Wouldn’t it be great if you could learn to code for free? Well, you can! Or at least next to nothing. Over the course of my career, I’ve spent enough money to essentially run out of money. I’ve maxed out my student loan budget which means I can’t get any more financial aid until I pay off my current student debt. But if I don’t continue to learn in this career I will sooner be out of a job than I could ever pay off my student loans. So I’ve had to scour the web for quality education for next to free.
My goal in this article is to point you to the education you can get on a minimum wage budget. In this day and age, the internet has become a treasure of quality affordable learning resources. These are courses that I have gone through myself in order to stay relevant in my career. Let’s begin!
FreeCodeCamp
I can’t give enough praise to Quincy Larson for starting this amazing online school FreeCodeCamp.org. He literally poured himself into building a free education resource to get people working. And enough other professionals in the industry believed in the purpose of free education that they all pitched it for free to help make it better!
FreeCodeCamp has a great curriculum that is split into six sections.
Although I disagree with the order of the curriculum. I believe the second and third should be swapped. So I would recommend this order.
- Responsive Web Design
- Front End Libraries
- JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures
- Data Visualization
- Apis and Microservices
- Information Security and Quality Assurance
- Coding Interview Prep
You don’t need to complete all of these to begin working. There are actually three separate specialties baked in here. Completing all makes you a suitable Full-Stack Engineer, but you can make a competitive salary specializing in any of the three.
Front End Engineer
- Responsive Web Design
- Front End Libraries
- Coding Interview Prep
Platform or Server Side Engineer
- JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures
- Apis and Microservices
- Information Security and Quality Assurance
- Coding Interview Prep
Data Engineer or Data Scientists
- JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures
- Data Visualization
- Coding Interview Prep
Of course with each one the Interview Prep is beneficial. I will go into my own interview prep and techniques in a future post.
Udemy
Udemy is a great resource for independently published courses. Some amazing teachers have emerged and one of my personal favorites is Anthony Alicea. He’s published many courses but my personal favorite is JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts. I learned so much from this course. Anthony has a great way of breaking down the information so you really understand it with his “Big Word Alert”. Learning to code is not about learning how to build specific things. Having a deep understanding is the true power. This way you’re free to use your own creativity to create anything.
Another amazing instructor is Tim Buchalka. I discovered him from his Complete Java Masterclass. Something that’s very important to me is the instructor’s speaking quality. Is their voice upbeat, or do they put me to sleep? Are they clear and concise when they explain concepts? Tim is very clear and he keeps his videos brief and to the point. He’s also very easy on the ears. It took me quite a bit of digging to find a decent Java Course. Not only is Tim a great instructor but this course covers literally everything to become an expert Java Engineer.
Yet another quality instructor is Stephen Grider. Recently when I was brushing up before hitting the job market a friend recommended his course The Coding Interview Bootcamp: Algorithms + Data Structures. The structure of this course is really great! I like that for each challenge Stephen goes through multiple possible solutions. He also prepares you for why an interviewer might prefer that you solve it one way or another. Master this class and you’ll master any technical interview! If you’re already comfortable with JavaScript I would also check out Stephen’s course Node with React: Fullstack Web Development.
Now you might have clicked on any of the above courses and noticed that they are more expensive than you had anticipated. Not to worry. Create an account with Udemy and add the course as a favorite. You’ll be notified in no time when the course goes on sale. The go on sale almost every month. I usually haven’t had to wait more than a few weeks and the course will drop to less than $20.
FrontendMasters
Frontend Master is an epic resource for Frontend development. I’m really impressed with how cutting edge they stay. Unlike some website with courses that go stale, Frontend Masters frequently brings instructors back to do updated versions of their course. So you’re always learning the latest stuff. Unlike Udemy which is a la carte, Frontend Masters is a subscription service. This is great because with their affordable price you get access to all their courses. Just don’t let it turn into that gym membership you never use.
One of my absolute favorite instructors is Kyle Simpson. He has an amazing array of courses on Frontend Masters. My personal favorite is Deep JavaScript Foundations. This course was a humbling experience. It corrected many incorrect opinions about the language that I and many others have adopted. Kyle really knows the language front to back. He is incredible at explaining and justifying his stance on certain best practices. For anyone who has learned JavaScript just enough to be able to Google your way through problems I highly recommend this course. This is an Intermediate JavaScript course that builds on basic JavaScript.
Another great instructor is Brian Holt. He also has a very high-quality array of courses. If you’re a beginner to web development I would check out his Complete Intro to Web Development course. And if you already know HTML, CSS and a bit of JavaScript I would highly recommend Brian’s Complete Intro to React. I personally used this course to get my first React job after spending two years in AngularJS. This course is on its 3rd update and is about to get the 4th edition! Another testament to Frontend Master’s efforts to stay on the cutting edge of technology.
Yet another amazing instructor is Kent C. Dodds. Kent has a collection of more intermediate to advanced courses. These are great to have a more senior level understanding of JavaScript, React and bundlers like WebPack. As you get more comfortable with React, I would recommend checking out his course Advanced React Patterns. It’s not definitive but I would say it always good to know multiple ways to skin a cat. His other courses are great to make you a more efficient and effective developer.
In Conclusion
These are courses I have personally taken and they have helped me boost my career and stay relevant in the industry. I have omitted courses that were once good but their content has gone stale. I will continue to keep this page up to date with relevant courses. What are some good courses you’ve taken? Comment below and share the knowledge!