4 Ways to Test and Evolve Your Coding Skills 

Computer coding is a rapidly growing field that can offer you the chance to improve your employment options. Coding is a rapidly growing industry, and a skill you can pick up at any age. It’s important when learning any coding language, to create a diverse study program, to make sure you are really learning instead of memorizing for a test. Continue reading to learn different ways to evolve and grow your coding skills.

Learn the Language

As with any industry, coding has its own language or jargon. A simple way to boost your understanding of coding is to read the latest articles published by coding and computer science publications. Understanding common terms are important to learning any new skill, especially technically complicated ones like coding.

If you’re just starting out, keep Google handy so you can search down the string of terms. If you have a bug in the system, you need to be able to find out if it’s in the front-end code or the back-end code. Because the front-end and the back-end control different things, chasing down problems requires a strong knowledge of the jargon.

Take your time on these. Read some, search the definitions to build familiarity, then read some more. Let your curiosity guide you on these issues and try to do this with a fresh brain so you don’t fall down the rabbit hole in your searching. A tired brain will not easily recall what you’ve learned.

As with most industries, there will always be more phrases than you will be able to remember. Take the time to remember common phrases, and keep within reach useful resources to look up anything you don’t understand.

Create a Game

If you love to play computer games, you already have a base interest in coding and the outcomes of coding. You can increase your skills and get immediate feedback by building a python maze game that you can play immediately upon creation.

Building such a game allows you to rapidly use the skills you’ve been studying. For example, you can study a small portion of the problem or puzzle, code it, play it, and fix it or keep going. This is exactly the opposite of studying all semester to take one test at the end. If you make a mistake early on, you can rapidly find it, fix it, learn, and move on.

Small coding games like this are great, because they are simple, but can give you a good visual representation of your progress in learning a certain coding language. As your skill grows, the game will get better, and in the end, you have a deliverable to show potential employers or instructors where you are currently at.

Sign Up For Bootcamp

A bootcamp for coding can be as long as 40 weeks or as short as a weekend. If you’ve never coded before, a weekend class for beginners can be an ideal way to immerse yourself in basic coding and focus to build your skills quickly.

If you don’t have the time or desire to pursue a traditional computer science degree, a bootcamp can be a great alternative option. For instance, if you want to pick up a new language to become eligible for a promotion, a bootcamp can provide the fundamentals, and from there you can become more fluent over time.

Like language immersion, coding bootcamps allow you to sink deeply into the education experience. There are no breaks from learning in the traditional sense; the entire experience is a learning process that will change your mindset, increase your ability to think logically and boost your confidence. Even if you have been in computer science for many years, a bootcamp can be beneficial to keep you up to date on new and upcoming trends.

If you plan to use your bootcamp certificate on a job hunt, do be aware that not all employers will give a great deal of weight to your certificate. However, if you are interested in getting started as a coder and want to boost your confidence before entering the classroom, a bootcamp can put you ahead of the curve. It can also be a great refresher if you’re headed back into the classroom. If you’re already coding, a bootcamp to give you specific training on a particular process can be more beneficial in the working world.

Take on Self-Study

Coding problems are puzzles. If you enjoy puzzles and games but do not have a strong background in mathematics, you may enjoy projects such as Project Euler. While some of the beginning puzzles may seem simplistic, they prepare your brain for the next puzzle and allow you to build skills and enjoy the solving process.

Be prepared to back up a few steps if you find any coding problem that seems insurmountable. Writers of code and writers of text have similar challenges when it comes to chasing down problems; we see what we intended to write, which may be different from what shows up on the screen. Be ready to take a step back, clear your head, and take another look at the problem when you’re out of the narrative.

Coding, like most other skills take time and practice to learn. You can get help from online programs, or through others who have experience in the language. Overall, your success will come down to how much time you are willing to dedicate to learning it, and finding various learning methods that suit your brain.

Conclusion

Coding is a remarkable way to learn to function creatively within constraints. Computers function in a different and limited language. Getting endlessly variable results to satisfy your clients from this language will require you to push the envelope of your skills. You may also find yourself writing code to achieve results that nobody has ever accomplished before. Building your coding skills and learning your craft will give you the chance to be in a field that never stops learning.