Becoming a software developer may seem like a daunting task, but getting started is relatively easy and essentially free. It’s important that you try out one if not all of these steps to simply see if you like it. Coding is fun, challenging, and stimulating, but it’s not for everyone. Here are some basic pointers for you to get your feet wet and see if it’s something you’d like to do full time.

Jump on Codecademy.com and play around with their HTML/CSS/Free Basics part of JavaScript

I call HTML & CSS the gateway drug into coding. A lot of programmers wouldn’t even call it coding, but it gets you to start using the computer as a tool. With HTML, CSS, you’re starting to code and writing these funny characters that are not part of English grammar and you’re seeing it on the screen. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get into coding and get you into a nice little feedback loop where you can see that you’re making something happen.

When I specifically call out the free parts of Codecademy javascript, look specifically for that.

They have a lot of content on their site and throw a lot at you, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Just look at the free part of JavaScript, the basics. Run through it a couple times. There’s a section called basics on freeCodeCamp that you could go through the whole thing five times and still probably need to go through it again. Once you have a handle on the basics, the next step becomes just that, a next step. Not some insurmountable task. I cannot emphasize enough, do the basics first, then attempt the intermediate. But to jump into like, ‘Let’s do Angular and thenn let’s do Vue, let’s do Node, that’s just insane.

It’s too much.

Keep it simple.

Learn and build your skills.

2) Go to general tech meetups

One misconception that people have about coding is that it’s for introverts, people who just want to sit in front of the computer by themselves at home. While that’s part of it, coding is very much a team sport. It’s for people who like to talk to other people, collaborate and do team work.

The tech world has a great deal of free meetups, networking events and meet-and-greets. If you’re interested in getting into coding, this is a great place to start. Many of these meetups are geared towards beginners, so not only do you get to meet other people like you, but you get to learn as well. There you can meet experts in person who can open the door to so much knowledge. Here you can get exposed to great practices and learning paths that might not be as straightforward online or in books. Plus, you can bend the ear of people who have been doing this for longer than you.

These opportunities (and that’s what they are,) for the most part are free and come with dinner. They are the perfect first step to really see what’s out there and meet some great people along the way. Check out meetups.com for more information.

3) Go to Hackathons

Hackathons are a super fun, exhilarating experience. Everyone coming up with ideas, coding under pressure, it’s a great environment for learning. Here people are innovating technology all day long. It’s an opportunity for people in the same industry to come together and really learn from each other’s successes and failures. Professionals and non-professionals alike get to meet and collaborate, share skills, solve problems and help build better products.

Even if you’re just a beginner, it’s a great opportunity for peer networking. Check out DevPost.com for more information.

If you do these three things, you will get a full picture of what this ‘coding,’ thing is all about and be able to make an informed judgement on your next steps.