If you’ve ever researched learning to code with online courses, it’s a safe bet you’ve heard of Codecademy. I remember taking some of my first steps in learning to code with their Python, Ruby, and Javascript coding courses.
Codecademy was an early pioneer in online tech education, and they remain just as relevant today. If you’re considering learning to code through the Codecademy platform, read on to get the Career Karma perspective.
What Is Codecademy?
Codecademy is an online coding platform with both free courses and paid plans. Codecademy covers specific programming languages and technologies. They have tracks focused on web development, data science, and building games, and offer courses focusing on specific skills like Javascript, Python, SQL, HTML, CSS, computer science, and hardware programming.
In the years since I first became aware of Codecademy, they’ve grown considerably, now covering a far greater variety of topics. Whatever your interests or skill level, there’s a good chance they’ll have something to offer you.
Codecademy Python Courses
Python is a great first language to learn, as it is both succinct and easy to read. This powerful, flexible language has achieved world-wide popularity. Codecademy offers a free Python 2 course and Watson API course. Many more Python courses are available to Codecademy Pro members including courses that teach web scraping, sorting algorithms, data visualization, linear data structures, and more.
Some courses only take one hour to complete, while others can take up to 10 weeks. Additionally, some require previous experience with Python, while others require no prerequisites.
Codecademy JavaScript Courses
JavaScript can be used on both the front-end and back-end of a website, making it a robust and versatile programming language. You can take a number of Codecademy’s JavaScript courses for free, including courses that cover JavaScript fundamentals, game developments, and A-Frame. Students learn to build games, interactive websites, and web applications with React.
Codecademy HTML Courses
Codecademy teaches students the fundamentals of building websites and editing web pages with HTML through free and Pro courses. Some of these courses only take 2-3 hours to complete, while others can take up to 10 hours. Courses cover basic skills as well as more complex topics such as navigation design, Color Design, Bootstrap, and Responsive Design.
Codecademy Pro
Codecademy Pro offers members:
- exclusive content
- customized paths to help students meet learning goals
- community support
- real-world projects to augment your portfolio
Customers can choose between a 12 month subscription for only $19.99/month or a month subscription for $39.99/month.
What Are the Advantages of Learning with Codecademy?
In my view, there are two major advantages to using Codecademy over books or lectures. The first is that Codecademy lessons are interactive. Coding is a living skill requiring the learner to experiment, make mistakes, and devise solutions to problems. Reading about coding isn’t enough. I’d argue that going a step further and coding along with a book still isn’t as good as what Codecademy offers. Having a guided, interactive environment in which to learn will do a lot to reduce the time required to gain real proficiency in coding.
The second advantage is that Codecademy offers structure. There are now so many coding resources out there that you could spend your whole life doing nothing but studying them. Unfortunately, that won’t pay the bills, and you have to choose things to focus on. The problem here is that, as a novice, you may not have any idea how to structure a learning path. Codecademy has removed the guesswork by creating skill paths that take you from raw novice to competent practitioner.
Without this guidance, you could spend months or years going down dead ends before you learn enough to see what your next step should be.
Codecademy has taught 45 million students since 2011, so you can trust that its teaching methods are tried and true.
Codecademy’s students include employees at:
- Apple
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- Spotify
- Uber
- IBM
- Nasa
- Dropbox
- Youtube
- Electronic Arts
Is Codecademy a Good Fit for You?
It really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and what your alternatives are. The fact that Codecademy is online means you have the flexibility to learn a coding language when and where you want. Of course, this means you may get stuck on problems that you have to solve on your own. Many of the courses are free, and even the most expensive ones are still fractions of what a traditional college class would set you back.
Ultimately, my own verdict is that Codecademy is an excellent way to begin studying a technical subject and is best used in conjunction with books, videos, meetups, or a quality coding bootcamp.
FAQ
All Codecademy courses are free. However, you can pay to upgrade to Codecademy Pro.
Customers can choose between a 12 month Pro subscription for only $19.99/month or a month subscription for $39.99/month.
No! Most Codecademy users have no prior coding experience when they sign up.
Yes! Codecademy Pro will accelerate your path to success and achieving your career goals. Codecademy not only teaches you the fundamentals of coding, but it teaches you how to apply them in the real world.
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.
