.
- Learn from your failures.
- Think of the bigger picture.
- Celebrate your achievements.
6. Not Checking the Code Constantly
As a matter of fact, Facebook runs on around 62 million lines of code. It would take years to check the code line by line to complete before publishing, which is definitely not a healthy practice. If we talk about thousand lines of code, it will take 3-4 days to debug it. It will pile up problems in your code.
That is why, in the IT Industry, it is crucial to check the code after every 100-200 lines so that the debugging process becomes hassle-free. Also, if you check the code constantly, it will be easier to test the code and will help you o write better codes. It helps to fix bugs, and it helps to solve problems faster. It makes your code more arranged, efficient and saves a lot of time.
7. Skipping Important Topics while Learning to Code
Coding is a step-by-step process like we discussed in this article. While learning any skill, this is always important to follow this approach, i.e, follow a specific path and not derail from it. Suppose you are learning mathematics, you cannot learn algebra if you do not have the basic numerology skills. It will be difficult to progress in such ways.
Likewise, this is strictly not recommended to skip topics while learning to code. For example, if you do not have proper knowledge of operators and variables, you cannot learn control statements and arrays.
8. Not Practicing Enough
Learning is nothing without real practicing every day. Coding is all about practicing. There will be problems in the code, and the best way to learn is by solving these problems. If you write lines of code every day, the methods to solve these problems will become clearer to you. Practicing coding every day will enhance your analytical and problem-solving skills.
It will be difficult to solve problems without practice. If you don’t practice, you will lose a fair amount of knowledge within a month or so, Once you know the language pretty well, if you keep on practicing, it will further boost your hold over the language. Try coding every day and turn this task into a habit.
You can follow these steps while practicing coding:
- Learn from Coding Tutorials.
- Solve Algorithms.
- Participate in Coding Challenges.
- Build Projects.
- Launch your Website.
- Teach others basic Coding.
9. Learning from Multiple Resources
Yes, this might seem like a good approach, but this is not recommended at all while learning to code. Learning to code from several resources has numerous bad consequences. Learning from multiple resources will confuse the learner. As different resources use different solutions and definitions for a single problem, as a beginner, one might not understand how both solutions are working to produce the same result. After reaching a specific level, a programmer will know by himself the different ways to solve problems.
10. Not Making Coding a Routine
As discussed in the above points, coding skills get better with practice. And practicing coding must be a habit. Having a routine is always helpful while one is working to improve a skill. This will enhance memory power, help you stay focused, and make coding a part of your life. Create objectives every week and complete them.
To make coding a routine, you can do the following:
- Solve a Coding Challenge every day.
- Keep a specific time to practice, set an alarm.
- Minimize Distractions
- Read and research for 1 hour every day.
Start your Coding Journey by following these 10 above steps and nail it!
To get more information about Coding for Kids, visit Codevidhya.