5 Free Resources Teaching You How To Code During Quarantine

Who knows how long we are going to be quarantined? With all of this time stuck inside our homes, we mine as well do something productive. I was listening to a Follow That Fear podcast episode with Arie Rose and she says, “If you don’t get it done now, you’re never going to get it done… In 4 to 8 weeks we are going to know who was working and getting shit done and whose been making excuses this whole time”.

So what is it that you’ve been wanting to get done? NOW is the time to get it done. This is the time where we have the least amount of distractions and temptations, probably EVER.

If coding is one of the things you’ve been wanting to accomplish, here are some free resources to take advantage of during this time stuck inside. Learn how to code from scratch, with no knowledge at all, or teach yourself that new tool or language you’ve been meaning to learn.

1. Women Who Code Coding Resources

   Women Who Code put together an extensive list of resources that you can use to learn something new. Personally, I’ve been doing the Python exercises each morning to sharpen my skills. They have everything from coding interview practice to Git guidelines to extensive courses on learning a new language like Swift.

2. Coursera Courses

   Top universities are offering their courses on Coursera for free right now. Take a class from an accredited university and see what it’s like to take an official computer science course. Personally, I recommend Python for Data Science and AI.

3. Gary’s Guide Online Events

   If you’re a techie in NYC or SF, subscribing to Gary’s Guide is a must. Each week, he shares some of the most interesting events related to tech and entrepreneurship. Look through the events listed on his website and choose to attend a few that peak your interest. You never know what you will learn and who you could possibly (virtually) meet!

4. Do a Girls Who Code At Home Activity with a Young Girl

   Teaching is the best way to learn. Spread the love to the younger generation of women and teach them how to code! Girls Who Code has fun, educational activities to help teach these young girls the theories behind computers and their logic. Find a neighbor, younger sister, or distant cousin to encourage and help over Skype.

5. Data Science Dream Job

   Are you looking for a new job? Or maybe you just want to improve your skills? This course is currently $800, half its normal price. Take advantage of this good deal and teach yourself all of the necessary interview skills to get a job in a data position.

I plan on taking advantage of all of these online learning resources during this quarantine. I want to come out of this situation stronger and smarter than before! Which learning resource will you take advantage of? Let me know in the comments!

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Are you brave? Or are you trying to be perfect?

Last night I had the pleasure of listening to Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, talk about her latest book "Brave, Not Perfect". She wrote the book after having massive success speaking on the topic in her TED talk. Saujani crafted this talk after observing the behaviors of the girls in her program. Not one would raise their hand at the end of her lessons to ask questions. She knew that if these girls were boys, however, their hands would be shooting up into the air.

Saujani concluded that girls are raised to be perfect and make no mistakes whereas boys are raised to take risks and be brave. A lot of the things she said last night really resonated with me. Here are some key ideas:

🔑 The reason we can't say no, as women, is because we want to be liked.

🔑 You can't be brave if you're tired- so don't be scared to tell people no!

🔑 At the core we are all girls stuck in the 8th grade who still just want boys to like us. Why else would we be baking the banana bread and planning the company Christmas party?

Do you resonate with any of these points she made? I know I do. Even though I am confident in myself and push outside of my comfort zone I still get scared to ask a question in fear of sounding dumb. I still get scared to input my opinion in a group of older males. This irrational fear  is something I work on fighting against everyday at work.

I have yet to read the book but will be sure to report back on what I think of it. Overall I love the message and believe it has a lot of great ideas for women to think about.

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