Any self taught coders out there?
Looking to learn how to code and have no prior experience. Looking for any tips, books, websites, or anything at all that could be helpful. Any strategies for studying would be great to hear too.
Thanks
Trending Content
Career Resources
Coding is for NERDS and LOSERS. You would be better off spending your time in an UNDERGROUND SEX DUNGEON.
start off with cs50
Been programming for several years, pm me anything specific and I'll help you through it.
What's your goal? Are you trying to learn scripting in VBA, R, or equivalent or write a full-fledged application from start to finish?
Even CS majors I would argue are mostly self-taught coders. The learning doesn't take place in the classroom. It takes place when you're debugging an assignment at 2am in the library when it's due at 9am.
So much this, most learning will come from debugging. I cannot tell you enough how much i have spent debugging my assignment for a period longer than 2 days STRAIGHT, but knowing full well that wont happen again. Its a mixture of trial and error, and programming know-how.
If you want the long-term approach, start with C, move to C++ and then start learning Java. Depending on how much effort you put in, you can become quite adept at these within a few months to 2 years or so. Entirely up to you. From there on, picking up another programming language will be a piece of cake.
If you want to the quick and easy route and introduction into coding/programming, start with Java, or any other language that is very high-level.
I personally would recommend TheNewBoston on youtube. He single-handedly guided me through my first and half of my second year at university. Stackoverflow is your friend.
I wouldn't call myself a coder by any means (yet, it's something I'm absolutely going to learn) but from my experience the classes on edX.org are very helpful. Coursera has a bunch too but from what I've seen, most of them you need to pay for, whereas edX I believe you can audit any of them. That doesn't mean it's easy at all, but I think it's doable. The biggest thing is going to be putting in the time, you won't learn to do it well unless you put the hours in.
Self-taught coders? (Originally Posted: 06/09/2017)
Are there any self-taught coders on here? I am interested in learning how to code and would like to know what would be some good resources to get started. In terms of a programming language, I heard that Python is one of the easiest ones to learn. Is Python used frequently in the finance world (mainly venture capital or private equity)? And how useful is it to know how to code to employers? Any real boost to a resume or does it not do anything at all.
I 've been thinking coding is not for me.
PM me with any specific questions and I can tailor responses to you.
Off the top of my head,
Python is easy to learn, the syntax is kinda "weird" compared to traditional languages.
Java is typically a good first to learn, widely used throughout the tech world.
c# is like a modern java, not widely used.
c++ is a pain to learn first, but if you can master it you will become a way better programmer.
SQL isn't programming, its databasing ,but if you want to work in finance I would recommend picking this up, not super hard.
R is used a lot in finance, learn it last I'd say as there are better tutorials and guides for other languages.
once you learn one normally structured language, learning the others are easy. again, pm for any specific questions and I will be able to help.
I learned on Team Treehouse (this site won't let me post the link but you can Google it), practiced a lot and did random freelance jobs. In Charlotte, NC Java is in demand right now. I can't speak for other markets. Pretty much everyone I know outsources when it comes to straight up writing code. Easter European coders do the same work for a fraction of the price. I haven't worked for a Fortune 500 company so I can't say what their take is on it.
If you want the programming to be useful for a finance related field, I would advise to get started with Python which is one of the easiest programming languages to learn and arguably, one of the best for data manipulation. It has built in libraries which would allow you to perform things and graphical visualizations which even Excel would struggle at or would take much longer.
I'd suggest to start with codeacademy website which walks you through all the programming concepts in Python from the very beginning and with each lesson, you have a practical exercise. In addition to this, it has a built in compiler so you don't have to worry about compiling on your own machine to begin with.
After you've completed the course which could take you a week or a month, just watch some YouTube videos that have some specific tasks within them such as how to automate data collection or anything that you're keen on.
However, before you do any of these make sure that you have some basic software for coding and a compiler set up. Let me know what your OS is and I could give you some recommendations.
Provident vel error libero sequi sunt. Esse tenetur rerum et vel. A facere quasi perferendis quam. Officiis velit atque nobis nulla. Aut blanditiis fugiat corrupti in sit. Ullam reprehenderit ratione quod et. Fugit magnam quas animi id ea quo saepe. Sequi officia tenetur ipsam rem sint saepe.
Fugiat vel impedit et et non. Suscipit consequatur odio magnam magni qui. Sunt reiciendis aut error repellendus aut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...