How To Learn To Code When You Have No Time And No Money - Codeland 2018

It seems like the ”code newbie to full time job in three months” stories are everywhere. But for Colleen, the reality of being a military spouse and parent of three with very little time and money meant that learning how to code was a slower and more challenging process than those three-month success stories suggest. She shares how she went from code newbie to freelance developer, and the three-step process she developed along the way.
SPEAKER
Colleen Schnettler, Freelance Ruby on Rails Developer, Bitmapped Designs LLC
Connect with Colleen on Twitter: @leenyburger
CHEATSHEET
Definitions to technical terms and links to resources for “How To Learn To Code When You Have No Time And No Money” can be found in our free 2018 Codeland Conference Booklet: bit.ly/Codeland2018Booklet
About Codeland
Codeland is an interactive, two-day conference filled with talks, panels, and workshops with the most supportive community of programmers and people learning to code. Produced by CodeNewbie, powered by GitHub. Learn more at codelandconf.com/
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[@hamzakhiar3636]

Start from 7:50 1 pick something that aligns with your long term career goals 2 don't be distracted by shiny learning platforms they all teach the same fundamentals 3 to get experience get involved in open source projects & develop real relationships with real developers

[@peacekeepermoe]

Thank you kind sir! JazakAllah khair :)

[@F4Y541]

@@peacekeepermoe Barakallahu feekum

[@noedits5543]

@@peacekeepermoe Ola hu Uber

[@Nickholast]

Why this is not the top comment already?

[@monologuesofaconsultant]

Oh Bless you! I was looking for a summary!

[@arpanmukherjee4625]

I don't know why I watched this being a seasoned developer. But the way she tells the story and her inspiring journey, its totally worth watching! Loved it. Nothing can stop someone with Grit.

[@irs4486]

cringe

[@df6597]

@@irs4486 Your comment gave me IBS.

[@Woalol]

eat potato and get real

[@putinscat1208]

You tell them!

[@abhijeetghosh27]

Absolutely agree on this. If you are focused and the way Colleen mentioned to stick to one language and learn it end to end is real. It will really help in the long run and easy to switch later on. Thanks @CodeNewbie for sharing this.

[@emilykim7053]

Successful people don't become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance wealth, a great career, purpose is the result of hard work and hustle over time. I pray that anyone who reads this will be Successful in life

[@sebastianmateo9434]

Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be. Bitcoin is better than currency in to that you don't have to be physiclly in the same place and of course,for large transactions, currency can get pretty Inconvenient.

[@walkerfred9763]

Well think it's working there may be other currencies like it that may be even better. But in the meantime, there's a big industry around Bitcoin-people have made fortunes off Bitcoin, some have lost money.its is volatile,but people make money off volatility too.

[@paritapatel7062]

When Bitcoin currency is converted from currency into cash, that interface has to remain under some regulatory safeguards. I think the fact that within the bitcoin universe an algorithm replaces the function of the government... (that) is actually pretty Cool.

[@gratisgratis7275]

It is not a speculative investment even though it is being used as such by other people. As Bitcoin network grows the value of Bitcoin grows. As people move into Bitcoin for payment and receipts they stop using US Dollars,Euros and Chinese Yuan which in the long-term devalues these Currencies

[@jesusavila3918]

Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative. But I am not familiar with the specific product to assert whether it is the best potential setup. And we need a long time to establish confidence.

[@makennas2979]

Love hearing a fellow mothers journey in the coding world

[@atlantic_love]

Are you coding?

[@sureshchaudhari4465]

this is what real woman empowerment and empowered woman look like. #RESPECT

[@freddurst4420]

@@sureshchaudhari4465 WTF, this is a person's journey learning coding, why make it about gender ??

[@augustmoser7834]

@@freddurst4420 I agree. I agree twice!!!

[@lmea842]

@@sureshchaudhari4465 what does superwoman have to do with code

[@HartleySan]

This was a great, and realistic, video about someone's code journey. Loved it. Not afraid to admit when she felt down or things weren't easy, etc. Kudos to you, Colleen!

[@ubruminations]

I've watched quite a few of these "how to start coding" videos. This is one of the best I've seen so far.

[@WorldAquariumSingapore]

Woww the moral of the story is one need to have passion, a good game plan, be flexible, determination and stick with it for the long run (everything is a marathon, coding, creating a KZbin channel, etc.)

[@bryanorellana1524]

i am 26 and i just started learning to code like 4 months ago, and i am really struggling to learn how to code, but, this video shows me that i do not have give up...thanks for the advices!!

[@lorandhorvath4466]

If you want an advice, the best one I can give you right now is this: choose your resources wisely! There are so many bad resources out there, it's almost like looking for the needle in the haystack. By the way, what language are you working with at the moment?

[@yankswap]

@@lorandhorvath4466 I also started two months ago. I am learning JS. Trying to get into a local bootcamp. What resources do you recommend?

[@yankswap]

how's it going for you so far?

[@bryanorellana1524]

@@lorandhorvath4466 hello there 😀, like as you said there are many options out there, but not all the courses or videos tutorials online are good. I have paid already two courses online and i have not learned too much, just the basic about HTML and CSS. Currently i am learning .NET and C# and i have to say that this programming lenguage it has become a big challenge bc i had zero knowledge about programming. @Lorand Horvath would you say C# is a good lenguage to start to learn how to programm? by the way i am from Guatemala and i am taking a local c# course but i feel i am going nowhere with this course bc there are so many i don't clearly understand!!!

[@lorandhorvath4466]

@@bryanorellana1524 Hi, well yeah... it's a big jungle out there in terms of programming languages and I don't think C#/.NET is the best choice for a beginner. But it really depends on your knowledge. I would probably start with something easier, such as JS or Python. You could do JS, then learn a JS framework such as Vue.js and then Node.js for the backend. At the end of the day JS can also be difficult and I think you must learn it pretty well in order to really get into the weeds of a JS framework. In my opinion, you shouldn't try to learn too many new languages at the same time: I'd start with 2, let's say JS and HTML/CSS (the latter is not a language per se, but still, it's a good choice). If you don't like JS, you could try PHP for the backend, but I don't really recommend it right now. A great resource is The Net Ninja, he has a lot of stuff here on youtube for free, but he also has courses, such as Modern JavaScript on Udemy and also Vue.js... I'd give that a try. Good luck!

[@ANDREPEIXOTO1]

Awesome lecture... and I can't belive it was her first one. She did an excellent job communicating her path with grace and valuable info.

[@oluwaseyibabarinde5297]

Yes, she did a good job communicating and connecting with her audience. She intended it to be a humor to loosen up herself and the audience.

[@asthewheelturns5387]

It may have been a joke, to connect with audience. As most audience members, are learning foreign material.

[@andrewgreener]

Agree. If she codes likes she presents, then she's brilliant.

[@chaitechengineering3959]

The learning for loop for the 5th time hit me 💜 thanks for sharing your experience :)

[@alb12345672]

How did this lady get an MSEE and not know how to write a for loop? My ee program made you take an algorithms class, lots of programming classes wow.

[@sandraraynil]

for loop in for loop.

[@geshtu1760]

@@sandraraynil exactly - there's a meta-joke in there :D

[@razvanolariu6017]

test

[@123ftw1]

I kept learning the basics and was always giving up on recursion, starting with the basics again a few months later.

[@itsQuark]

Very inspiring for someone with multiple responsibilities and still manages to find a way to their passion!

[@sungjuyea4627]

I love this story more than such things like "how to become a FAANG engineer in 6 months without any CS degree"

[@soisweird8153]

Learn a programming lang Learn DSA Learn Framework

[@emrys.elisha]

Yeah me too

[@thehumbledprogrammer8833]

I love her storytelling ability to pass the message across.

[@zohebqureshi1780]

After listing to her its make me feel like i am not alone in the coding world who is still struggling

[@Bielocke]

Struggling is good. I promise. I believe in you.

[@CS_GOD64]

I'm struggling with writing my own successful codes I'm learning the functions and stuff but when I try to write a "vs computer game" script for example.... There's always some mistakes. Sometimes I just close my damn laptop out of stress😅

[@Bielocke]

@@CS_GOD64 mistakes are completely normal when writing code. They are the best teachers.

[@safdardahriwal7503]

Zoheb you are from where?

[@ali_kazmi_]

Listening to this made me remember my struggles during learning to code

[@Saaad2]

Very inspirational ma'am. Thank you for sharing this with us, very motivating for me who is Software Engineering graduate and struggling to learn new tools.

[@charleyjr.iriarte7428]

I love how detailed your experience is!

[@ebenmeluifechukwu4298]

I subscribed and lked the video immediately. I am currently studying Computer Engineering but I don't actually love hardware, the software part is what I am concerned about. Ever since I discovered that my University does mostly the hardware part, I set a goal since Freshmen year to learn to code, all by myself. Now, I am in my Junior year, studying the course and now I build native Android applications and build cross-platform desktop applications.

[@houseofmovies7770]

Wow

[@WaleedRajput1]

Really motivated for me. Yes, you can approach to your goal bit by bit no matter slow.

[@abhaygautam0]

Loved to hear your story. I too was wondering how and when things will turn in my favor. Now I know that I need to be patient, good things will come sooner or later only if I persist long enough. Thank you.

[@MrDarshD]

Inspiring, educational and helpful. It was like a TEDx talk!! Thank you Colleen!

[@ClaudioBOsorio]

Not gonna lie she had me smiling all the way through the video. Way to go!

[@orionNsirius]

So, it's normal when you have been learning a lot of codes but still feeling you know nothing.

[@Scottx125Productions]

There is so much to learn about coding it never ends. The main thing is learning the basics and finding what you want to do, web development, back end, game development, data science etc. And ultimately If you have no time and no money, you're really going to struggle to learn coding. Now ofc that's not to say you need to spend 6 hours a day learning, that's nonsense and very few people even professionally can actually do that without burnout. Just do an hour a day, maybe 2. It all adds up. But if you don't keep that up you'll begin to forget. Buying online courses does help if you don't know what direction to go, but just set yourself a goal or see where your inspiration leads you. Coding is not a fun thing to learn, it's boring and can be a pain. Ultimately coding is just a tool, you need to decide what's worth the price for learning coding to apply it to something you love. A little tip as well, everyone forgets stuff, even basic stuff like for loops from time to time. Coding is so big it's not so much knowing everything, it's having the basic skills to apply the information you find and knowing how to find the information you need.

[@nineveh17]

Probably, I still feel overwhelmed every time I'm learning a certain thing and then suddenly I find out about something else while learning that thing and get distracted and try to also learn that real quick and then I find out about another thing.

[@poseidon7402]

"codes"

[@scraps643]

codes

[@justahumann810]

@@nineveh17 that's soo accurate !

[@sarahmestiri1855]

and this is just your first talk? wow! you are a real storyteller! and what an inspiring story :)

[@RadhamaniRamadoss]

Very cool..My passion is also to become a coder...Due to full time job and kid, its too difficult I thought..but after watching your talk, It gives me inspiration...Thanks so much for sharing

[@vishalhumbe8275]

Thanks for sharing this view of yours, i am on my journey nowadays. Awesome journey and stick to your path you have chosen and you are passionate about.

[@wheelsofafrica]

Wow! What a beautiful and accomplished Lady! Your honesty, integrity and purity shine out of you. Well done, WARRIOR WOMAN! Love and blessings from faraway Zimbabwe. David xx

[@AabirKashif]

Started learing code almost 4 years ago....really made some progress in last 4 months. Hoping to create my first app before this year goes. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@AjaySingh-xd4nz]

@ 16:18 , that smile speaks a lot! It was your 'pursuit of happyness'. Truly inspiring!

[@maria-goretti2794]

This is really motivating for me. Thanks.

[@lumigg2556]

haha I luv her! she has good timing for her lines, would b cool to watch more of her experiences as a developer!

[@vishalsathiaseelan679]

I have huge respect for her. She is a great inspiration for everyone who wants to chase their passion.

[@Kevin-jc1fx]

Life happens and its ok. Very encouraging talk. Thank you.

[@ottobena]

Really good talk. Can be applied to many other things in real life.

[@darktealglasses]

This is one of the most honest sharing video on this self-taught developer path

[@arowberry]

I like this lady. Entertaining and relevant and honest. Thanks!

[@rajeevshrivastava4488]

What a smart, bright woman, I am sure if her prospective employers saw this video, they would hire her in a heartbeat

[@itsQuark]

I think its very important to find and get help in any manner or form. It works as a catalyst in your journey. Those who are recently graduated if they do find a mentor in their path it just makes the journey so easy. Those of us who are already there should volunteer to do some mentorship, it would be a symbiotic learning experience!

[@janaigift702]

I love to learn to code but don't have funds to learn because I know I can't learn without somebody put me through. Pls can you help me? Pls can you mentor me?

[@itsQuark]

@@janaigift702 no issues, I would love to help you out as much as I can.

[@janaigift702]

Hello... Pls am still waiting for your response. Pls help a sister. Plsssss

[@iceman1976mar]

Thanks for sharing. This is what I needed right now, some sorted out perspective.

[@stephendouglas684]

Really enjoyed 2nd half of video. Glad I watched this through.

[@BrianIvie]

Loved this, thanks so much for posting!

[@kchemutai3483]

This is very inspiring, i loved the journey

[@garygao1784]

Really thanks to see the videos! Many young people ( of course including me) need patience and think about long goals. I think the lady give a good explanation why we need long goals. For me, I am now a data analyst and do some dashboard use the app that is used by few people, of course I also use Office 365 haha. In this stage, I have still to strength my analysis skills, but I hope to study coding at the next stage, which may be several month later. Finally, do not hesitate to learn a new skill.

[@HunzaTech]

A good example of someones real life, down to Earth, example on becoming a coder. Great job!!!

[@ecomarinebd]

I am 54, and although I am with the ERP modules, software SRS and digital analytics, no money yet. Lack of focus I guess. But this woman gives me hope. Of course, if I can live that long enough....

[@apokhariya]

That was so cool. reality check for newbie coders..thanks a bunch

[@whatnot798]

Just watched this video halfway. I related with everything she said lol. From having newborn when learning haaa, so many different choices, I have thought about Shopify and wordpress development. Lol even tried to make money that way. Having moved to a new country and taking "just" a job. Google bombarding me with learning options. Learning on so many platforms and just learning learning (for loop )crazy how much we are all almost the same. I always feel I know nothing but yet I learnt some much. I will follow your advice ☺️ because I think am ready.

[@bennetgikunoo160]

Don't despise your small beginnings. God bless you. Very encouraging IT skills knowledge. Keep it up.

[@alexdionisio9360]

John 1:12 "But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God," John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

[@shahzaibwaqar5674]

I have similar story like her bouncing back and forth between the resource and I really like this video this really motivate me....Today is my birthday and today InshaAllah I will make a goal to become a best software developer InshaAllah (23 Nov 2021)....

[@kaioh33]

Started learning rust and Substrate framework for blockchain development feels daunting at time but I'm pushing on..this was nice to watch

[@kyokushinfighter78]

This is great talk. The most powerful point in this age of abundance is no #2. CHOOSE ONE AND STICKING WITH IT. OMG I cannot stress how important it is to choose one and only one fundamental learning platform, this not only for coding but also applies for digital marketing, copywriting, BJJ, playing piano etc.... The problem now is different than 1960's. We have TOO MANY RESOURCES. In 1960 if you want to learn something you have to really work on it. Our parents and grandparents must-visit libraries in other cities/countries to learn about something. Right now everything is at our fingertips but this is what makes us very difficult to be master something. Irony ....

[@zehra2334]

what an amazing accent... I stuck myself in one year to do something. But the important thing is to keep going on the path. thanks!!

[@ApteacherNetTelanganaTeachers]

You have explained everything beautifully...

[@oluwaseyibabarinde5297]

A great and inspiring presentation on a journey on learning how to code.

[@55cyprus]

Hi Colleen - I don't know anything about what you spoke about however you're quite witty, funny & a good speaker. Continued success w/ family & work;

[@paulvalencia6208]

This girl just inspired me. Thank you!

[@theTechBee]

She is a good-story teller! Happy 2022! .

[@Bloodnaousky]

Thanks lenny you are a true inspiration

[@naimurhasanrwd]

Awesome story and the journey was really hard and this is totally unbelievable that he did it.

[@suhaschandran2991]

this video just made my day! thank you for sharing!!!! its so inspiring.

[@supopkiller2632]

Such a inspirational and fruitful journey. I have been studying python and want to transit into Data science and AI. it's been couple of months nearly a year. I thinks I'm progressing in a tortoise way. still I have not lost my hope and will continue till I will make it happen. Her story remainds me of to work everyday till u get what u want. Thank you mam for such a wonderful story.

[@chettriaone]

Have a same dream and same struggle story, I also haven’t made any huge progress since the speed is in a turtle’s way. But this video had added some sort of energy and understanding on how can I be a successful dreamer one day. Nice story and yeah! Best wishes @supop killer . I hope you’ll become a data scientist in a near future… never give up and be patient and inspired.

[@supopkiller2632]

@@chettriaone yeah! bro Learnt many things just in couple of months. I'm too from Nepal 🇳🇵 bro. U too keep work hard. Success will knock in your door. God bless u bro 🙏 Peace ✌

[@voltaire5427]

Same here. We'll make it happen one way or another.

[@melissam6037]

Great talk! I’m trying to upskill to get out of “paper engineering”. And back into real development. Having raised a family, I can relate to my career taking a backseat to life events!

[@millenialY]

what an inspirational video! same story here, the only difference is I am a father of two sons who were born in between my coding journey back from 2018 and still i am learning.

[@AkashSingh-fz3ux]

I can't say, how much demotivated i was when i started playing the this video, i was almost going to quit the video too But somehow i completed this and here I am, going to give it a try, once more !!

[@DPr3zzy]

Keep at it 👊🏾

[@Phoenix_Down444]

Good luck, you've got this!

[@sashad6157]

Carry on!

[@vinaypulijala5728]

you get in life what you have the courage to ask for

[@bk22kar]

Everything she experienced perfect fit to every self learning developers. But "Consistency is the key of success."

[@reginaldwelkin]

I've dabbled in scripting and programming, but have never been able to get fluent enough to do anything with it. I currently have other irons in the fire. If I ever get back into it, this video will be one of the reasons I do.

[@Sammyli99]

The bloody best video on youtube, the best, the best, and finally in case you are in doubt....the best.

[@samiullahquadri8198]

Fabulous lecture let me tell you that I have been listening you're lecture , Really Successful journey of Coding ,Developer

[@khadijaaithmid5536]

I wish i saw this video earlier , thank you girl ❤

[@noahkim6463]

It's really motivating me. Thank you.

[@muhammadtalharaza5781]

could listen to her all day

[@arcynical8053]

Learning what a for loop was for the fifth time. That one really hit home hahaha

[@nishantsethi6625]

This is just great. Appreciate the video contents.

[@lewessays]

Thank you so much. This was inspiring; I had similar experience.

[@PrinceKumar-hh6yn]

How freely she is speaking ! wow ❤️

[@os2171]

Your're an inspiration!

[@Tausifsiddiqui]

Those who’re trying hard to code and make something, keep at it.

[@matthewchang-kit2885]

Absolutely loved this story and more importantly it can be applied to any discipline! Not just coding!

[@ericganza5634]

great video, Inspiration

[@HashimWarren]

Great, great advice here

[@gracia9775]

Awesome !! So motivating

[@coolsajib]

What a presentation! Apart from your coding skill you have more gem in your pocket. Use it!

[@yeabsira5410]

My journey starts here. Hopefully I'll come back after my success. Good luck to myself.

[@running5695]

Awesome ! Thank you for your info and energy! Great things to know.

[@galymzhanmakhaliev5392]

She's great! She's brave! Wish you good luck!

[@omarfarooq9105]

She is an awesome speaker. Very inspirational story.

[@interstellar10]

Very inspiring & captivating story.

[@amirhosseinahmadi3706]

She's such a likable character. Cool story!

[@NossyDrelich]

Having a background in engineering definitely helps, with all the math that coding entails

[@numpy1370]

It's good for me to watch such amazing video

[@liveandletlive8026]

love your story

[@twx0066]

inspiring , thank you for sharing your experience

[@jackjavi]

I am here after learning React Js. It's like a miracle JavaScript atlast found space in my head

[@meipolomiga471]

Good challenge and thanks for sharing the story..

[@iamnicola4488]

Thank you for your info and energy!

[@9762888482]

The moment she said she made 1 dollar, I appreciate her by clicking on a like button. I respect her battles.

[@Praveenkumar-vg3pn]

amazing.. it is motivating

[@pixelseeker]

6:03-6:22 !!! I am going through exact same phase and i select web and cloud as well!!

[@JD-rz1ns]

Excellent and inspiring talk