Jason Ng just joined our team as a Full-Stack instructor and code guru, and, has some tips for the noobs. A former instructor at General Assembly, Jason has a wealth of teaching experience. On a side note, he also enjoys moonlight walks on the beach and candlelight dinners.
Coming from a voice of experience who has dealt with plenty of beginner coders, here are Jason's Top Tips for when you start coding:
> Stay on task - Focus on what you are doing in the moment and don't deviate. Try keeping the amount of files open in your text editor and browser to a minimum. The less cluttered your workspace is the faster you will complete your current task.
> Do NOT use code you don't understand - This sounds pretty cut and dry but there are many times you'll be frustrated and constantly searching for something that just makes it work. Maybe some three dozen clicks into a google search you take some code, and voila your app works! That's all fine and dandy but WHY does it work? Understand the flow of your code and what every letter means.
> Take a break from screens - Being a programmer you're constantly learning and reading. Most of your time at work will be on a computer, then you may watch some TV or play some video games at home; on top of that, we're always glued to our phones. Take a break from screens. Maybe read a book, go for a run, or cook a meal. Anything to stop looking at screens for a little bit. Your eyes will welcome the break.
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