As a self-tought Senior Software Engineer, my general rule of thumb has always been to utilize free resources to gain knowledge and experience.
I’m a top down learner, meaning I learn by breaking down complex topics into consumable chunks until I understand how everything works. Basically, I learn through the process of “reverse engineering”. Curriculums always build up to complex topics by teaching fundamentals first, but I find that boring and become disengaged very quickly.
If my train of thought can’t bounce around like a pachinko ball between the components of a complex system, I struggle to stay in the game. So, I have to pick a topic and let my brain naturally “bounce around” until I’ve gained the knowledge needed to accomplish whatever goal is in front of me. Once I’m engaged, learning a new topic becomes a literal obsession!
My approach to learning has not only led to a successful career, but it’s also earned me a reputation at work of being a “quick learner”. I’ve literally had people tell me that it took them six months to learn what I did within two weeks! I even had a vendor mention wanting to hire me after seeing a proof-of-concept that I built using their platform, which I had only been working in for two weeks.
However, I’m highly aware this also means I may miss out on opportunities to fully grasp fundamental skills, even though I use them on a daily basis. So, sometimes I have to force myself to go back and learn them.
Let’s Cut to the Chase!
While hunting for flexible ways to hone my fundamental skills in algorithms and data structures, I ran across freeCodeCamp!
I’ve seen it pop up multiple times, but I must have been weary of the name sounding a bit gimmicky, so I never bothered to check it out.
Luckily, this time it popped up again promoting a free “JavaScript Algorithm and Data Structures Certification”, which sounded worth checking out.
I was impressed to find it wasn’t a gimick and you can actually earn free verified certifications through freeCodeCamp’s core curriculum!
Since 2014, more than 40,000 freeCodeCamp.org graduates have gotten jobs at tech companies including: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, and Amazon.com
freeCodeCamp.org
My favorite part, so far, is they give you the freedom to explore their predetermined learning paths!
This is a screenshot showing the curriculum for the certification I’ve set my sights on.
I can jump to any of the many lessons within each of the topics that lead up to the certification project. I can quickly test my knowledge and either dig in, or move on!
I can even explore the certification projects themselves to learn what’s expected of me!
Just what my mind needs!
I especially love that I can study, write, and validate code in my phone’s browser without having to download an app! That means I can study exactly how I want to ❤️🔥🥳 🤓
If your interested in learning how to code, I highly recommend checking out their list of free verified certifications to see what interests you.
Be sure to use their search to find topics your interested in learning. I’ve found useful resources that fall outside of their core curriculum by doing that!
Wrapping Up
Rather than paying for school, only to quickly loose interest, or following the path of numerous colleagues who’ve had their careers shift into a completely different specialty shortly after obtaining their Ph.D., I plan to continue utilizing free online resources to gain my knowledge and experience.
From here on out, freeCodeCamp will be a go to resources for me!
Header Image
This article’s Stable Diffusion created header image was based on a silly idea I had after having spent hours studying.
Prompt: Hyperrealistic art the thinker statue learning to write code on a laptop in computer camp with a fun background . Extremely high-resolution details, photographic, realism pushed to extreme, fine texture, incredibly lifelike
Negative prompt: simplified, abstract, unrealistic, impressionistic, low resolution, Extra arms and habds, distorted neck, text, sitting on top of a desk, excessive muscle detail
Steps: 20, Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras, CFG scale: 7, Seed: 2138155239, Size: 1344×768, Model hash: 31e35c80fc, Model: sd_xl_base_1.0, Style Selector Enabled: True, Style Selector Randomize: False, Style Selector Style: Hyperrealism, Version: v1.6.1
processing | 20.1/58.0s
Time taken: 4 min. 50.9 sec.
A: 10.19 GB, R: 12.51 GB, Sys: 8.0/7.99609 GB (100.0%)
