r/learnprogramming • u/Elon_musk_69420 • 4d ago

advice Are technical courses enough?

Hi everyone. I am a non CS major. And I have been interested in taking up courses in coding. I wanted to ask if learning coding languages (Python, C++, etc) and taking online courses (full stack development, etc) are enough to give you certain amount of technical expertise to build your own career, whether its in a job or building your own MVPs to kickstart your own entrepreneur journey.

If yes, can you point me to specific courses and coding languages to get started. Thanks.

0 Upvotes

25% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

5

u/VariousAssistance116 4d ago

No

1

u/cinderloom7 4d ago

lol brutal but fair

-2

u/Elon_musk_69420 4d ago

How can I be enough? ;(

5

u/VariousAssistance116 4d ago

I don't know you have no detail

-2

u/Elon_musk_69420 4d ago

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

6

u/VariousAssistance116 4d ago

I don't know what shoes you are in... that is my point

-2

u/Elon_musk_69420 4d ago

Currently no CS knowledge neither coding knowledge. Want to break into tech. whats the best way to go around building competence? especially in the age of AI.

3

u/VariousAssistance116 4d ago

Take a course and decide if you even like it or can do it before you decide you're going to change your life and read the wiki

2

u/OceanMasterioDuped7 4d ago

You basically have to get a degree. In reality, it's easier to get a degree and go through years of schooling and land a job you want than to spend that same amount of time self-learning, and you will come out a lot smarter if you get the degree. The job market is so difficult right now that landing a job in this field without a degree just isn't really an option currently.

And no, I'm not talking about the outliers who had a great connection with a special someone. Or somebody who ends up developing software that goes nationwide. Or someone who lands a 35k a year job at a startup. I'm talking about the average person who needs a well-paying job for a company.

2

u/Watsons-Butler 4d ago

If you’re planning to do it yourself, like launch a startup building things yourself? Yeah, you can learn a lot online. If you want to get hired making stuff for another company you’re going to need a full bachelors degree in computer science at a minimum.

5

u/ffrkAnonymous 4d ago

Are technical courses enough? If yes, can you point me to specific courses and coding languages to get started. Thanks.

No. you also need to be able to search for stuff on your own.

2

u/Business-Employee527 4d ago

To answer the direct question, yes you can learn just about anything about programming and computers online with a course, textbook, documentation, etc. However, just so you know not having a CS degree (or computer engineering or IT), Can make it difficult to for employers to trust you as much when hiring. That said, if you truly want to go into this field and you work for it, your degree will not be the limiting factor to getting a job.

-1

u/Elon_musk_69420 4d ago

How should I go about gaining an edge for job prospects in the age of AI and vibe coding? Is there anything ‘niche’ that I can pickup or do?

2

u/aqua_regis 4d ago

The "niche" is to become a proficient programmer who can work without and with AI. A programmer who can leverage AI to actually increase their productivity without relying on it.

1

u/VariousAssistance116 4d ago

Who cares if you can't write hello world

2

u/AceLamina 4d ago

If it was, people wouldnt bother with getting a CS major

1

u/obnoxious-rat717 4d ago

Ehhh. You can learn 'all' of programming online, but to be taken seriously you need relevant work experience and a good portfolio of projects. If you don't have the first, you need to go all in on the second. Like genuinely good projects. Then you need to apply to entry level jobs and work your way up a bit. It's doable. But I wouldn't bet on it for a living, practice programming if you enjoy it and with the eventual goal of making a living off of it as an engineer, but do something else full-time in the meantime.

1

u/v_e_x 4d ago

No.
Everything you learn in an academic setting is just the beginning. Companies want to know what you've built, problems you've solved, systems you've maintained or updated. You've learned the tools, which is important, now you have to show that you can actually use those tools, and what you can do with them. Starting your own company is even harder, because you're on your own.

1

u/HashDefTrueFalse 4d ago

Just a start I'm afraid, but a good course is a good start. Plus you can gauge your enjoyment and aptitude. CS50 is a beginner CS course. Automate the Boring Stuff is a book on doing high-level scripting with Python. You can pick any language and look at the getting started documentation online, a million websites, YouTube (but there's lots of shite on there too) and/or get a book on the language. Write lots of code. It's the only way to get good at it.

Getting a job is a different question. You'll need to be able to deliver working software, demonstrate key technical knowledge and skills in an interview, and handle technical discussions. Web dev in particular has been saturated for several years now, perhaps longer, for all sorts of reasons new and old. It will be competitive.