Learn to Code From Home: Where to Start and What to Study

^{Photo via Danial Igdery on Unsplash}

TL;DR: Learning to code is more accessible than ever, even for beginners, with plenty of online courses you can take at home. Here's how to get started. 

Anyone who's at a crossroads in their career and openly having conversations about it has probably heard plenty of people casually suggest, "Well, you can always learn coding."

Learning to code is an attractive option when exploring professional changes due to the vast application of coding skills and the lucrative fields you can break into. Making it more appealing? The ease of learning to code from home without an overwhelmingly expensive college degree.

Coding jobs are also often work-from-home positions, making them great for those who are really into that remote life.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 26% increase in employment for software developers over the next ten years. The same bureau reported that, in 2022, the median pay for computer programmers was an impressive $97,800 per year. 

If the demand, pay, and work itself interest you (never mind the general benefits of learning to code), why not give it a go from home? Let's navigate some options together. 

What Can You Do as a Coder?

Theoretically, any business could benefit from having in-house coders or programmers. You could bridge the gap between a store that also sells online or just in person. You could beef up the cybersecurity of a small business. You could oversee and manage development projects. The applications are seemingly endless, which is why it's good to find a focus when you decide specifically how to learn coding from home. 

Some of the more stable corners of the programming world include cybersecurity, data management, and cloud computing, as there's such a large global reliance on these. On top of that, you have growing fields that are poised for exciting discovery in the years to come—think artificial intelligence and the blockchain.

You can start to learn coding from home today with online courses and hands-on training designed to help you launch a career with a range of focuses. From there, you can apply for jobs, continue expanding your knowledge with additional self-paced education, embark on certifications, and begin working as a coder from home. 

Is It Easy to Learn Coding From Home?

There's a wealth of affordable online coding courses. You can find well-reviewed, expert-led lectures, classes, and certificate programs for reasonable rates (like sub $100) on plenty of platforms. At StackSocial, you'll find all those things plus exclusive course bundles curated by a tech-savvy team.

There's also the question of what your focus should be. So while finding content is easy, deciding what e-learning experiences to invest in might be overwhelming.  

With so many types of coders and programmers out there, where should you start? It's imperative for just about anybody to at least begin with some general education to learn the basics of coding technology. 

Getting a Coding Education

To begin, it's worth diving into some IT for beginners classes. Coders and programmers work within the IT umbrella, and while courses like these cover programming, they also break down how it plays into a larger system of collaboration between hardware, software, security, and infrastructure.

Keep an eye out for introductions to specialty certification resources like CompTIA, which is a well-respected organization that issues professional certifications in the world of IT. You can find CompTIA courses in IT bundles, and from there you can explore full CompTIA bundles that prep you for certification exams, which can then potentially help you secure programming and IT work from home. 

From IT you can then choose to lean more specifically into introductory coding. With these resources, you can find digestible and affordable beginner bootcamps with important focuses and languages like Python, Raspberry Pi, Ruby on Rails 6, and more. This can be massively helpful in finding a passion and a path when studying and going out for jobs. 

Let's take a closer look at some of the specialty areas within the world of programming, so you can start to imagine where your journey to becoming a coder might take you. 

Become well-versed in Python

Many resources on learning coding from home will highlight Python, a high-level programming language that's immensely popular for automation, building websites and software, and data science. Another reason there's so much focus on Python is its beginner-friendly syntax: It's easy to code, easy to read, easy to debug.

Python's wide range of applications and relatively approachable usability make being able to program with it a key skill when hunting for work and learning to code in general.

For setting a career path, it could be in your best interest to seek out a certified entry-level Python programmer preparation course, where you can start studying with a goal and specific certification in mind. With a resource like this, you can get an affordable feel for Python's basic concepts, data types, evaluations, flow control, functions, and more.

Beyond learning about Python in an introductory capacity, you can also explore how it's applied in different fields to see if there's a specialty that interests you. For example, you can study how Python is used with AI and ChatGPT or to support the world of cybersecurity and come to understand how it's applied in other fields within tech. 

Learn cybersecurity programming

It seems relatively obvious why cybersecurity has grown in terms of its size and importance within the worlds of programming and IT. When deciding what kind of coding you want to learn from home, it's highly advised that you take some time to learn the basics of cybersecurity, even if you don't ultimately want to specialize in it.

You can find well-reviewed and expertly curated bundles introducing and exploring the basics of cybersecurity. To help shape your search, we suggest you seek out content that covers penetration testing, ethical hacking, and cloud security essentials.

Again, e-learning options with certification focuses and tracks can be beneficial to your new job search. For cybersecurity, keep an eye out for courses on the GSEC certification, CISSP Exam, and the aforementioned CompTIA.

Program for AI, blockchain, and cryptocurrency 

AI and crypto are as buzzy as buzzy gets, both massively popular and somewhat controversial. There is a vast unknown as to how they'll fit into our future, but that makes them extremely exciting. Of course, there is a range of well-reviewed courses and bundles breaking down how to get started learning coding for artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency.

You can study the blockchain with lessons on cryptocurrency mining, trading altcoins, developing Ethereum, and more.

When it comes to the large language models of the world, it may be worth approaching this type of programming with an angle that can pay off down the line, like applying ChatGPT to better business practices. 

Other ways to discover your programming specialty

There are other ways to dial in your coding education. Consider taking some time to study a brand-centric area that could help you become employable in a niche market down the line.

For example, if you decide to study to become an AWS-certified cloud practitioner, you'll be equipped to help the wide range of businesses that rely on Amazon's AWS Cloud services. You can enter the job market with a familiarity with the AWS Cloud ecosystem and a working knowledge of cost-effective IT solutions to business challenges.

Similarly, you could decide to approach coding with a focus on Unity game development, or iOS app development. 

Learning Coding From Home or Just About Anywhere Else

Looking for practical applications is a good idea when buying any resource that's designed to help you learn coding from home.

Courses and bundles that offer hands-on training with projects you can keep for your portfolio are great options. Study the content at face value, consider how you can apply it to your specific coding journey and career path, and set a trajectory for bringing your newfound knowledge to the world at large. 

Learning to code from home can seem daunting, but if you go at the pace that feels right for you (super easy to do with online courses) and break it down into smaller, more manageable study sessions, you can soon find yourself carving out a new career path.

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