There are numerous reasons to choose a programming career path. Aside from the financial benefits it affords, you can exercise your creative mind, tackle challenges, and create software that solves real-world problems.
On the other hand, programmers also face several hurdles. There’s the task of having to continuously update their skillset to match the ever-changing trends of tech. And if you’re a beginner, learning to think like a coder may be a considerable challenge.
Brilliant is a STEM platform that offers basic and advanced training that can help you develop the right mindset you need to succeed as a programmer. Its self-paced approach to learning also accommodates all kinds of learners, making its courses highly accessible.
These courses also come with interesting visualizations and puzzles that illustrate the “why” and “how” of key STEM concepts, allowing learners to truly understand complex concepts.
Brilliant is a STEM learning platform that trains learners to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills to accelerate their programming careers.
Start learning with Brilliant today.What’s It Like to Be a Programmer?
The typical day for programmers may involve stand-up meetings and long hours of coding. They could need to develop new programs that solve a problem or match a client’s needs. They may also identify and correct errors in an existing program, create new features to improve existing software, and build frameworks that secure programs against cybersecurity threats.
Nearly every day, if not all the time, coders meet several unique challenges. The steady stream of challenges they need to solve requires them to become creative and critical thinkers with excellent time-management and collaboration skills.
Sometimes, the challenges are more complicated than usual and require a lot of patience and resilience. Attention to detail and accuracy are some other skills that make a successful programmer.
How Brilliant Helps You Develop the Programmer Mindset
Like mathematics and other STEM fields, programming requires theoretical foundations and mathematical substratum. For example, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and calculus are core topics employed in developing big games.
Like in engineering, programming also requires an excellent understanding of design, construction, and testing. Brilliant is a STEM learning platform that teaches the core skills every coder should have: logical reasoning, problem-solving, and a quality understanding of STEM basics.
Build a Strong Programming Foundation
Quite often, people learn programming by memorizing and regurgitating codes. But as Sir Richard Branson put it, “You’ve got to have a strong foundation before you start to try to save the world or help other people.” While cramming may seem like the most common way to learn, it often results in a poor long-term understanding of how coding works and how the principles apply in real-world situations.
If you’re hoping to excel as a programmer, it is essential to have a clear mental model of your programs and understand how they combine to form a functional framework. That way, you can creatively maneuver around different challenges that you may face as a coder.
Brilliant helps you develop the right mindset for learning by showing you how programming works and why certain concepts work the way they do. Using visual illustrations and exciting examples and tasks, Brilliant simplifies complex concepts into digestible bits. Such an approach helps you create a clear mental model of the programs and how they connect to form a functional framework.
Brilliant also offers several courses that serve as an excellent training ground for learning programming. They include:
- Computer Science Fundamentals
- Scientific Thinking
- Fundamentals of Algorithms
- Programming with Python
- Logic
- Data Structures
Improve Your Critical Thinking Ability
Critical thinking is the act of rationally analyzing a problem or topic and connecting several facts and ideas to deduce a conclusion. It helps you understand the logical connections between ideas, spot disparities in reasoning patterns, and solve problems systematically.
This is why critical thinking is among the most sought-after skills by employers today. And this extends to programmers who make a living out of building solutions.
To hone this skill, Brilliant ditches the “chalk-and-talk” method and instead heavily features materials and strategies that encourage active learning. These include the use of puzzles, which encourages learners to think outside the box. Using plenty of intuitive and interactive materials, Brilliant introduces learners to simple STEM concepts before advancing to more complex topics.
This is a feature that many Brilliant users love, including lifelong-learner Micah, who left this review on the website: “These puzzles are amazing! The app starts you off with small, simple exercises and puzzles. But not so diminutive that they’re boring. Then, you progress to more exciting and intricate puzzles; all the while learning, and immediately exercising what you just learned.”
Understanding those baby steps and how they form the larger framework is essential for developing critical thinking skills.
Become a Problem Solver
Brilliant emphasizes the importance of learning the right way. Thomas Griffin, an expert software architect and a member of Forbes Technology Council, recommends regular practice and second-language acquisition as effective methods of learning coding languages.
Learners on the Brilliant platform have access to several exercises that help them develop their problem-solving skills. In line with Thomas’s recommendation, Brilliant users practice by working through materials themselves, which helps them build a solid understanding of how STEM concepts work.
With Brilliant, learners are encouraged to embrace the struggle that comes with learning or solving problems. Mark Walth, an educator who uses the platform, said: “I’m a mathematician and teacher. I’ve used Brilliant both for my own continued learning and to challenge my more advanced students. Their problem-based courses are an excellent way to build understanding, and they are adding more resources all the time. Highly recommended.”
Learn How to Think Like a Programmer with Brilliant
Brilliant is an excellent platform for young professionals to develop their logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. As a coder, such skills will help you creatively tackle the daily challenges of the job. With its better and more effective learning experience, Brilliant will also set you up to adapt to new positions much faster.
The interactive, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive lessons also make it appropriate for people of diverse ages and professional experiences—from students to young professionals and lifelong learners. Join Brilliant today to develop the right mindset for lifelong success in your programming career.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
