Becoming a better programmer is a journey of continuous learning and growth. Here are 7 tips to help you level up your coding skills and thrive in the tech world:
1. Practice Consistently
Set aside regular time for coding practice. Consistency is critical to improving your skills. If you practice one hour daily, it's 30 hours of training at the end of the month and maybe one or a few projects built.
2. Learn by Doing
Apply what you learn by building projects. Hands-on experience solidifies concepts. When you tackle a new idea, build a mini-project using it (e.g., I'm learning CSS, I'll make a stylized version of my CV).
3. Read Code
Study other people's code, whether open-source projects or tutorials. It's always good to understand different coding styles and patterns. Everyone has a different approach to solving a problem, which will help you learn more.
4. Embrace Challenges
Don't shy away from complex problems. Tackling challenges helps you develop problem-solving skills. From my experience, I learned the most when I struggled. The main reason is that I spent a long time investigating the issue, which taught me many other concepts to solve my problem.
5. Use Version Control
Git and platforms like GitHub are essential. Learning version control helps you collaborate effectively. That's also a base skill when you want to work in a company. Everyone collaborates using these tools, and it's an efficient way to share code.
6. Stay Curious
Technology evolves quickly. Stay curious and keep exploring new languages, frameworks, and tools. Don't become obsessed by jumping on each new framework, but be aware of them. There are many YouTube channels, podcasts, and blogs that can help you to do that.
7. Seek Feedback
Share your code and projects for feedback. Constructive criticism helps you improve faster. That's also a mechanism enabled by Git with the review process (used in Open-Source and companies).
Anything to add? 🚀👇
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Top comments (4)
Hi Gaël,
This is an excellent list but I would like to suggest one additional: Learn the Software Engineering discipline, or at very least, unit test your code.
I quite like these definitions:
Regards, Tracy
I agree with you; knowing the good practices and principles and doing things such as testing code is a great way to become a better programmer.
My list focused more on actionable actions in the "learning phase", but this is a good addition.
Thanks for sharing this! 🙌
Facing difficulties and asking for input are crucial.
Great share!
Great addition, @avwerosuoghene! You're welcome! 😄