18 May Boost Your Coding Skills With These Great Tools and Coding Bootcamps
As more jobs for software developers, programmers, and coders become available in the market, companies are looking for individuals that come with a wide range of coding skills. Luckily, for coders, there’s plenty of ways to get more knowledge of their programming language outside of sitting in a classroom. As a coder, you’re always looking for new ways to boost your skills to better prepare you for your current job or possibly a new opportunity!
What is coding?
Coding is the science and process of writing code that is compiled to form different types of programs that can be executed by a computer or a code reader. Code has a specific function or a set of different functions. There are different types of coding, however, some of which requires a high level of abstract thinking.
Think of coding as writing a book for a computer. You’re writing this book in a language that only the computer can read. For web developers, they write code that is used to build responsive and functioning websites. Coding is an essential skill in order to build the best possible website and is necessary in a number of various industries.
With all of the tools available on the Internet for coders to learn from, free and for purchase, it can be a bit overwhelming deciding which tool would be best to use to boost your coding skills. Like any craft or skill, people always want to invest more time to get better at it. In this blog, we’ll share some of the best tools and coding courses to boost your coding knowledge and coding skills to help you advance your career.
Altcademy
Three coding-related courses are available at Altcademy: full-stack, front-end, and back-end web development. All of these courses are fully self-paced and are geared toward beginners. Students learn the principles of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, jQuery, and other languages in the full-stack web development program. Students can add career support for an extra $560 to this course’s $1,090 cost. Students gain access to tech interview question assistance, practice interviews, and resume checks with this add-on.
Udacity
Udacity offers courses that can be finished in as little as one day or as long as four months. These longer courses are called “nanodegrees,” and Udacity offers quite a few of them with a programming and web development focus. Udacity provides an introductory programming course for newcomers that covers the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, and SQL. Students who already have some coding experience, nevertheless, can choose intermediate courses in full-stack, front-end, and back-end programming. Students also receive access to a private forum with questions and answers, individualized critique, and assistance from tech mentors.
Stack Overflow
A lot of coders can find themselves getting stuck or needing help, just like a lot of people in other tech paths. Sometimes there can be a coding question that Google simply can’t answer. That’s where Stack Overflow comes in. Stack Overflow is a very popular coding forum with a Q&A format. It was developed and established by Jeff Atwood, who also created the Coding Horror blog, another popular resource for coders.
Stack Overflow is simple to use and has become an amazing free resource for those who code. Ask your question and wait for an experienced coder to answer it in your thread. While Stack Overflow isn’t the only coding forum out there, it’s very well-known and offers you a high chance of solving your issues quickly so you can move forward with your projects!
CodeWars
Like most skills in life, coding requires a ton of practice in order to further the development of the skill. Think of how a basketball player spends countless hours working on their free throw shot, a football player catches hundreds of balls to work on their hands and focus, or a dancer spends their free time in the studio learning a new move. Programming challenges can allow a coder to work on their fundamentals of programming, similar to how athletes can work on the fundamentals of their sport.
CodeWars has hundreds of different programming challenges that span across different languages and get graded purely by their difficulty. It’s a great way to see how your work stacks up against other programmers. CodeWars allows you to see the highest-ranked solutions to each challenge, offering great insight into how other people code and giving you more knowledge for future projects.
Springboard
The online, intensive software engineering coding bootcamp offered by Springboard lets students progress at their own rate. The curriculum is meant to be completed in nine months, although highly motivated students who can put in more than 20 to 25 hours a week of study time may be able to complete it much sooner. Students in the Springboard program are also promised to obtain employment in the field of software engineering within six months of graduation, or their tuition will be reimbursed. Everyone is not obligated to opt-in, and not all students are qualified for this.
Code Climate
Code Climate is a great tool to use for developers of all experience levels. It is an automated code analysis tool that grades your programming skills on complexity, duplication, security, style, and more. It can give you plenty of valuable insight and feedback into the quality of your code. For seasoned programmers, you’re always looking for how your code can be better.
Code Climate can give you a launching point for where things are wrong and how you can improve your language. It is a very simple tool for those looking to improve the details. It can also be a helpful tool for team projects. It does come with a free trial, but paid memberships are required after the two-week trial period.
CodePen
For front-end developers, learning new tricks and using new tools can help create amazing websites and landing pages that wow visitors. One tool that helps build these valuable skills is CodePen. It is a website full of great examples of front-end development. Its contributors offer plenty of inspiration and examples of extreme creativity. As the technology for front-end development continues to progress, more intricate styles of code are becoming available to create beautiful sites and pages.
Code Editor
A code editor is software that is specifically designed to help developers with coding. Using a high-quality code editor can help improve the speed of a person’s coding. The editor is a great tool if you’re writing your own code from scratch. Some of the best code editors available are:
TwilioQuest
TwilioQuest is an educational video game designed to teach the newest generation of coders and web developers the best ways to change the world with code in a 16-bit concept. It helps to prepare programmers for real-world programming by helping them to configure a local development environment. It also introduces them to tools used by professional programmers all over the world in order to build their coding skills.
Coding Courses
All over the internet, there are plenty of educational courses built to help programmers of all skill levels. These courses can help you learn basic code, figure out your language of choice, help build your problem-solving skills, as well as help you with understanding the foundational skills of coding while learning different skill sets. Universities offer online courses in coding that allows you to earn accreditation and there are free sites that can offer similar courses and challenges. Some of the best sites to find these courses and challenges are:
Some of these courses are free and some do cost money in order to take them, so it comes down to a personal preference of what kind of quality you are looking to get out of your program!
Other great coding resources
- Team Treehouse: Team Treehouse offers interactive learning courses that include quizzes and coding challenges, mini-programs to help you learn a new skill set, expert-led video courses for all levels of programming, and much more.
- Learn to Code With Me: Learn to Code With Me offers a wide range of coding resources and tools to help build your coding skills! With helpful links and sponsored resources for programmers of all skill levels, Learn to Code With Me is a great resource index for young and experienced developers.
Scion Technology can help you advance your career in tech!
Regardless of where you currently are in your career- starting, middle or if you just desire to learn a new skill- these resources are an incredible starting place. We hope you utilize these tools to grow your coding skills and career! Scion Technology can also help you find new and exciting opportunities in the tech field. With jobs like computer programmers, web developers, and coding professionals becoming available, our staff is standing by to help match you with the perfect career. Find out more today by visiting our website and our about us page, or contact us today to get started with one of our professional recruiters!
