I’ve been trying to learn programming for a while. I was finding that most free resources were extremely difficult in getting the bigger pictures across and how things tied together. I finally broke down and bought the pro version of Codecademy. I started the backend engineering track and I feel like I’m actually learning a lot and making progress, understanding concepts. I feel like it gives me direction and ties concepts together on how things function together. The supplemental resources that they point you to help a lot.

I see Codecademy get a lot of hate on here and the majority of the reason is it’s too expensive, but I don’t really hear a lot about the content quality here.

Am I wasting my time with Codecademy, or is the pro version a start?

I recently discovered CodeCademy and they have everything from free basic fundamental skills to full fundamentals of a skill like HTML, SQ, Python etc. they also have career paths that teach you everything to do with Front end, computer science/data science, full stack. My question is, is it worth the time to do the course to getting a job as a self taught programmer? Will I be taken seriously as someone without a college degree?

I've mostly been using free resources (won't be able to go back to college for a while because it's pretty expensive), and I've been thinking about trying paid classes for a better learning experience, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. I really like freeCodeCamp—following along with projects is great, and the certification projects are helpful. But I feel like I need something that explains how everything functions together even more clearly.

With most tutorials, I feel like I'm blindly following along, and I'd love to get to the point where I can create things more independently. I've looked through a few other resources but I'm unsure what would be best for me. I'm considering paying for a course, but I'm not sure if I should. I've googled different options but want feedback from people who have tried different things. What works best for any of you? :)

If it helps I'm currently learning Javascript, CSS, and HTML (I would also like to learn Java at some point)

So I decided to get into coding/web development and try to learn (and eventually master) the skills required to be a Front-End developer. I have a passion for graphic design and enjoy the logic-based thinking in programming, so when I gave it a shot, I wasn't too surprised that this type of thinking clicked with me.

I'm currently using Codecademy to learn the foundation required to start making basic things and then teach myself the rest of the way. So far I really enjoy the program and have been learning a ton of stuff. I spend on average about 20 hours a week (for a week so far) doing lessons and trying to apply them on my own.

However, reddit seems to be uniformly opposed to Codecademy for a particular reason, saying that it only teaches you 1% of what a programmer knows, that it teaches you irrelevant things or that it teaches you bad practices.

All these negative comments (not just on reddit) make me feel like Codecademy is a waste of time if I want to break into the world of web development.

When I began this, I never expected Codecademy to teach me everything I should know, but instead that I will teach myself more advanced things as I begin to apply the skills I've learned there, such as proper practices, how to prevent/find errors in my code, and how to organize it in a practical space saving way that will allow other programmers to understand where I left off in my code etc etc. I also have a few mentors who are computer programmers that are willing to help me and give me tips.

I KNOW the process of me becoming a developer is a long, but rewarding process, and I'm willing to put the legwork for a couple of years in order to be as good as I can. Also, I think my graduate degree and location, as well as design background can give me an edge once I get a lot better at web-dev.

Which goes to my question and also TL;DR:

TL;DR: Is Codecademy really that bad, or are those people expecting too much from it? I'm aware that the process of becoming a novice to expert coder is long and that Im going to have to teach myself a lot that Codecademy doesn't (which I came into this assuming). Am I doing myself a disservice by chosing Codecademy?

So there's this pretty well-known and renowned website called Codecademy. I'm currently taking their free Java course and I don't find it to be that great. It's pretty hard to understand and the course isn't structured that well in my opinion(though I have very slight experience with Java). I'm thinking of switching to a different source but I want to know if it's just me or if it's the website/course itself?

Hi

I have been doing the codecademy course on python over the past few days and have made it to the "practice makes perfect" section. For those that don't know, its the section where we test out everything we have learned so far. We are given a probelm or challenge to solve such as reversing a text that is input by a user, finding out if a number is a prime number or calculating a scrabble score.

I cannot do any of them. At all. I don't even know where to begin.

I did fairly well in the learning section and whenever I go on the forums and look at others peoples solutions, I can read the code and understand how it works. However I just cant seem to write it!! I can understand it and read it once it is written, but when it comes to writing it, I have no clue as to where to begin.

I have worked hard to get to where I am and now feel like a complete failure and it sort of feels like my brain just does not function in the way coding needs it to. Has anyone else experienced this? can you push through or am I just not cut out for learning code?

I just took my first lesson on Codecademy and I liked it. I'm tempted to go for the full year subscription to save money. Is it worth it?

I am 25 and I am ready to leave my dead-end job. I wasted a lot of time when I was younger with YOLO as my excuse and now I am regretting it, I want to start a career. I owe thousands to colleges that I enrolled in but never finished and I do not want to accrue more debt. I also unfortunately do not have the time to do college and I’m looking for something self-paced.

I am liking what I have learned so far from Codecademy and I am considering buying the pro membership in order to fully learn it, and build projects to put on my resume. But would other developers say it's worth it? I'm very serious and focused on learning these skills, but I want to know the best place to learn.

I'm going to community college in the fall for Computer Science, I graduated high school in 2023 so I just work now, and I'm finally going back. Doing the 2 years in community college then 2 years state school path.

I can get the student discount for codecademy $150 for a year of pro, but I'm worried it might be a waste? I completed the beginner python course for my senior project and I liked it a lot. And I have severe ADHD and hate learning how to code, it's not hard to understand just to learn and pay attention, and codecademy wasn't that bad to work with in that regard.

They've got a 50% october sale at the moment. The pro package provides access to (and I quote):

Real-world projects

All courses

Skill paths

Career paths

Technical interview prep

Code challenges

Professional certifications

Career services

Assessments

I am a not a beginner but not quite at an intermediate level. I have a decent mathematical background with some previous, limited experience in Python and C++. I'm looking to learn some Python (and C++ eventually) for applications in data analysis, ML and financial tools.

Has anyone genuinely found Codeacadmey to be a strong resource in terms of the courses and projects offered? Have you completed courses and left with a more robust understanding of concepts? Also, do employers rate their proffesional certs?

thanks for reading :)

I recently paid for a yearly subscription, and I was wondering if it was a good investment.

Hi everyone, I am interested in learning programming and data science and have been considering using Codecademy as a learning platform. I wanted to hear from the community about their experiences and opinions on Codecademy, as well as any other recommendations for platforms to learn and develop professionally.

Specifically, I am looking for a platform that provides a comprehensive learning experience and practical knowledge, and ideally includes interactive exercises and projects to work on. I would also appreciate any insights on the strengths and weaknesses of different platforms, as well as any tips for making the most of online learning.

Thank you in advance for your help and advice!

My coworkers are on the fence; some say I should use Learn Python the Hard Way, and others say learning python any way is good.

Edit: wow, I expected one or two replies tops.

I think after getting some experience in CA, I'll move on to something else like Learn Python the Hard Way.

I almost feel like I'm cheating in CA because I'm taking the second Java course my university offers, so I have programming experience.

Now that we've discussed Python, what about django? The tutorial is super dry and it's hard without anything to keep me going like CA has.

I've been codecademy for a total of maybe like a month or two but feel like I make very little progress and the only practice I get is restarting the course over multiple times since I have a free account. I've been meaning to upgrade to a paid subscription just for the practice lessons but it seems pricey and left me looking for other alternatives like udemy. While I hear good things about udemy it seems like I'm paying for one class at a time and while I weighed the pros and cons I still feel like I still wanna give it a go especially now since they're doing a sale right which seems like a steal for the prices of the courses I wanna learn (java, javascript, python, rust, etc.) and I get paid this week so I may be able to make a few purchases for the courses. Should I bite the bullet and stay with codecademy despite the amount of good things I do hear about it being very few or would it be worth it to move over to udemy? Appreciate any kind of soft/harsh criticism that comes from answers, I just want something else to throw in with the youtube channels I'm subscribed to in order to learn more about coding and being a programmer.

Youtube channels I'm subscribed to:

Tech with tim

mCoding

Real Python

Telusko

ArjanCodes

Corey Schafer

freeCodeCamp.org

CS Dojo

Clever Programmer

Sentdex

Masahiro Sakurai On Creating Games

I did the CS50 python course and I have been working on personal projects over the past year or so, but i still feel like im a beginner at python. I saw some intermediate and advanced courses for python on codecademy and I just wanted to know if anyone has experience with codecademy especially with theur intermediate and harder courses and if they are any good

Edit: thanks for the feedback guys! I will focus on projects more and check out what udemy can teach me in terms of more advanced python

I recently have been furloughed from work , I applied for a scholarship to codecademy pro. They were gracious enough to accept and gave me 3 months free. First of all, that's great that they did that , take everything i'm about to say with a grain of salt.

First a bit about my situation, which you may not care about, but might find yourself in a similar situation.

Long story short, i'm feeling a bit vulnerable after many recent layoffs and wanted a secondary skill that I could either make a side hustle of, or find employment should things take a turn south.

I dabbled in a few languages and felt web dev was the best course for me.

I wanted to learn HTML and CSS as a foundation for web dev.

Codecademy is VERY NICE

I'll cut to the chase. After 5 weeks of this program i felt great. The website makes you feel like you are ready to hit the ground running and you're a goddamn pro. The problem is , you're not. They toss you into these "projects" towards the middle of the curriculum and want you to build clones of some pretty code heavy websites. The problem is you just don't have the knowledge to tackle them.

After a short 15 slide lesson they will say " ok , now you know flexbox " .... although you might be FAMILIAR with flexbox ... you do not KNOW it. It has alot of mobile gameish features like login streaks to really hit those dopamine receptors and make you feel like you're the king shit. But you just aren't.

I've gone back to project odin and it's been a very humbling experience. It doesn't make you feel great about yourself or pat you on the back and tell you what an expert you now are. But it is EFFECTIVE. I feel like I got knocked down a few pegs, but I also feel more confident as a DEVELOPER.

If you are looking for a path to become a good web dev. I would steer clear of codecademy. I am really grateful for what they have put together but it just lures you into a false sense of worth. Dont waste the time on it like I did when there are great free alternatives like project odin.