How do I start programming?

The many ways to get started with programming‍

There are many ways to get started with programming. The most traditional way is to start right after high school. You then choose science courses at an early age and start studying computer science at a college or university as an MBO student with an ICT course or as an HBO or WO student.

Nowadays, there are also many people who do not choose this traditional path. There can be several reasons that you never learned to program before and would like to learn it now. For example, programming may not have seemed like anything to you in the past because you had no click with the teacher, there was no support from your family, or simply because you were interested elsewhere at the time. The motives for retraining or upskilling to become a programmer can also vary considerably. Maybe you're doing it for job opportunities and a favorable future perspective or you're doing it to stay ahead of your profession.

Whatever your reason, starting a “fresh start” can be quite exciting. ‍
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What are the best steps to take to start programming?‍‍

We wrote this blog for everyone who does not follow the traditional route. By following the steps below, you will discover the optimal way to become a programmer.
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1. First, check if programming suits you
   It's a shame if you start something that ultimately doesn't really suit you. Let's say you've been learning programming for 50 hours of study and only then find out that it's not for you after all. Wouldn't that be a shame? So you'd do well to first check whether programming is really something for you.
   
   How to find out if programming is right for you? For this purpose, we have developed a personality test. Go through this test and find out if programming really suits you. This is very important to know. After all, if it suits you, studying will not only be easier for you, you will also be more fulfilling.
   
2. Determine which IT job is right for you
   Are you sure that programming is right for you? Super! Then you can be sure that your personality and competencies are a good match. Now it's important to determine which IT job is right for you. In the beginning, it can be very difficult to choose which way to go. For example, are you going for web development, front-end, back-end or full-stack development? Or maybe it's better for you to apply your programming skills as a data analyst?
   
   To give you a good idea of what really suits you, you can use the 'Which IT job is right for you?'do the test. At the end of the test, you will receive personal advice on which direction best suits your interests and personality traits. This way, you not only know exactly what your dream job is, but you also prevent you from wanting to study and/or have had a job afterwards.
   
3. Confirm career test outcome
   Take a few minutes to look at Google for jobs, LinkedIn or a job board. Then look for positions that match the results you received from the career test. Do the job descriptions match your ideal job? Are there companies you would like to work for? Good, then you're on the right track!
   
4. Get some prior knowledge
   Okay, you know that programming suits you and you also know which direction you want to go. To prevent you from starting a course completely blank, you could take a look at our knowledge base. In the knowledge base, we have a lot of background information about various topics related to programming. So read up and take advantage of it!

Would you rather get an explanation from one of our teachers? Then follow one or more of our webinars. During these webinars, our teachers will provide you with some useful basic knowledge.

The benefits of attending one of our webinars?
1. It's free and only takes 1 hour;
2. You learn how to program from our experienced teachers, without being tied to a course;
3. You can follow the webinar from any location;
4. After the webinar, you'll be even more sure that programming really suits you.
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Choose a learning path that's right for you‍

Sure, there are several roads that lead to Rome. And that also applies to how you learn to program. While there are many ways to learn how to program, some routes will be bumpier and take longer than others. Perhaps you learn best by reading books, watching tutorials, preferring to do it yourself, or one-on-one guidance with a teacher is most effective for you. Some people like to be able to set the pace themselves, while others prefer to sit in school every day at 9 a.m.

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Choose the most effective way to learn how to program

Just watching tutorials or reading e-books often won't get you there. In addition, it can be difficult to achieve your goal effectively, due to the endless number of tutorials that can be found online. Sander Markies, one of our students, had a good description for this. In his testimonial he called aimlessly watching tutorials the “tutorial hell”.

It has been proven that you can only learn to program functionally by doing. In addition, our experience shows that most students learn best through a combination of doing it themselves, watching tutorials, working with other students, taking live lessons and receiving personal guidance. All these elements can therefore be found in every Winc Academy course.

This will not only make learning more fun, but you will also be able to become a programmer faster by learning exactly what you need in practice.