Are you looking to improve your coding skills? If yes, then you have come to the right place as we will share some general tips on how to improve them and be at top of your game.
The world is going digital, and the demand of developers are on a high. Software engineers are predicted to grow up to 22% by the year 2022. So with high growth, most of us – the software engineers, can stay confident that there isn’t going to be much crisis in term of job availability. But this should be a reason for us to slack.
Instead, we should seize the opportunity and consider how easier it will be for us to get a promotion and climb the ladder. Now sure with more years spent i.e. with more experience you are more certain to grow, but better coding skills and programming knowledge can catapult you up the ranks very quickly.
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Now, this statement is not made to make you feel that your coding skills are bad, but rather to build on the philosophy that there is always room for improvement. Everyone out there is busy in the process of betterment, and if you choose to be content instead of being a contender, then the competition will throw you out the window. Again, as the necessity of software engineers are increasing so is the total population of the world – something which ought to be remembered.
Anyhow, judging from your presence, you must already be motivated to better your coding skills. All this was merely prep-talk to help you get warmed up. Now without further ado, here is a brief discussion on steps you can take to improve your coding skills:
How to Improve your Coding Skills
Coding Challenges and Algorithms
Coding challenges are one of the best ways to level up your coding skills. It is an excellent medium to hone on your logical thinking and abstract thinking potential all the while taking part in different coding challenges and getting a little bit of practice.
These exercises, as trivial as it may be, will help you to improve your critical thinking skills as well as help you to learn new programming language, help your brain to stay sharp and acquire new ways of thinking. The more you practice, the better you become at it.
Developing complex projects have many things common to algorithms and coding challenges. Coding challenges are very common among the programming community and is a must if you want to improve upon your skills. In fact, you take it as an opportunity to showcase what “bits” you are made off!
Some of the best places to code are HackerEarth, TopCoder, etc.
Reading Blogs
Wondering what benefits can reading a blog have? Blogs are basically run by people who are experts in their respective fields. For example, Andreas Teufel, a truly experienced JavaScript Developer blogs at Devils Heaven. He has content for beginners, but he also published content that can even help experts. The wide variety of coverage is astonishing and can’t be grasped entirely in one sitting.
Other key examples are SitePoint — a leading blog for Developers to learn new things. They cover all the major technologies and publish articles that are worth your time.
Most of the blog articles that you read online are fun as they teach you something. Some of the writers also reply to comments. You can also use these sites as a means of getting in touch with other enthusiasts like yourself through the comments section.
Observe the Experts
If you are working in a firm or software company, then you will have the luxury of establishing a relation with more experienced and skilled developers. Try to ask them if it is ok for you to watch them as they code.
Keep an eye out for what keyboard shortcuts and editor functionalities they use. Do you use them? Are these the cause of their better efficiency or productivity?
If you see something new, then try to learn and practice it.
Another thing you can also do is very plain and simple – just ask! Ask your superiors on tips to improve yourself. Your contemporary might not tell their secrets, but your superiors (most of them at least) will welcome your enthusiasm.
Again you can use sites like CodeLive to code while being – live. People will come and watch you as well comment on your work. If you feel embarrassed doing that then just be one of the people who watches the experts coding. Comment and ask them why they made this design decision and other nit-bits to get a glimpse of what goes on in their minds.
Be The Master of Your Trade
If you currently invest yourself in coding applications with Java, say, then know all there is to know about Java. If you use Python or Ruby or even C/C++, try to understand as much as possible about the potential of the language.
Read good books published on that language. Try to focus and get a hold of all the advanced concepts of that language. Get control over the language core and libraries.
With a thorough grasp on a powerful language like Java or even C, you will find that learning new ones is just about getting familiar with the syntax and libraries. The concepts are more than often same.
Coding isn’t mainly about the language syntax but rather an efficient usage of the libraries to code an effective algorithm to solve a certain problem.
Conclusion
The internet is full of learning options. Interactive content is in demand in almost every sector you pick — be it learning to code, cooking, learning aircraft lessons, etc. Learning is best done with groups, and when it comes to learning to code, the role of a community driven approach magnifies itself and that’s how the above options are collaborative.
If you have found another means to improve upon your coding skills, then we would love to know. Share your insights and experience in your humble struggle to become a better programmer. Knowledge is the only thing that grows when given, and the comments section is a great platform for sharing knowledge.
