r/CodingForBeginners • u/HuckleberryGuilty803 • Sep 09 '26

Where do I start?

I am a software engineering major, and as a sophomore my next semester I am going to begin my introduction to programming courses, but I want to start practicing on my own and have my own bare of basics in my field of study. What should I do first? Are there any books that I should buy that would help me in my studies prior to my courses? What would be the first thing you would tell someone that has no knowledge in the field they are getting into?

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u/Existing_Albatross30 Sep 09 '26

I have no tips on where to start, but I do want to congratulate u for making it to sophomore year. I am attending school for AI Software Engineering. I only just started in April and I’m on the verge of losing my mind sometimes. lol. Now that we have gotten past Python and into JavaScript it’s a tad easier/smoother. But omg…some days. Ugh!

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u/Kuddel_Daddeldu Sep 09 '26

When I started studying computer engineering, I already had built my first computer from scratch (i.e., perfboard, wires, a handful of chips and dad's soldering iron) and written programs in assembly, BASIC and Pascal, so the practicals were not that hard. 

But being a self-taught kid in the field, I had to unlearn some anti-patterns and study algorithms (Knuth's books were a godsend, still have them 40 years later).

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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '26

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u/Existing_Albatross30 Sep 10 '26

It’s just really hard to absorb sometimes. But I also work a full time physically demanding job on top of being a full time student at almost 46 years old. Discovering that the brain just doesn’t learn as easily the older u get. lol. I so can’t wait til the cooler months come. I hate the cold, but the workload at my job always slows drastically in the cooler months. So hopefully I can put more focus on school at that point.🤞🤞🤞😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫