My Coding Journey

Ever worried that you are not good enough to learn coding? You are not alone!
I was you. I was stressed and worried, as much as you might be now.
Hopefully reading about experiences from a stranger in the same situation just like you, will help.
At the end of the day, what I've learnt from this journey is that don't ever give up,
and don't try to do it all on your own.

Huong Nguyen

A Front-end Developer and part-time gardener.
I love everything about programmer life

HTML

90%

CSS

80%

Javascript

70%

Gardener

50%

** More about the code for this site:

** Check out my freeCodeCamp and Codewars:

Jun 2017

CODECADEDMY

Started my journey by doing the foundations of HTML and CSS from Codecademy. Codecademy focuses on teaching beginners. It offers a mix of fun lessons, practical exercises, and rewards for your progress.

The only problem I had is that I can get the solution very easily when stuck. I found that I lost a bit of motivation to fully understand the solution. It is kind of a passive learning for me

Check it out here: Codecademy

September 2017

CODE FIRST GIRLS

After discovering Codefirstgirls through one of their events, I applied for their 3-month introduction to web development course. The course runs once a week in the evening.
I was struggling for the first 2 weeks as there was so much new knowledge I needed to understand (github, git, commandline, how the internet works).

Having said that, it is not impossible to learn. It will be always hard when you learn something completely new. Just keep learning is the key and it will be rewarding at the end!

Check out their new courses: CodeFirstGirls

December 2017

JAVASCRIPT THROUGH YOUTUBE

Even after few months coding, I found myself still struggling to write effective Javascript. Youtube is one of the great online resources to learn (because for me, its not just passive reading).

There are so many different learning channels on Youtube. I'd recommend to try a few and practice along the way when you're watching the video. It feels like pair-programming to me when I do that.

My favourite learning channel: The Coding Train

September 2017

FREECODECAMP

freeCodeCamp (FCC) is another great online platform to learn coding as they provide free-form projects and testing during the tutorials. By this time I had already completed my codecademy and codefirstgirls lessons, so taking FCC tutorials gave me a different view on how to understand the code and new challenges.

Learning coding is exactly like how to learn a new foreign language. The more practice and resources you get, the better understanding from different perspectives you will gain.

More coding tutorials: freeCodeCamp

March 2018

CODEBAR

Codebar is an amazing tech community that helps me with any technical problem, and where I can make friends with many like-minded people. It is amazing not just because you will get help from experienced coaches on the 1-1 (or 2-1) team, but also you'll learn their real experiences on problem solving.

Codebar runs many different workshops in different locations (either in the UK or somewhere else). In London, they're running 2-3 workshops per week (web and android development). The availble spots run out quickly, and they'll publish the opening date on their slack channel. Make sure you join it to be kept updated.

Weekly coding workshops: Codebar

April 2018

CODEWARS

Great for challenges and problem solving skills - pa pow. It can be quite confusing when you first go on the codewars website. On the platform, you are a code warrior who will train, either by yourself or with others, on programming challenges known as katas.

Every kata has its own rank, which is used to indicate its difficulty. You begin with Kyu at level 8 and work your way down to level 1. Then you progress to Dan, where you work your way up from level 1 to level 8. Doesn't that sound super cool!!

Are you ready for some challenges? -> Codewars

May 2018

KATATHON

Super cool Saturday coding workshop with weekly themes of codewars and freeCodeCamp. As I mentioned from the very beginning, coding on my own was intimidating and not always enjoyable. Every time I got stuck with my code, my emotion immediately went down the hill.

I never find myself being like that when I'm surrounded by other people. That's why I always come to coding workshops to learn or even just sit there and do my own projects. There are always people that can give you advice. There are plenty of free coding workshops, pick one that you feel comfortable with.

Free this Saturday? -> Katathon

June 2018

CHINGU COHORT

A build-to-learn project working with a remote team of developers around the world. If you want to experience how it's like to be working in a dev team, I'd recommend to join Chingu. Chingu motivates you to step out of your comfort zone, to learn something very new and how to work with other developers.

On our Chingu project, I decided to adopt the React framework for our website front-end. It was the first time I experienced React/Node and webpack. I did have some "panic attack" moments to learn how to use these new technologies. But keep at it and you'll get there.

New cohorts are coming soon: Chingu

MEETUP EVENTS

Coding all the time is good, but it's even better if you can share your story to other people or listening to their experience on the latest technologies and trends. I do enjoy going to a lot of talks. Just knowing that I'm not alone can give me the confidence to move forward in my development learning path.

Codebar and CodeFirstGirls normally host monthly talks, or you can find more events on MeetUp.com. My favourite are React.JS Girls London, Ladies of Code (London) and Codebar Monthly

Check out more events on: MeetUp

ONLINE CODING GROUPS

You might not always have the time or opportunity to come to meetups. Don't loose hope yet. There are numerous of online coding groups that you can get help from.


Check out some channels below: