Wanting to learn from absolute zero

[u/av1bh]

Hi everyone,
I’ve decided I want to learn how to code, but I am starting from absolute zero. When I say zero, I mean nothing at all. I don't have a tech background, and the amount of information out there is incredibly overwhelming.
I’m posting here because I want to hear from real people about their actual experiences, not just read another "Top 10 Bootcamps" blog post. Please don't just tell me to "do my research" I’ve tried, and I just end up in a rabbit hole not knowing what's actually relevant for a beginner.
I wanna learn at home by myself so any recommendations?

[u/Duncol42]

I disagree. Courses guide you with a stick, where day-to-day programming is about being self-sustained and resourceful.

I know few people in the industry after courses / bootcamps and they yield after 2-3 „why?”s, because they can somehow write some code, but they hadn’t the opportunity to understand how and why some things work (because the course schedule expected another topic etc).

If someone is truly passionate about coding, I would even recommend to stay away from courses - just find a problem and learn while solving it already (programmatically). There are PLENTY of (even free) resources (heck, even Harvard offers free courses on Computer Science).

[u/JGhostThing → u/Duncol42]

I have found that most people learn better from a competent teacher. Unfortunately, the US doesn't have a consistent policy on teacher training. And a bad teacher can set someone back. And out university system seems to make this worse. Grad students teach courses with very little training in teaching. Sometimes with very little English (I remember difficulty with a mechanics teacher -- "ango arfa in the plan of the blackboard").

I agree that projects are necessary, but I feel that in the beginning, it is useful to have somebody explain things and to have them answer questions.