Programming not only has the advantage of teaching you to solve non-standard problems, but it also develops skills needed in everyday life, such as attention to detail and focus, and in general, serves as a tool for improving cognitive skills.
Often students and beginners in programming do not know how to master their knowledge. They take classes, take courses, read books, and maybe even do freelance assignments. However, they also need to become confident that they can do more complex and interesting tasks to be prepared for more challenging work and grow and develop professionally. Luckily, there are now websites where one can practice their skills in practicing a variety of assignments.
If you are a student just at the beginning of the learning path and can not cope with the number of tasks, a programming assignment helper may be good assistance.
Practice is the basis of all of the basics
Theoretical knowledge is important, but applying it without practice and solving actual problems is hard. Practicing a programming language or first work experience is a very important task for beginners in programming. We all know that a person who just finished learning how to program is very reluctant to be considered, even for the junior position. Many more chances of employment are given by the presence of at least code examples, not to mention the whole projects developed with one’s own hands. If you put all your programming language knowledge into practice and all your development achievements into your resume, you will increase your chances of success a hundredfold. Practice is what forms the skills, gives the necessary experience, and gets one’s hand in it, allowing a specialist of any level to go to an even higher level.
If you have learned at least one programming language, the basics of algorithms, and even better with the additional technologies of the chosen direction, then you should move on to the most important and most difficult part of our way – to obtain the practice of programming. Here we do not talk about solving problems or examples of theoretical courses but rather about the project’s purpose, which is close to the real one. Without that, you simply won’t have anything to add to your resume. Projects like this will give you the kind of experience without which recruiters don’t even want to hire juniors. Thus, there is a vicious circle where you cannot find a job without experience, and you have to work to get one. Under these conditions, the novice programmer must try all possible methods to gain experience and practice, even before his first job.
Where to get the actual tasks
While studying, you probably have written your own experimental programs and solved assignments from books and various training courses. But all of this cannot be called actual tasks. So what to do next? Let’s review a few effective options that can give you real projects at the beginning of your programming career:
Freelance marketplaces
Freelance marketplaces are the most complicated option. Yes, looking for your first paying job on your own, on top of that from a stranger, can be incredibly difficult for a beginner. But if you are persistent and not afraid to make mistakes, and the first 10-20 rejections will not affect your pride – this is your way.
Writing a program for friends or acquaintances
Writing a program for friends or acquaintances – from the technical point of view, this option is essentially the same as freelancing. You will solve a real task from real people, and the final result – the software product – can be added to your portfolio. The client will be a friend who knows and trusts you.
OpenSource
OpenSource – in the world of OpenSource are a lot of volunteers and enthusiasts who invest their time in the code for free and share it with others. These projects always welcome newcomers, so there is an excellent opportunity to gain experience and get noticed.
Programmer’s Assistant
Programmer’s assistant – here, you need to find someone who knows to program better than you and has good practice. Ask for an assistant and agree to any work conditions; in return, you will get valuable advice, tips, experience, and much faster mastering of new technologies necessary for career advancement.
Startup
Startup – this option requires a strong idea and self-motivation. It is recommended to start a startup not by yourself but with friends and programmers you know; they should be more experienced than you, and then the benefit will be greater.
Websites to sharpen your programming skills
We also offer some of the most popular websites where you can practice your programming skills by performing various programming tasks.
Codewars
Codewars is an excellent service for consolidating programming skills in Ruby, JavaScript, Java, Python, Clojure, CoffeeScript, C#, and Haskell. Both algorithmic problems and practical problems related to design patterns are presented. After each solved problem, you can look at other solutions, sorted according to their rating and the use of programming skills.
Leetcode
Leetcode is a website with algorithmic problems to prepare you for technical job interviews at big firms like Google and Facebook. Next to each problem, there is a discussion in which, in one way or another, the solution to the problem can be found. Different programming languages can be used: C, C++, Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, Ruby, and Bash.
Programming Praxis
Programming Praxis is a blog including a number of interesting problems to try out in several programming languages.
TopCoder
TopCoder is an active community of programmers who love to solve puzzles. Lots of active competitions, some of which include cash prizes.
CSS Battles
CSS Battles sharpen your CSS skills in game form. After passing some battles, you can get prizes. Battles on the site will not teach you how to create web layouts but will definitely help you master some of the complex properties of CSS.
Code well
Codewell has a collection of Figma templates that you can use to improve your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills. You can even share the solution through the website or the Slack community.
C Puzzles
C Puzzles provides programming puzzles specific to the C language (with all its quirks). Since many languages are C-like or directly derived from it, even if you don’t know C as your native language, there’s a good chance you’ll understand these puzzles.
Project Euler
Project Euler is a series of challenging math/programming problems that involve having the mathematical intuition to solve them. The resource includes both relatively simple and truly challenging problems.
Collection of problems from CppStudio
Tasks are mostly for checking knowledge of C++, but they can be used in other programming languages, too.
Front-end Mentor
Front-end Mentor allows you to practice front-end skills using a realistic workflow. Tasks include the design for mobile platforms and desktops, and there’s a style guide as well. The platform allows you to work with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and frameworks (such as React, Vue.js, and so on) and interact with APIs. The platform is regularly updated with new tasks.
We hope this article was useful to you. The world is moving toward digital innovation and automation, and it is expected that programming will become more and more of a valuable skill in the workplace, and you, by practicing your programming skills, can become a high-value and well-paid employee.
Interesting fact – programming is good for your health
There is a popular rumor that programmers are better thinkers even when they are older. For example, in 2014, scientists from the University of Passau analyzed brain scans of people while they were doing programming. The results showed that the same parts of the brain that work when learning foreign languages are active. This reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Perhaps this fact will add to your motivation to do programming tasks.
