Skip Your Computer Science Class and Learn to Code for Free

By Jessica Lyons

How Codecademy Works

All you need to do is create an account and you can get started with Codecademy for free. You can then begin taking their different courses. The beginner courses are 'Getting Started with Programming,' 'The Document Object Model & jQuery' and 'Functions of JavaScript.' The site also offers the intermediate course 'JavaScript Quick Start Guide.'

Each course consists of 2-8 lessons that are short and easy to understand. For example, you'll be given simple instructions for creating your name using code and a box where you can actually type it and see it used. If you do get stuck, you can access hints during some points of the exercises.

As you complete different exercises, you earn achievements and badges. You can also share your progress with your friends on the site, which is used as one way to help motivate you throughout your learning.

Why Learn Computer Code?

There are a few reasons why you might want to take advantage of the courses offered by Codecademy. If you're someone who already likes working with computers, these classes can give you a chance to learn more about your area of interest and might even help you decide if this is a field you want to study more in-depth in college. Taking a few minutes to try out an online computer code lesson is better than sitting in your first computer science course in college and realizing it's not for you.

For students who aren't particularly interested in computers, the Codecademy could still be a simple way to ease yourself into the subject. There's a good chance you'll have to take some sort of computer class while working toward your degree. These classes can be somewhat intimidating depending on how advanced they get, but even knowing a little bit of coding could give you just enough confidence to feel more comfortable with your computer classes.

Finally, even the most basic of computer coding skills could give you a leg up in the workforce. Virtually every employer out there has a website and they might be more likely to hire you over a fellow applicant if they see you can handle some of the site updating yourself. Even if their site doesn't use the exact same code you learned through Codecademy, the potential employer might have faith in your ability to learn it since you already took the initiative to learn other codes.

Do you like learning about computers? Then you might want to consider a career in computers.