How do you find quality programming courses online?

By far, the leading reason I have seen for why someone wants to complete an online programming course is to broaden their job prospects and market value. For this reason, I highly suggest choosing a course provider that will not only reach the fundamentals of programming, but also provide a primer on professional development and help with direct job placement into the industry. As for languages and tools - these are ever evolving. The quality of the course will not correlate strongly with the programming language, but there is definitely value in having hands-on experience with the most popular and modern tools used by industry experts today.

I find the notion of solely learning a language or tool somewhat limiting. My approach revolves around following a defined path. For instance, in the realm of web development, I propose a sequential journey: HTML -> CSS -> JS -> Node/React/Angular -> React Bootstrap -> DB(SQL/Mongo). A structured path ensures focus on our ultimate goal without losing sight of it. Those uncertain about their direction should question themselves with three "WHY's". For instance, if aspiring to be a developer, answering these WHYs can unveil a clearer path—defining motivations, passion for data, and the challenge within data manipulation. This process leads to a specific path focusing on data classification and handling.

Go online to doubleu doubleu doubleu dot google dot com and type "public library near me". Then go to that library and ask to checkout _all_ back issues of Dr Dobbs Journal and Byte. Read all of them. Use the ads in Dr Dobbs to find a retailer for a Commodore PET computer and buy one. Type in all the listings and try and get them to work. Hint: Do not type in the listing that promises to double your screen performance, because it can break your CRT. Take special care to understand all the code snippets in the PC/Lint ads

1. Setting a clear objective of WHY you want to learn programming, is it for a job switch, promotion, new project, or just for fun. 2. Once you have a niche down objective you can get a clear idea of WHAT too. what you need to learn depends on your learning objectives to a larger extent. If your intent is a job or interview preparation then it's really important to learn specifics of the programming language. 3. The quality of the course that you pick should be worth your time, but I also believe that learning the programming language from the course material can only help in a theoretical manner, in order to gain deeper understanding one should go for intense hands-on. Good source - CS50 Harvard

More often than not, the language I chose to learn was dictated by the job. I started as a PHP / Laravel developer and slowly learned my way to be an all-around programmer. I had to learn Golang, Java, Groovy, obviously PHP, and even work as a DevOps and a Scrum master in my career. My advice to anyone just starting up is to check out the job descriptions in the industry you'd like to make an impact in, as that can dictate what you're going to learn. For example, a Software Engineer - Gameplay will likely use a different language and toolset as a Front-end Web developer.

A few words about the platform. Some courses are written by no-name 'experts' and adopted for wide audience by team of 'methodologists', they usually have huge amount of fake positive feedbacks and promise easy learning, job offers for successful students, happiness and wellbeing. You only need to pay a pretty high price sometimes. I wouldn't invest time into that kind of education. First I would pay attention to the platform reputation and the author. For example on coursera.org there are plenty of useful education programs provided by the most reputable world universities for a reasonable price or completely free.

It is obvious that curriculum and reviews play an integral part in choosing the right course. However, I would also check LinkedIn backgrounds of the instructors or the institution conducting the courses. The best programmers are made from learning by example, and the better the examples, the faster and easier it is to learn. Needless to say, in my experience, more experienced instructors tend to provide better real-world examples and best practices when teaching a class.

We need to research and be sure what we are going to learn is certified and well-founded ... nowadays there is a lot of fake information

Most instructors will have video tutorials online. Find the people that inspire you and are relevant. It should be obvious whose courses you want to sign up to.

When assessing potential programming courses online, delving into the curriculum and reviews is paramount. A well-structured, up-to-date, and comprehensive curriculum is essential, ensuring it aligns with your learning goals. It's equally important to seek courses offering practical exercises, projects, and feedback to bolster your practical skills. In terms of reviews, be wary of platforms with an abundance of fake positive feedback. Prioritize courses on reputable platforms and authored by credible experts or institutions. Genuine feedback from past or current students is invaluable in gauging the quality of course content, instructors, and support.

I personally prefer courses with interactive labs after every sections but this depends on the platform since not all platforms have this functionality.

Honestly comparing prices is not always the best measure of quality, and yea sometimes you want to have a shiny certificate, but I have found courses on YouTube completely for free, or even free courses in Coursera and Udacity that are provided by top universities, one of my favorite sources of learning is the open source society university OSSU which has an outstanding git repo with different paths full of resources and excellent material, so I will say is better to always consume a free course before going for a paid one just so you understand the general theme and feel ready to put more commitment to something.

Prices and formats can have lots of variation. In my experience, the best course for me was always the one that had lots of hands-on, real-world problems that were solved in a tight social environment. I think aiming for formats that promote teamwork among all the students is essential to them understanding the topic well. As for prices, that I cannot comment on since it varies from person to person and depends solely on their budget.

Udemy courses and Google courses are best for the polish your skills. I personally prefer courses with interactive labs after every sections but this depends on the platform since not all platforms have this functionality.

My preference when choosing an online programming course centers on interactive labs integrated into the learning experience. However, the availability of such features can vary across different platforms. Therefore, it's essential to weigh the prices and formats of courses based on your individual learning style and budget. Some learners may thrive in self-paced, recorded courses, while others prefer the structure of instructor-led sessions. Furthermore, keep an eye out for courses that offer trials, refunds, or satisfaction guarantees. This way, you can explore the course without committing fully, ensuring it aligns with your expectations.

Joining online communities such as Reddit sub-reddits, Stack Overflow based on the language and toolset you are using is essential. I cannot stress this enough. 80% of my experience with best practices came from socializing in these online communities and simply reading Stack Overflow answers (and not just the accepted ones, but by compating the different ones and reading responses to them).

Joining online communities and networks of fellow programmers is a pivotal aspect of effective learning. Personally, I've found platforms like Discord, Reddit subreddits, and Stack Overflow, tailored to specific programming languages and toolsets, to be indispensable. These communities offer many insights, best practices, and solutions to common challenges. Engaging with these communities not only fosters knowledge-sharing but also provides a sense of camaraderie and motivation. Whether you seek advice, share experiences, or read discussions, these online spaces offer a rich source of supplementary learning beyond formal courses.

Community and Support: * Forums and discussion boards: Check if the course has an active community where you can ask questions and get help. * Tutoring or mentoring: Look for courses that offer additional support, such as tutoring or mentoring.

The journey of learning programming doesn't end with completing a course; it's an ongoing, lifelong process. To continuously improve, I advocate for regular practice, exploration of new technologies, and staying up-to-date with industry trends. Active participation in online platforms, competitions, and projects, such as HackerRank or GitHub, can be transformative. These platforms facilitate collaborative learning, coding challenges, and exposure to real-world projects. Moreover, incorporating daily learning routines, like following official learning websites for specific languages or frameworks, helps maintain a growth mindset and ensures you remain at the forefront of the ever-evolving tech landscape.

Always keep learning and improving yourself, no matter what. Again, much of this comes from joining various online communities and reading resources such as HackerNews to stau up to date. Every programming language and/or framework has an online following and sometimes even an official learning website (such as LaraCasts for Laravel). Use that daily and profit!

The online courses are good and helpful. They indirectly cut down cost of training for industry as freshers or experience people with laptop or computer and internet connection can get training online at thier fingers. Sites like Kaggel are having huge datasets which newcomers can play with data when dealing with machine learning problem's. Github is personal repository where I have seen people stack thier programs or source code in various programming language. You can use premium features of github. If you like to participate in coding competition there are many sites and list is endless for e.g. hackerrank, code academy. Constantly you should update the changes in IT industry and keep learning and be at par and excellence.

1. Research Reputable Platforms: Look for courses on well-known sites like Coursera, Udemy, pluralsight or edX. 2. Check Reviews and Content: Read course reviews, check ratings, and ensure the syllabus covers your desired topics. 3. Verify Instructor Credentials: Ensure the instructor has relevant experience and expertise.

I agree. I would also suggest subscribing to newsletters that share the latest technology or programming language updates. For example, RealPython shares some of the latest Python updates. Open source contributions and hackathons are also ways of gaining real-world experience, collaborating, and learning more about programming.

I really enjoy taking courses when I can to learn new programming concepts. For me, I find paid courses overall to be better but the ones that have tended to be best overall are ones that have the best reviews on the site they're hosted on (e.g. Udemy) as well as have buzzy discussion around them by people on sites like LinkedIn or Reddit.

Before jumping onto a programming course do check the website of the language or framework you are interested in. You will often find tons of useful information and up-to-date examples that might be absolutely sufficient for your needs. Even better, there often are "Quick Start" sections aimed at getting devs up to speed with a small project or task. And if you do decide on a programming course in the end, make sure to document every outdated information or inconsistency and share it with its author. This is what helps content creators keep their materials useful and up-to-date : )

Personal Goal, Before everything else, it is important to consider what your personal goal is. There are many ways to start with basic and small Codes. Join free tutorial and YouTube videos. Codecademy – free. Khan Academy – free. MIT OpenCourseWare – free. edX – free. The Odin Project – free. freeCodeCamp – free. Udemy – free and paid courses. Coursera – free and paid courses.

In addition to checking the curriculum, an example of how you can evaluate an online course, is watching their free live classes. It's an opportunity where you can know more details about the teachers, the methodology, the platform, as well if its content is aligned with your objectives.

It has taken me years to find an approach that works for me and I want to share it in case it helps others. When I want to learn a new technology or workflow, I choose the first course on Udemy that has a rating of over 4 stars and go through it. All the highly rated courses will be pretty good. Then I supplement my learning by consulting with paid mentors/tutors as well as sometimes going on Stack Overflow if the question is very niche. Online courses are great but I find that the combination of that and another human mentor keep me accountable.