I decided to share what learning resources i’ve used. It’s important to not only have the willingness to learn, but having the right material and guidance to get you to that level. I’m no way an expert, but I hope my experience is helpful to others in deciding for themselves what to utilize. For me, what I first think is a good resource, is when they explain information that you will retain. Another trait I consider valuable is if the resource shows examples or provide projects that implement what you learn. Especially if it applies to the real world projects. Finally, I trust the resource that updates their information. Data is dynamic. It doesn’t stay the same. People should know this with science and technology. Having obsolete information is not ideal when trying to know the latest tools. So here are my go-to resources.
Udemy
This option is probably the most affordable… if you do it right. Udemy is online website for a wide variety of topics. They constantly have sales where courses are listed between 9.99 – 19.99 (sometimes higher) where they originally can be over $100. The problem I see with it, is Udemy seems to really market for you to buy courses over trying to learn. I even was slightly hooked of wanting to buy the course thinking of going through it. The low price really hooks you until you buy multiple and barely watch them because you’re not as interested as you think you are.
My approach to this is find people outside of Udemy and then if they happen to have a course on Udemy and you trust them and their content, then go for it! I found Brad Traversy (Traversy Media) and Tim Buchalka and i’m really impressed with their content.
Treehouse
Another online course that focuses on development. They divide paths on what type of language you want to pursue. They also throw in soft skills of development as well such as data visualization, Git, Excel training, DevTools, and more.
The resource is great and have used it for awhile. The only issue i have is lack of projects. To be fair, they have a community that can search for. It also costs $25 dollars a month.
Pluralsight
i used this for both development and IT learning. It’s really good for the business world. it’s also about $25 a month. The material is really structured and can be beneficial.
I have one negative thing about it. In my opinion, the material doesn’t update quick. This could be a bad experience, but i studied to learn Office 365 since I use for work. I don’t use every component so I figure I learn about it and maybe get certified in it. Long story short. I went through a whole course at my own pace (took me about 2-3 weeks) and I noticed how some of the tools, and web pages they reference are old, outdated, are not even there anymore. It really frustrated me because i wasted time on things no longer applicable. Knowing Microsoft and the amount of emails I get from them, they constantly update so having these guys not catch made me upset. Take that for what you will.
FreeCodeCamp.org
This is a highly recommended one for new users because it’s free and overall includes everything. The tips and modules are well designed while being simple at the same time. It’s perfect for new users to get started. I would recommend you donating money (which is optional) if you push through the content to show support to the community. I would try them first before looking at the payment options.
Hope you enjoy this and take these opinions for what you will.