Hey there! So, I’ve been thinking a lot about all these paid courses that claim to be super useful. Honestly, it’s easy to say they’re helpful if you haven’t tried anything else. Like, sure, it’s better than doing nothing.
But lately, I’ve been really doubting the value of these subscription-based courses. The longer they keep you subscribed, the more money they make. You end up spending hours solving puzzles and challenges, which eats up a lot of time, but it doesn’t really help you get the hang of full-on program development. The comments make you feel like you’re developing “programmer’s thinking,” but it’s kind of misleading.
If I had to give advice to myself back when I was starting out and bought a subscription, I’d tell myself not to do it. Don’t waste your study time following their methods and schedule. I think it’s way more effective to get a textbook on the language you’re learning. Read the theory, do the exercises from the book, and supplement with online exercises on the same topics. A textbook helps you keep a structured and sequential learning process.
Also, look for things online like “Java Junior Interview Questions” and practice with those. With AI getting better, you can even generate exercises and get extra explanations from it. This way, you’re adding practical exercises from the textbook.
There are good courses out there, even paid ones, where you buy the course and get lifetime access. That’s more worthwhile because those courses usually specify what skills you’ll have by the end. Plus, you have unlimited access to the materials.
Start writing programs early on. Simple ones like phonebooks, library visitor databases with stats like gender and average age, and different scenarios for program completion. Gradually increase the complexity of the programs you write. I ask AI for learning ideas, like “what programs can I write to practice using arrays?” and get examples with real scenarios like libraries or stores.
Paid platforms offer interactive training, but I think it’s mostly marketing. You can find plenty of educational programs with explanations online that are more beneficial than interactive ones. Working on your own computer in your IDE seems more productive to me than doing it on websites. Sure, you can integrate services into your IDE from educational platforms, but it doesn’t feel like real independent work.
Certificates from paid platforms, where you pay an annual fee, aren’t something you can earn in just one year if you’re just starting out. You’d need about three years of learning there from scratch. You might find a job faster than you’d earn a certificate from scratch on those platforms.
Disclaimer! I don’t have anything against any paid services (you know which ones). They might be great for some people. A lot depends on the learner’s personality and personal approach. Just sharing my personal opinion here.
