You’re a beginner programmer. In a year, you’ll be developing web applications for Kaspi Bank, launching your own mobile apps and chatbots. You’ll be rich, no doubt about it.

But there’s a journey to get there. Not everyone makes it; some lack the nerves, others the strength. That’s why there’s a shortage of programmers in the market. If you make it, it will work to your advantage.

Choosing the right path for self-education is crucial. Throughout your journey, you should be motivated by the thought in the first sentence of this article. If your motivation fades, come up with a new one—it doesn’t always have to be about money. Programming, after all, is a deeply fascinating activity.

Online Courses

Everywhere you look, there’s an ad for online (or offline) courses. You might think this is the easy path: just pay, and they’ll teach you everything. They won’t. You have to learn on your own; they can only assist. They’ll guide you, show you the way, but you’ll have to walk it yourself.

All the theory given in courses is available online and completely free. There’s ChatGPT, which can point out where you’re going wrong.

That said, online courses are still beneficial, especially if there’s a live instructor who interacts with you. I don’t see much difference between pre-recorded lectures and live ones, but an instructor who simply engages with you can instill confidence that you’re on the right path. Essentially, they’re like a GPS navigator. It’s enough for them to see your code and say, “Everything’s correct.” Without confidence in your direction, anyone will eventually stop.

At the same time, another indicator of being on the right track is the projects you complete and launch. For example, if you let your friends use your mobile app, and they’re impressed, it will motivate you even further.

Tutorials

Tutorials are step-by-step guides (text or video). Your task is to follow exactly what’s written or shown in the tutorial. Are tutorials useful? Absolutely! But only at the beginning.

If you complete one tutorial after another and everything works out, don’t be overly confident. This is like repeating after a Spanish speaker to learn to speak Spanish. It’s not a completely useless activity, but it won’t teach you to speak. How can you learn? You need to create new sentences, not just repeat.

For example, someone asks you in Spanish, “How do I get to the library?” and you reply by slightly altering the question: “How do I get to the train station?” You’ve only changed one word, but you’re starting to understand where and how words can be substituted, and how nearby words change depending on context.

You need to do the same thing with tutorials—follow them, but always change something.

For instance, if a tutorial guides you through creating a car dealership website, adapt it to make a musical instrument store instead. You’ll need to modify every step: models, databases, HTML forms, file names, variables, and so on. If you’re coding a game about a jumping boy, tweak it to include a different level, altered gravity, and additional features.

Getting Started

Eventually, after gaining some experience, ditch the tutorials and courses and start working on your own project!

It’ll be tough at first. You’ll look for tips online, ask ChatGPT tons of questions, but in one project, you’ll learn far more than from any online course or tutorial.

But all these tutorials and courses should give you the confidence that this is something you can do! That you, on your computer, are capable of achieving it! That’s their primary benefit. Don’t expect to immediately master programming or big data analysis after completing a course.

So, the most important thing is to start! Find your path and don’t fear making mistakes. Success in programming requires nothing but persistence and continuous practice.