How can non-technical people learn to code? Complete Guide (2022)

Software development is a very intriguing and highly rewarding field of today and the future’s time. The computer science industry is growing at a rapid scale, and there are tons of opportunities available in the computer science industry. Demand for a skilled coder is very high in this domain, and if you are a student, working professional or someone from a non-technical branch like you are from biology, finance, literature, or mechanical engineering looking to get started with coding, then don’t worry we have got your back. In this article, I will tell you the stepwise process of how non-technical people learn to code.

Prerequisites 

So you are someone from a non-technical background and everyone told you that coding is bad. But you have seen coders on Twitter posting their mind-boggling numbers salary and now you that are interested, you have searched on google what are the prerequisites of learning to code. Well My dear friend There are no prerequisites as such anyone can learn to code, it does not matter if you are a Science student, commerce student, Arts student, or from a technical or non-technical people learn to code, anyone with the Laptop and internet connection can learn to code.

What is coding?

Coding is a computer language for giving instruction to a computer to perform some specific task like if you want a particular human to perform a task, you will give them instruction in a language that they understand for example Hindi, English, French, etc. But the computer doesn’t understand these languages, they only understand a technical form of communication which is the language of 0,1 also known as the Machine level language, so let’s say you want a computer to write “65”, then you have to give the instruction in “01000001”, which could be a tiresome process to do for us as a human being, that’s why we have created certain coding languages to bridge this gap, some examples are C++, Java, Python, etc.

Why coding?

Before you start your learning journey you should ask yourself a question, why do you want to learn to code, what is your purpose, Do you want to learn because you have an interest in it, you show some of your friends doing it and after digging a little bit in it you developed an interest in it or you want to get a high paying job in your dream company. coding can be tough in beginning, that’s why most coders quit in the beginning phase. In this case, Your why will help you pass through these tough days, so it is always important to ask yourself a why.

What To Learn

Before starting to learn a particular language you should know your goal, what you want to become, do you want to become a web developer, android developer, data scientist, AI, blockchain developer, etc. This will help you in deciding which language you should learn. Say for example you want to become a freelance web developer, then your learning path will start with HTML, CSS, and javascript. Learn the coding language which suits your goal.

Generally, people confuse themselves between these three languages, C++, Java, and Python. These languages have a wide range of applications, you can also perform Data structure and algorithm(Data structure and algorithms are much required for a job) on these languages.

As a beginner, you may start with Java as a coding language, because it’s neither easy as Python nor difficult as C++, and Java has a great demand in the industry, getting a job will be easy. Or if you don’t want to start a language that uses Data structure and algorithms, in that case, HTML or CSS would be a great start. I would advise you to start with simple language as it will not scare you in your beginning phase, if you start with the very tough things in the beginning then you will think coding is not for you and you will probably give up.

Learn Basics  

Now that you have picked the language, it is time to learn the basics of the language. Here are some basic concepts you should know to learn any language from basic-

• Variables – variables act as a container that stores information in a computer program. They are the titles of reserved memory location 
• Data Structure- A data structure is a named location that can be used to store and organize data.
• Syntax – Syntax is the set of rules that define what the various combinations of symbols mean. This tells the computer how to read the code.

Learn Data Structures and Algorithms 

Data structures and algorithms play an important role in the journey of getting Jobs. Big companies like google Microsoft, Meta, etc ask Data structure and Algorithms question in their interview. So what are these, A data structure is a named location that can be used to store and organize data and an algorithm is a collection of steps to solve a particular problem.

Join Communities

Technology in the coding space changes every year, therefore it is important to have some kind of guide or mentor to rely on. Here coding communities come to the rescue, they help you by connecting you with like-minded people with whom you can share your knowledge, ask questions, get mentorship on a topic you are struggling with, ask for the required tools, code review, and much more If you want to excel in the coding field then joining a coding community is a must. Communities are the type of platform where like-minded Profesional come and share their experiences, network with each other, share their struggles and failures in a particular field and help each other in becoming better coders.

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

some examples of prominent communities are GitHub, DevRel Collective,codedamn, stack overflow, etc.

Build Project

A project is any program you built at the start. A project can immensely help you implement theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge and help you showcase your knowledge. A Project can help you in your search whether you are looking for jobs or internships in the space as it gives the recruiters a sense of confidence in you and your work as you have something to display for it. You may start by building simple projects like a simple website or an app to flip a coin, a calculator, etc.

Conclusion

No one is born a technical person, everyone is a non-technical people learn to code and get your dream package it does not matter if you are a biology student, an electric engineer, or a 12th pass out. Indeed it will be somewhat frustrating in the beginning but later on, it will become easy and that hard work you will put in to write your first “Hello World” code will give you compounding returns. Remember you are just telling a computer what to do and how to do it in a coding language.