How I Learned to Code in 4 MONTHS & Got a Job Offer (no CS Degree)
Summary
TLDRThis video script narrates the inspiring journey of a self-taught software engineer who, without a computer science degree or boot camp, learned to code in just four months using free online resources. Starting with Python and web programming basics, the individual progressed through Harvard's CS50 course and its web programming follow-up, gaining proficiency in programming languages and web development frameworks. The script emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and problem-solving in the field of software engineering. It concludes with the speaker's successful job acquisition through an internship conversion and encourages viewers to pursue coding as a valuable, in-demand skill.
Takeaways
- 🎓 The speaker learned to code from scratch in four months without a computer science degree or attending a boot camp.
- 💻 All learning materials for coding were found for free on the internet, proving that it's possible to become proficient without incurring costs.
- 🌐 The initial exposure to coding was through Python and web programming, highlighting the importance of starting with accessible languages and technologies.
- 📚 Harvard University's CS50 course on edX was a pivotal learning experience, providing a solid foundation in computer science and programming.
- 🛠️ Problem-solving is a key aspect of programming that the speaker enjoyed, which is not for everyone but is essential for those pursuing coding.
- 🏗️ Understanding the fundamentals of how computers work at a low level is crucial for becoming a better programmer, as emphasized by the CS50 course.
- 🌟 The speaker's passion for learning and solving complex problems drove their journey through the challenging but rewarding field of software engineering.
- 📈 The speaker's progression from basic coding to building full-fledged web applications was facilitated by continuous learning and practice.
- 📈 The speaker secured a software engineering job by leveraging an internship and demonstrating their coding skills and motivation.
- 🚀 The importance of being a lifelong learner in the ever-evolving field of software engineering was highlighted, as new technologies and practices emerge.
- 🌟 Coding is presented as a valuable and in-demand skill, akin to a 'superpower', with high demand and numerous job opportunities for software engineers.
Q & A
How long did it take the speaker to learn coding from scratch?
-It took the speaker around four months to learn coding from scratch.
What was the speaker's educational background before learning to code?
-The speaker had an economics degree from university and had done an internship at a bank.
Why did the speaker decide to learn coding?
-The speaker decided to learn coding to find an industry where they could make a good income and have a more humane lifestyle while working on problems they are excited about.
What resources did the speaker use to start learning coding?
-The speaker started with resources called 'Python for Everybody' and 'The Odin Project', which they found online for free.
What is the difference between computer science and programming according to the speaker?
-Computer science studies how computers work, whereas programming is more about practically creating programs and communicating with computers to accomplish tasks.
Which course did the speaker take to get an introductory understanding of computer science?
-The speaker took Harvard University's CS50 course on edx, which they found to be an excellent and challenging course.
What programming languages did the speaker learn during their journey?
-The speaker learned Python, C, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and also got introduced to web programming and using databases via SQLite.
What is the significance of understanding low-level implementations for a programmer?
-Understanding low-level implementations can make someone a better programmer by providing a deeper understanding of how functions work, which can be beneficial in the long run.
What course did the speaker take to improve their web programming skills after CS50?
-The speaker took CS50's follow-up course called 'Web Programming with Python and JavaScript' to get better at web programming.
How did the speaker secure their first software engineering job?
-The speaker secured their first software engineering job by doing a non-software engineering internship at a big company, performing well, and convincing the company to give them a return offer as a software engineer.
What advice does the speaker give for those wanting to learn coding?
-The speaker advises to try before you think you're ready, to keep learning as the field is always evolving, and to consider if a lifelong learning mindset is suitable for the individual.
What does the speaker suggest about the future of software engineering jobs?
-The speaker suggests that there will be more software engineering jobs in the future, and that currently, there are not enough software engineers to fill the available positions.
What is the speaker doing while waiting for their job to start?
-The speaker is building projects on their own to get even better at coding and is digging deeper into computer science using free materials on the internet.
Outlines
🎓 Learning to Code and Landing a Software Engineering Job
The speaker shares their personal journey of learning to code from scratch in just four months without a computer science degree or any formal training. They emphasize the accessibility of free online resources and their decision to transition from an economics background to software engineering due to a lack of passion for finance. The speaker highlights their use of 'Python for Everybody' and the 'Odin Project' to learn programming basics and web development. They also discuss the importance of understanding computer fundamentals, which they gained through Harvard University's free CS50 course on edX. The speaker's enthusiasm for problem-solving and learning is evident as they delve into the challenges and rewards of coding, and they stress the ongoing nature of learning in the tech industry.
🚀 Advancing Web Programming Skills and Career Transition
The speaker continues by detailing their progression to advanced web programming through Harvard's CS50's follow-up course, which focuses on web development with Python and JavaScript. They describe the course's fast pace and the practical experience of building web applications using the Django framework. The speaker emphasizes the value of these projects for building a portfolio suitable for entry-level job applications. They acknowledge the continuous learning required in software engineering and the need to adapt to new technologies and practices. The speaker shares their personal experience of securing a software engineering job offer by leveraging an internship at a large company and demonstrating their coding skills and motivation. They encourage viewers to take initiative and apply for jobs before feeling fully prepared, as opportunities can arise unexpectedly. The speaker concludes by discussing their ongoing self-education in computer science and their commitment to continuous improvement and learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡coding
💡self-taught
💡software engineer
💡programming languages
💡web programming
💡computer science
💡CS50
💡framework
💡portfolio
💡lifelong learner
💡internship
Highlights
The speaker learned to code from scratch in just four months and landed a job as a software engineer.
The speaker did not have a computer science degree, nor did they attend a boot camp or pay for any materials.
Coding can be learned for free on the internet, as demonstrated by the speaker's personal experience.
Initially, the speaker had no understanding of coding but had a vague idea of it being related to typing on a computer.
The journey of learning to code started after graduating with an economics degree and disliking the banking industry.
The speaker aimed to find an industry with a humane lifestyle and problems they were excited to work on, leading them to software engineering.
The resources 'Python for Everybody' and 'The Odin Project' were used to begin learning coding.
The speaker learned web programming, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, through these free online resources.
Harvard University's CS50 course on edX was taken to gain a proper introduction to computer science.
CS50 was described as challenging and one of the best courses the speaker ever took, sparking a passion for programming.
The speaker learned the C programming language and gained an understanding of lower-level implementations.
The importance of understanding how computers work at a low level was emphasized for becoming a better programmer.
The difference between computer science and programming was explained, with the former focusing on how computers work and the latter on practical creation.
CS50's final project involved building a full-fledged web application, providing hands-on experience.
The speaker took a follow-up course, 'Web Programming with Python and JavaScript', to deepen their web programming skills.
The follow-up course was more challenging and fast-paced, with weekly projects building full-fledged web applications using Django.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous learning in the field of software engineering.
Coding is described as a skill that is always evolving, with new technologies and practices emerging regularly.
The speaker secured a software engineering job by leveraging an internship at a big company and demonstrating coding potential.
The speaker's advice is to try for opportunities before you think you're ready, as you never know what might happen.
Currently working on personal projects and deepening computer science knowledge using free online materials and self-created tracking systems.
Coding is considered a superpower and an in-demand skill, with high demand for software engineers and many available jobs.
Transcripts
i want to tell you how i learned how to
code from completely zero completely on
my own in just four months and i even
got a job as a software engineer after
that i don't have a computer science
degree i didn't do a boot camp in fact
i've never paid for any materials i've
used to learn coding because in this day
and age coding is a skill that you can
learn for completely free on the
internet i am proof of that and in this
video i want to tell you how i did it so
just a few months ago i had no idea what
coding even was i just had this vague
idea that something related to typing
complicated stuff on a computer to get
it to do something and that's
essentially what programming is it's you
speaking to a computer to tell you what
to do but a few months ago i had
absolutely no idea what it is what all
the other languages do anything related
to it got the idea of learning how to
code after i graduated from university
with an economics degree now most people
who do economics end up doing investment
banking consulting and these types of
things and i did an internship at a bank
but a long story short i absolutely
hated banking i wasn't passionate about
economics and i certainly wasn't
passionate about working in finance or
many of the other industries where
economics grads used to go to i could
have easily done it and gone on to make
a lot of money as a banker but i just
hated the lifestyle the work wasn't
inspiring to me so it was clear that i
needed a new plan so why did i decide to
learn coding i wanted to find an
industry where i could still make a lot
of money but also have a more humane
lifestyle and work on problems that i'm
actually excited to work on so i
discovered software engineering
so i learned that in order to become a
software engineer all you really needed
was know how to code so i went on google
typed how to learn how to code and i
ended up starting with resources called
python for everybody and the ori project
these are both completely free resources
that i found online the former
introduced me to python one of the most
popular programming languages of today
and the latter introduced me to web
programming so i learned how to build a
web page using html css and javascript
and stuff like how the internet actually
works and what it actually means for you
to open a webpage on your computer and i
was absolutely fascinated by all of this
so the next step was to take a proper
introductory course in computer science
and i decided to go for harvard
university cs50 which you can do for
free on edx and i've done a review on it
which you can watch right here long
story short it's an excellent course in
fact it's one of the best courses i've
ever taken in my life i was absolutely
blown away i came out of this course
wanted to consume all the information
there is in the world about programming
and computer science that is how excited
about this field i was and that's when i
knew that this was the field that i
really wanted to go into cs50 was very
challenging it's hard programming is
very difficult the thing is i really
like working on difficult problems like
this and by the way this kind of problem
solving is not for everyone and that's
completely fine the problem says of the
course absolutely kicked my ass but i
really embraced the challenge from this
course i learned the c programming
language which got me introduced to the
lower level implementations of a lot of
the functions that you will take for
granted in a language like python the
course does use python as well so i got
even more comfortable with python i also
got introduced to web programming which
i had already been doing as part of the
odin project i also got introduced to
how to use databases via sqlite but most
importantly it taught me the
fundamentals of how computers work at a
low level this is what i feel like many
people learning coding neglect
especially if you're self-taught i think
it's really valuable to at least get
some kind of an understanding of how
computers actually work because i could
actually make you a better programmer
down the line in case you're not aware
of the difference computer science
studies how computers work whereas
programming is more like how do you
practically create program how do you
talk to computers together to do stuff
but the better you understand computers
the better you will always be as a
software engineer or a programmer as the
final project of cs50 you're going to be
building a full-fledged web application
using the stuff that you learn in the
course so at this stage you will
essentially know how to code you'll be
able to build very simple things it'll
be a struggle but you will have an
understanding of what it means to build
a front end of a website and what it
means to build a back end of a website
and what sort of languages i used for
all of these and how to actually connect
the front end with a back end using a
framework like flask which is the one
that you will use in the course so after
doing this before venturing into other
areas of programming i wanted to get
even better at web programming
specifically so i did cs50s follow-up
course web programming with python and
javascript and this course is
essentially a continuation of the
extremely engaging and exciting style of
cs50 but it's just even more focused on
a web programming specifically rather
than computer science as a whole and be
warned this one moves at an even faster
pace than cs50 you'll know from my cs50
review that cs50 is very hard and the
continuation course the cs50 web is even
harder every single week pretty much
you'll be building full-fledged web
application this time using the django
framework it will really really push you
to get better but the great thing is
that every single week you're building
an actual application which you can then
put on your portfolio later to apply for
jobs again they are simple compared to
the stuff that you'll be able to build
if you've worked as a software engineer
for a long time but again for
entry-level jobs they don't really
require that elaborate stuff it took me
a while but i came out of this course
having a pretty decent understanding of
web programming the point that now if i
have an idea of building whatever i can
just go out and figure out how to build
it on my own i don't need a course to
hold my hands anymore and that's really
the goal of these courses is to hold
your hands to the point where you know
just enough so that you can go into the
world yourself and build whatever you
want to build so if you do all of these
steps and you do them properly you will
now know how to code i did this all in
around four months it might take you
longer if it does that's completely fine
i had a lot of time to put into this i
was able to work on all of this for
around a couple of hours each day it's
absolutely fine to take your time but
before i get all the experienced
software engineer typing on my comment
cool you know how to create a simple web
program as nothing look hold on i
understand coding is a skill that you
will never really master it's a field
where you always need to keep learning
new things because there are always new
technologies coming out software
engineering practices changed and that
kind of stuff so when i say you will
know how to code i don't mean that you
will be a master i don't
mean that you will be a great software
engineer what i mean is that you will
know enough to start creating simple
things and you will know enough to get
your foot in the door in the industry
than to get your first job in terms of
web programming for example you will
understand what the front end and back
end means and how to connect them using
a framework like django or flask and you
will sort of know how to navigate
yourself into tech world and that is
what i would call the first step of
getting into the software engineering
industry and then when you get your
first job that's when you will keep
improving down the line obviously this
field is something where you will need
to become a lifelong learner you need to
be someone who likes learning new skills
and updating their learning all the time
if that's not you then this field might
not be for you i know it's for me
because i love learning new things
that's why i'm so excited about this
field just keep in mind and think to
yourself whether this is actually
something that you want or that you
don't want but i will tell you that in
this day and age coding is sort of the
closest thing that we have to a
superpower it's one of the most in
demand skills in the world so if you
just learn enough coding to get your
foot in the door you'll pretty much be
good for the rest of your life there is
so much demand for these skills there
are so many jobs of software engineers i
know it's not going to be replaced by ai
anytime soon if it does please kill me
in fact if you look at any other
predictions from people and my own
opinion there will just be more and more
software engineering jobs in the future
and currently there are not enough
software engineers in the world to fill
up all the positions that are available
so if you learn this skill you will have
something extremely valuable and it's a
pretty good feeling to be able to offer
something that's genuinely valuable to
the world okay so i didn't talk about my
software engineering job yet so here's
how that happened the truth is that i
got slightly lucky because what actually
happened is that during this process
that i've described i did a non-software
engineering internship at a big company
it was a business kind of internship and
it just so happened that i was in a
division that also hired software
engineers i did well in the internship
and they wanted to give me a return
offer so i just asked them hey would it
be possible to get that return offer as
a software engineer because actually
i've been learning coding so i was
basically just able to convince them of
my potential and motivation as a coder
person to get them to give my return
offer as a software engineer so you
could say that i got slightly lucky but
what this goes to show is that you
should always ask you should always try
before you think you're ready at this
point i was around two months into my
process i certainly didn't think i knew
enough coding to actually apply for
software engineer jobs directly but what
this goes to show is that try before you
think you're ready you never know what's
gonna happen and even if i hadn't got
this job i think with my skills now i
would certainly be able to apply for a
software engineer jobs directly i have a
lot of side projects i've done in my
portfolio and i can talk about my
passion and motivation to this field in
a very genuine way and so what i'm doing
now while i wait for my job to start i'm
building projects on my own to get even
better and i'm digging deeper into
computer science itself and i'm doing
this completely on my own without paying
for anything as well and actually
created a full system to track my
progress learning computer science using
materials on the internet using notion
and i made this video about it the
response has been amazing i'm sure
you'll love it go watch it and if you
want to follow my journey of
self-teaching computer science and life
as a self-taught software engineer make
sure to subscribe
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