Web app development

Learning How to Code Online

by with No Comment CodingTraining

Should you learn to code online or register for an on-campus program?

Most programming schools in Kenya offer a face-to-face experience to students. Hence, if you have never registered for an online course, you may be hesitant to register for one.

We understand the hesitation. Some online schools do not always deliver their promise.

However, you cannot run from the reality that we are living in a digital era.

Employers now recognize online courses and the subsequent certification.

You must also appreciate the fact quitting your job or your current study program is costly in the current economic times.

Studying online has many benefits as outlined below:

1. Flexible schedule

If you enroll for a traditional degree or diploma program, you have to report to school within the specified period.

Sometimes you have only one class that falls in the middle of the day

In other words, you have to schedule your life around the school timetable, which can change at any time.

You know how tutors come up with classes to make up for a missed lesson in the middle of the week?

Learning to code online helps you to keep your schedule and learn at the same time.

For instance, Allenhark Digital offers evening online lessons. You can work or run your business all day and then join the online class.

2. Learning from experts

Many coding experts are not interested in an education degree.

They want to keep creating solutions but still pass on their skills to the next generation of software engineers.

This is not to say that the tutors in traditional programming schools in Kenya are not qualified.

Enrolling in an online coding course gives you access to experts with experience in the real market.

3. Reduced costs

The tuition fee for most online lessons is often the same as the fee charged for on-campus courses.

Institutions charge the same fee because the quality of education offered online is the same as that offered in a classroom setting.

Hence, when we talk of reduced costs, we are not necessarily talking about tuition fees.

Think about the cost of commuting to class every day, especially if the school is far.

Consider also the cost of lunch and the time you spend in traffic to and from class.

The cost of learning from your house is the internet charge, which you might incur anyway even without the lesson.

Another consideration is the possibility of comparing costs and identifying a coding school within your budget.

4. Networking opportunities

When you are in a classroom setting, your connections are limited to the number of students in that class.

You rarely interact with other students because of varying school timetables

When you learn to code online, you have opportunities to network with students from all over the world.

Tutors will often create workgroups consisting of students in different locations.

You interact with other programmers beyond the normal working hours and learn faster.

Do we need to mention the opportunities to share new job openings among online students?

5. Interaction with tutors

We know the situation in most educational institutions. One tutor has hundreds of students to teach and mentor every week.

You hardly have enough time to ask questions or interact with the tutor.

Online tutors are more flexible in offering personalized coaching or advice.

Sometimes you learn one-on-one and have all the time to clarify any hard subject matter at that time.

Software engineering is not a walk in the park. Direct interactions with experts will save you time and help you learn fast.

6. Comfortable learning environment

You set the learning environment when learning to code online.

Some people prefer their homes or offices while others will go to a quiet library when the coding lesson starts.

You make the decision on the most comfortable location.

You do not have to be at the same location all the time.

Any safe location with a stable internet connection is good enough, including outdoors.

Can learning get better than that?

7. Advancing your career

Here is the system that most people have been accustomed to for years.

You complete your primary and high school education, get a college education and then look for a job.

Consequently, thousands have one degree, which is sometimes is in a field they do not like.

If you have a basic education in software engineering or programming, it is time to advance.

The job opportunities that you access highly depend on your level of education.

You cannot go higher in your career ladder with the same certificate.

When you learn to code online, you create opportunities to advance your career within a short time.

Think about this. You know how to create Android apps perfectly.

You can advance to other platforms like iOS or cross platforms and take a web design course at the same time.

8. Variety of courses and programs

Sometimes colleges are slow in upgrading their course structures.

Hence, students learn the same things for decades despite the changes in the job market.

Learning online exposes you to a variety of courses and programs with different curricula.

You can choose the course or program that best suits your career objective.

In addition, you can choose a program based on the languages. If are already an expert in Javascript, pick a course with a different programming language to grow.

In the same way, you can pick a program based on the duration and lesson times.

At Allenhark Digital, you can learn to code online within 10-12 weeks.

9. Learning self-discipline

Here is the part that most students are afraid of, time management.

A classroom setup keeps you disciplined, especially when they are consequences for missing a lesson.

That is good enough but when will you ever learn self-discipline?

One thing with coding is that it takes hours of work each day to complete a project.

Truth be told. You cannot survive in this field without self-discipline.

The best time to take responsibility and learn self-discipline is during the learning process.

You will be glad when you start working on long projects that demand your focus or concentration for hours.

10. Continuing with your profession

Simply put, you do not have to quit your current job or profession to learn how to code.

We appreciate the fact that a career change is a huge leap.

However, you need to do it systematically. Learn online while continuing with your current profession.

You can take the leap after completing your online courses.

In fact, you can run the two professions until you start earning enough as a programmer.

Conclusion

If you choose to learn to code online, you must be prepared to stay disciplined until the course is over. The good thing is that if programming is your passion, you will always look forward to the lesson. In addition, if you choose the right coding school, learning will be fun. Consider the benefits and take the first step. Contact us today.

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Entrepreneurship as a Developer in Kenya

by with No Comment entrepreneurship

What do you do after learning coding in Kenya? It is somehow unfair for us to teach you how to code and fail to prepare you for the future. We advise aspiring developers to perfect and diversify their skills as a first step.

Employers consider your skill set more than your academic papers. We all know how long it takes our academic system to update its curricula. You cannot use its shortcomings as an excuse. Coding schools in Kenya such as Allenhark Digital Academy will help you update your skill set.

The reality is that even with the best coding skills, it can take a while to get a good job. An internship is advisable because you get to apply your skills and learn how to serve clients. However, you cannot be an intern forever. You need to make a living out of your passion.

Entrepreneurship is a great idea in an economy that offers no employment guarantee even for the most qualified. However, before you take the leap and launch your business, you need to minimize your risk of failure. We offer some tips that will set you on the path to success as a developer.

Who is a developer?

Before we talk about entrepreneurship, let us define a developer briefly. Most people confuse “coders” with developers. Learning programming languages and syntax is enough to make you a coder. In fact, many aspiring developers aim to write quality codes.

Such a goal is good but not good enough to make you a developer. You can solve problems and complete small projects as a coder. However, that is still not enough to make you a full-time developer.

A developer goes a step further from perfecting their coding skills. You learn coding in Kenya not just to write codes to solve real problems. Developers turn software or tools into solutions. You understand the business world and the kind of solutions that will solve people’s problems.

If you are a developer based on this definition, then you can consider entrepreneurship. Here is our advice on how to navigate this path.

How to succeed as an entrepreneur

1. Identify real problems

Your relevance as an entrepreneur depends on the problems you solve. The day your solutions or applications become obsolete is the day you begin to fail. You may have perfect coding skills but clients want solutions.

Before you develop any software, understand why you need to create the solution. What problem will it solve? How well will it solve the problem? You can only get these answers if you identify the real problem that your client is trying to solve.

Do not be quick to recommend a solution before studying your client’s business or field. Understand the dynamics of their interactions with their clients or software users. Ask questions about their business even if they have nothing to do with the software.

The more you learn about a business or field, the more prepared you are to offer a sustainable solution. In addition, realize that your solution may need an update if the business environment changes. Be prepared for such updates.

2. Avoid low-quality codes at all costs

One of the reasons why we recommend that you learn coding in Kenya from experts is learning to write quality codes. Developers often run into the trap of writing poor codes because of time restrictions. You either underestimate the time required to complete a project or take too many projects at the same time.

The result is poorly written codes that are hard to use while developing solutions.  Companies often require that you hand over your code to their engineers or internal developers after a project. In this case, the developers will have a problem using your codes.

Low-quality codes require a long debugging process. Do not assume that you will have time to go back to debug or fix issues with the code. Write quality codes from scratch even if it takes more time. You spend either time writing or fixing issues.

3. Understand the importance of UX and UI designs

The next thing to consider after writing quality codes is the design. Users do not understand the coding process that makes a solution or application work. The design matters more to users than the functionality.

Give every solution a professional and appealing look. In a world where every business has an app, you need to make your clients’ software competitive. Understand the preferences of users beforehand. Ask your clients to describe the users and their preferences.

It is possible to learn coding without mastering design skills. As an entrepreneur, you can either take extra design lessons or outsource the design part to skilled design. Do whatever it takes to give each application an outstanding design. A lack of design skills is no excuse.

4. Delegate

Entrepreneurs will tell you that delegation is a hard thing to do for various reasons. You may not trust junior developers to write codes or apply your codes as you would in real projects. Most entrepreneurs want to remain in charge of all projects.

You will burn out fast if you step into entrepreneurship with such an approach. Allow other developers to handle some tasks while you focus on growing the business. If you are unsure about their capacity to write quality codes, teach them how you do it.

Delegation saves from stress. You have enough time and a clear mind to see the important aspects of building a sustainable business. You have time to study market trends, meet with new clients, assess your progress, and identify new opportunities in the market.

Final remarks

Entrepreneurship is an interesting journey. Every day in your business is different. Every client is different. You can succeed in entrepreneurship and earn well from it if you are willing to put in the work. Be willing to keep pushing even when your efforts do not give immediate results.

The best part of it is that you get to create jobs and platforms for other developers. You grow from learning coding in Kenya to taking part in solving the unemployment puzzle.