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I agree, and I've found great resources like TeachYourSelfCS[0] and OSSU[1] to name a few, but there are so many options out there that I am overwhelmed. Readin

I agree, and I've found great resources like TeachYourSelfCS[0] and OSSU[1] to name a few, but there are so many options out there that I am overwhelmed. Reading reviews doesn't help, either. I think I need to commit to one that will get the job done and get me thinking from a CS perspective. Also, I want to be a great software engineer. I've heard arguments that a CS degree doesn't equate to software engineering in a practical sense. [0] https://teachyourselfcs.com/ https://teachyourselfcs.com/ [1] https://github.com/ossu/computer-science https://github.com/ossu/computer-science

ppseafield 7y ago
I was a self-taught dev for nearly a decade. Then I got the opportunity to go back for the CS degree. Probably the biggest thing that I got out of it was that I had to work on some things I almost never would have done myself (for me, my low level C/Linux code and networking classes), and it expanded my overall understanding of computers a bit. You can do that yourself, but you have to do it yourself. :)
drbojingle 7y ago
This is a psychological phenomenon called choice paralysis. My advice: get a mentor. Someone who knows the industry and can remove bad options. OR. Just pick one and forget about it. Personally my favorite approach a Bring your own idea approach, where you come up with something you want to build and then figure out how to build it, rather than focusing on what's hot or best or correct. You can stripe down CS and focus only on the product development necessary to achieve a release. Gets you coding, which is a good first step in to CS and a better first step in to the industry (CS != business. Overlaps but ain't the same.) I'm teaching my girlfriend to code and right now she's on the basics: html, and css. She had no idea what to build so I got her to start working on a dictionary of all the things she's learning (essentially she's taking her notes on html, in html). Very recursive and reinforces the knowledge, but (if they're curious) it would naturally segway into "how do I make it look pretty" (which it did) and we're continuing from there.

ppseafield 7y ago

I was a self-taught dev for nearly a decade. Then I got the opportunity to go back for the CS degree. Probably the biggest thing that I got out of it was that I had to work on some things I almost never would have done myself (for me, my low level C/Linux code and networking classes), and it expanded my overall understanding of computers a bit. You can do that yourself, but you have to do it yourself. :)

drbojingle 7y ago

This is a psychological phenomenon called choice paralysis. My advice: get a mentor. Someone who knows the industry and can remove bad options. OR. Just pick one and forget about it. Personally my favorite approach a Bring your own idea approach, where you come up with something you want to build and then figure out how to build it, rather than focusing on what's hot or best or correct. You can stripe down CS and focus only on the product development necessary to achieve a release. Gets you coding, which is a good first step in to CS and a better first step in to the industry (CS != business. Overlaps but ain't the same.) I'm teaching my girlfriend to code and right now she's on the basics: html, and css. She had no idea what to build so I got her to start working on a dictionary of all the things she's learning (essentially she's taking her notes on html, in html). Very recursive and reinforces the knowledge, but (if they're curious) it would naturally segway into "how do I make it look pretty" (which it did) and we're continuing from there.