The epiphany
Maybe like me, you're sitting in your room one day, frustrated at where you are and your career prospects. You've sent out what feels like a thousand job applications and received more silence than even rejection emails. You make a decision that you want to switch paths and decide to try coding since you've heard so much about it.
Awesome that you've taken that first step to make a decision. Now what?
I'll share 5 tips that were incredibly helpful to me as I got started.
1. Find your why
It's extremely important to understand why you want to venture into this coding journey. Are you looking to challenge yourself? Is it for job security? Do you want to gain a hard skill? Are you looking for a new creative outlet? Do you want to be rolling in moneeeey? (Let's be honest, the salary ranges are pretty impressive, especially if you're coming from the non-profit world). Whatever the reason is, sit with yourself for a little bit and try to figure out what is driving you. This is necessary because when it gets tough, and it will get tough, you need to remember why you started.
2. Find your niche
You've identified what's driving you. Great! The next step is to figure out where you want to start. It's important to take your time here to research- read articles/blogs, watch youtube videos to understand what programming languages there are and which intersect with your interests/strengths.
Remember though, that just because you start in one area, it doesn't mean you are tied there forever. There is also no right or wrong place to start. It's all a matter of your interest and your purpose.
A good place to start is to understand the difference between Frontend and Backend development. From here, you can then decide on what programming language you want to start with.
3. Start!
You might be tempted to spend weeks doing research and planning how you will start, but the truth is, you just have to jump right in. Starting can look like joining a free or paid bootcamp, paying for an online course, or just following tutorials on youtube. I started by joining a free, virtual 5-week intensive bootcamp run by the Visiola Foundation. Whatever your preferred method is, the crucial thing is just to get started.
There is nothing quite like typing up some code and seeing the outcome. (You may or may not run around your house, showing everyone what that one line of code created).
4. Find your flow
You've found your why, chosen an area to start in and written some lines of code. Amazing! It takes a lot to go from thinking about starting, to getting to where you are now.
Coding, like many things in life, requires consistency. There is no way around it. If you want the concepts to stick, you've gotta be consistent. You want to get faster at finishing tasks? You've got to be consistent. You want to build fancy things? You've got to be consistent.
What can help keep you consistent?
Pick something you want to build: Decide on what you want to create, give yourself a realistic timeline (be easy on yourself if the end date shifts a bit. It happens a lot as you will come to discover) and start.
Give yourself a reward: I find that having a reward to look forward to helps me stay consistent. If I code everyday for x amount of weeks, I earn a staycation at a nice hotel. Your reward doesn't have to be huge, just make sure it helps you stay motivated.
5. Find your community
Still on the topic of consistency, I find that having a community is key. The dev community on Twitter is amazing. Committing to the #100daysofcode challenge is a great motivator. Not only does it give you something to work towards, it's also inspiring to see what other people are creating at different points in their journey. Be careful though not to compare your day 10 with someone's day 85. Let it inspire you, not make you discouraged.
You can also join the hashnode discord, which is filled with amazing people doing many different things and keeping each other encouraged.
Finally, if you can find a coding buddy, do it! I have a friend that I check in with everyday for 5 minutes. She does backend and I do frontend, but we share what we're working on (even if the other person doesn't understand), what we're proud of and what our barriers are.