Instead I was studying statistics

but on the side

I learned to code mostly on my own and eventually I became good enough to get a job at Google as a full-time software engineer

So I briefly talked about how I learned to code in the same video, but in this video

I wanted to go into more detail, so I'm gonna talk about my personal

Experience first about how I learned to code

But if you just want to find my recommendation about what you should do, you should just skip over to this time in this video

So here are the 4 steps

I personally used to learn to code. First of all I took a few summer courses during my summer break

So the first course

I took was an introductory programming course it covered topics like loops, variables, if statements, and

functions, and then the second course I took was on data structures and algorithms. It covered topics like trees, graphs, hash tables,

Searching, and sorting these two courses were both taught using Java

After I took those courses I decided to learn more on my own

I heard that you can use something called "Ruby on Rails" to build websites

And I wanted to build a website

So I decided to learn Ruby on Rails and "Ruby" which Ruby on Rails is based on. And to learn Ruby,

I use the website called The Pragmatic Programmer, and to practice using it

I use this other website called Project Euler which gives you a ton of simple programming problems to solve. To learn Ruby on Rails

I used Rails for Zombies, which is an interactive website for learning how to use Ruby on Rails. And step 3

I started working on a bunch of personal projects. My first real personal project was going to be like the reddit of Japan

Partly because I'm originally from Japan and I was living in Japan at the time

Working on this project was really helpful for understanding how Ruby on Rails works

How Ruby works and also how web technologies in general work. Through this project,

I also learned the importance of asking for help. You know, when you're new to programming

It's so easy for you to get stuck, and I think it's really important for you to just ask for help

You can do this virtually through websites like Stack Overflow,

Facebook groups, or reddit, or in person if you know someone who knows how to code in person.

And then, using the skills and connections I developed, partly through my projects.

I got a few technical internships. These technical internships were really helpful for developing my skills further.

because I started getting feedback on my code from my colleagues, and

I started learning a lot more a lot faster than on my own.

In between those internships, and even when I had one of those internships.

I kept working on more personal projects. That was partly because it was just fun, and partly because I wanted to build more skills.

And after all that I started working on my technical interview skills,

And eventually I got a job at Google as a full-time software engineer. So if you're just getting started with programming

or if you're a complete beginner

What should you do exactly? I'd recommend the following four steps

first of all, you should learn the basics of programming through one of those interactive websites.

I personally recommend Codeacademy, but I also heard that freeCodeCamp is also pretty good

If you're not sure which language to get started with, I do recommend either Python or JavaScript

after that, start working on a personal project

It could be a website, an app, or automating a simple task. As you work on your project, keep learning more through those

Interactive websites. And for more advanced topics that those websites don't cover, I'd recommend Lynda.com

And Udemy. Step number 3! As you work on your personal project

I think one important aspect here is the community aspect.

If programming is something that's totally new for you, it's probably gonna be really hard.

And so, it's really important for you to be able to get help from others through online or offline communities. So try using

websites like Stack Overflow,

Meetup.com, and Facebook groups and events to find relevant communities.

Step number 4! Try getting an internship

Or a job, ideally a paid one

Once you do, you should be able to learn even more quickly, because

You'll be able to get some feedback from your colleagues on your code. And those are the four steps

I would personally use to learn to code today. If you have extra time and money to spare, going through a coding bootcamp, or

Even getting a degree from a university might also be a good option

Okay, if you're curious about a more general strategy I used for getting a job at Google

there's a video about that, and if you're wondering which programming languages you should learn, I have a video about that too

And let me know in the comment section below about what kind of videos I should make in the future. I'm YK from

CS Dojo, and I'll see you in the next video!