Self-taught programmers are people who have independently learned programming skills without formal education in this field. They often start from scratch using available resources like online courses, books, and video tutorials. The success stories of self-taught programmers are inspiring and show that perseverance and dedication can lead to significant advances in the tech world.
The benefits of self-study
Flexibility
Self-study allows you to study at a convenient time and at a free pace, choosing interesting and exciting topics.
Availability of resources
There are plenty of free and paid resources online for learning how to program, including online courses, books, forums, and video tutorials. For example, Progkids has the opportunity to learn coding with the help of an AI teacher who will always support a novice programmer and answer any questions they may have.
Practical experience
Self-taught people often start developing their own projects, which allows them to immediately apply what they have learned in practice.
Adaptability
When gaining knowledge without a teacher, a novice programmer quickly adapts to new technologies and trends, as he chooses the style and topics of study himself.
Success stories
Jack Dorsey
One of Twitter's co-founders who started coding at school. He independently tried to create a program that would be able to track transport in his city. As a result, he got software for dispatching a bicycle courier service, which, unfortunately, was not in demand.
Kevin Systrom
As a teenager, the future Instagram co-founder was crazy about video games. He spent days in front of his computer playing Doom 2. However, Kevin didn't want to be just a gamer — he wanted to create his own reality.
Markus Persson
When the creator of Minecraft was 7 years old, he started programming at home on a Commodore 128 computer. At age 8, he created his first text game. Markus didn't graduate from high school, but the boy's mother, aware of his IT skills, insisted that he sign up for online programming courses and continue to improve his coding skills.
Steve Wozniak
Apple's co-founder learned to code in high school by buying and studying a book on Fortran. After that, he was even hired by Sylvania.
Steve later created his own personal computer for Apple I's personal use, and Steve Jobs decided to sell it. Apple I was their joint venture's first product.
David Karp
Founder of Tumblr, a microblogging platform that brings together like-minded people. He has been interested in programming and technology since childhood. When David was 11 years old, he learned HTML on his own.
How to learn to program by yourself
#1. Define your goals
Decide which programming languages and technologies you are interested in and what exactly you would like to create: games, apps, websites, etc.
#2. Find resources
Based on the goal, select the necessary materials: books, video tutorials, etc.
#3. Practice
Create small projects to put your knowledge into practice. This will help you feel confident and motivate you to move forward.
#4. Chat
Join online forums like Stack Overflow, social media groups, and local developer communities to share experiences and get support.
#5. Take part in game jams and hackathons
These events provide an opportunity to work on projects as a team and gain valuable development experience under the pressure of time.
Examples of projects for beginners
Portfolio website
Create a personal website with information about yourself and your projects.
Chatbot
Develop a chatbot for a messenger or social network using the API.
The game
Create a simple game in the programming language of your choice.
Automation script
Write a script to automate a routine task on your computer.
It's never too late to become a self-taught programmer! All you need is determination and perseverance. Regardless of age or previous experience, anyone can become a successful programmer thanks to available resources and ongoing practice.
Does your child want to learn to code? Then write it down to free trial lesson at Progkids! By the way, we have an AI teacher who will help you learn coding on your own!
