According to GitHub’s “The State of the Octoverse”, statistics show that JavaScript is the most popular language globally. It’s a good investment to learn JavaScript for either front-end or back-end programming.
How long will it take?
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, there is the 10,000 hour rule. This rule states that there must be so many accumulated hours of practice to achieve mastery in any field. If you invest 10,000 hours in learning and practicing JavaScript, you will be a true master!
However, you can learn the basics in a much shorter amount of time. You might even start writing your first program today – check out the Hello World program below!
JavaScript concepts for beginners from easy to difficult
Technical concepts in JavaScript can be associated with different skill levels. Take a look at the concepts below and see where you are in terms of skill level. Based on the Mozilla Developer Network, MDN Web Docs, the basic technical concepts in JavaScript are:
Language fundamentals
- variables
- conditional statements
- loop
- functions
- objects
Encoding for the web
- events
- Asynchronous JavaScript
- the object model of the document
- Web API
Paintings and Libraries
- client-side frameworks such as React and Vue
- connection to the REST API
- Server-side JavaScript with Node
So, if you are a beginner, set up your sites on learning topics for beginners, one at a time. With our free online courses How to Become a Web Developer or Modern JavaScript Fundamentals, you can start learning these concepts today.
-
FREE
Web development
How to become a web developer
Jeremy Mc Peak
-
FREE
JavaScript
Fundamentals of modern JavaScript
Dan Wellman
Hello World code example
You can write your first line of JavaScript code right now! Just press CTRL + SHIFT + J in Chrome, Ctrl + Shift + I in Firefox, or Option + Command + C in Safari. This will bring up the JavaScript console. Now type the following line of code and press log into.
alert("Hello World");
This is the first traditional program to create when you are learning a new programming language.
While you’re learning, or even if you’re an experienced programmer, the JavaScript console is a great place to try out new concepts or ideas.
Factors affecting the time it takes to learn JavaScript
Is it your first computer language?
If you already know another language, it will be much easier to learn JavaScript – you will already be familiar with the fundamentals of computer programming. Translating what you know into JavaScript won’t be too difficult. However, it is more difficult to learn JavaScript as a first language because you will learn to think like a programmer at the same time.
However, many people choose JavaScript as their first programming language – it’s very popular, and there are almost unlimited free learning resources online.
What is your level of dedication?
Learning to code as a complete beginner is a lot of work and it takes real effort to master JavaScript. You should expect to struggle and face many challenges as you practice.
It’s best to find a time. Even a few minutes of practice each day will keep you in the learning zone. Whatever your schedule, don’t spend too much time without practicing or your new skills will start to wear off.
Will you be a hobby programmer or a professional?
If you’re just planning for a hobby, there’s no real end to your learning. Each project is a challenge and an opportunity to learn. However, if you want to work as a professional, you will need to acquire skills to the point of being able to work at the required level and this may take longer.
What’s your learning style?
There are a huge volume of JavaScript learning resources available on the Internet and they come in various forms. Each shape has its pros and cons. For example, books tend to be more in-depth, going deeper into explaining different concepts, but they lack practicality and disappear more quickly.
Videos, on the other hand, are more result- and action-oriented and encourage the viewer to get involved in the encoding process. Upon entering the game, you are introduced to the nuances you may not learn from a book.
Video sharing platforms such as YouTube have provided access to a number of recent JavaScript video lessons from various online educators.
Additionally, these tutors all have their own unique ways of teaching and explaining various programming concepts to their audience.
To speed up the JavaScript learning process, it is best to identify and follow the style that helps you understand better, be it books, videos, courses, a particular tutor, and so on.
Free JavaScript education
There are great free JavaScript courses on Code Tuts +. Check out these to get started:
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FREE
Web development
How to become a web developer
Jeremy Mc Peak
-
FREE
JavaScript
Fundamentals of modern JavaScript
Dan Wellman
Summary
In this article, we’ve looked at the amount of learning required for different skill levels. More results will come with more time invested.
JavaScript can be easy if you just want to learn the basics. Or you can spend a decade mastering its intricacies.
Good luck and have fun learning!
