Programming has become a highly sought after field of study and profession globally. The world is moving towards a highly digitized environment and skilled programmers are vital to this transformation. Therefore, a career in programming is lucrative and can be achieved with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or information systems. But, if you want to switch careers to programming, upskill your current programming skill set, or just pursue programming as a hobby, you can do so through online programming courses.

Coding is not the same as programming

One of the first things you need to understand is that coding and programming are not the same. This is important as a lot of times these terms are used interchangeably leading to confusion. While both these processes are critical parts of software development, coding is the process of creating codes from one language to another and is a subset of programming. The process of coding can be considered as the initial step in programming. On the other hand, programming refers to the entire process of creating a machine-level application or software that can be executed in an error-free manner. The coding part is a small but essential part of the entire process. The final product of coding is a small solution and an element of a larger project, whereas the final product of programming is a complete ready-to-use application. Understanding this difference is important so you can distinguish your pursuit to be a programmer from just wanting to code.

What does programming involve?

A programmer needs to be adept in using various tools to create an end-to-end, error- and bug-free, working product, which can be a high-level software or just a simple application. This includes analysis tools, modeling programs, code generators, and testing frameworks. Programming requires one to hold expertise in a variety of areas such as experience in creating algorithms, data processing, project management, and modeling a program among other skill sets. The process of programming takes a methodical approach and requires a programmer to have an eye for details. 

Programming is a broad industry, some of the popular fields within it include :

• Web Development

One can choose between becoming a front-end developer or a back-end developer. The former writes the code for the visual part of the website, deciding how the website looks. On the other hand, the latter works on the code for running the framework of the website.

• Software Programming

Software programming involves writing codes to create software based on the design, concept, and task provided.

• Data Science

Data scientists are programmers working in the area of research and academia creating programs that help them mine, recognize, and store data easily.

• Database Administration

Database administration revolves around securing, organizing, and analyzing large amounts of data for an organization. This may require some background in statistics as well.

• Mobile App Development

Mobile app development is a growing field as the number of smartphone users and internet penetration rates around the world grow. This involves creating mobile-based applications for various industries and is ideal for those looking for a career as a freelancer.

Similar to other sections of IT and computer sciences, programming, and its subsets have been constantly evolving. Online programming courses you choose will depend on the field you are interested in and the novelty of the syllabus. Most courses aim at teaching and upskilling various aspects of programming. Therefore, depending on your existing expertise, you may need to take one or more courses to master programming.

Top online programming courses 

There are several universities and educational institutions that offer online programming courses. Many of these courses are free while being uncompromising in their syllabus and as good as paid courses. Read on to know some of the best online programming courses you can choose.

• MIT OpenCourseWare

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a web-based publication of a variety of course materials that are part of MIT’s graduate and undergraduate courses. The courses offered under this initiative are free of cost and do not require any registration. This online programming course is divided into categories of General introductions to programming, language-Specific, and follow-up courses.    The institute has an excellent course for beginners under ‘Introduction of Computer Science and Programming in Python.’ This is an ideal course for you if you are a novice programmer. The course is aimed at helping students understand how computation works, its importance, and equipping them with the ability to write small programs. This course is taught using the Python 3.5 programming language and the entire coursework for this program is available online.

• Harvard University online programming courses

Harvard University offers a range of online programming courses for programmers looking to specialize in specific areas. One of them is the CS 50 Introduction to Game Development Course, which is a 12-weeks long course requiring participants to commit 8-9 hours each week. The course is an intermediate level and offered on the edX platform. 

This course is offered free of cost currently and educates you on how video game applications are implemented. Participants will learn the principles of 2D and 3D graphics, animation, sound, and collision detection while exploring designs of several classic games in the duration of the course. It features lectures as well as hands-on projects, making the course impactful. It also explores frameworks like Unity and LÖVE 2D. The language covered in the course includes Lua and C#. You will get a chance to program at least one game during the course. You can also get a Verified Certificate for a fee if you prefer.

• Object-Oriented Programming in Java (powered by edX platform)

This is also one of the many popular online programming courses offered by Microsoft, which helps students develop coding skills in Java. This is an ideal course for any entry-level applicant in programming. This course will help aspiring programmers observe the role of objects in code, understand how they can be used, and learn how to design these for ensuring optimal reuse and structure.

This is a 4-week course and requires participants to spend 6-10 hours in mastering various concepts of object-oriented programming. This self-paced course will help you learn how to use single and two-dimensional arrays to store complex data. Additionally, you will also learn best practices for creating objects from scratch.

• Khan Academy

This is a popular platform not just for online programming courses but for a variety of other courses as well. One of the prominent programming courses offered by this online organization is the Intro to JS: Drawing & Animation. This online programming course covers concepts of JavaScript programming and various functions of the same. Khan Academy uses a variety of interactive techniques and tools to ensure a complete understanding of the course and also features several hands-on projects so that you understand the concepts and its applications thoroughly.

The entire course takes about 15-40 hours to complete and is ideal for beginners or complete novices with no background in computer science. The areas covered in this course include drawing basics, animation basics, text and strings, logic and if statements, debugging programs, writing clean codes, and object-oriented design.

Signs that Programming is the right field for you

Excellency in a field is subjective and differs from person to person. Jumping to the field of programming just because it is in vogue and high demand is not reason enough for you to pursue the field. Here are some telling signs to know if programming is your cup of tea. These soft skills and traits or the absence of it can make a world of difference to how your career takes off as a programmer.

• Lack of curiosity

The essence of programming is to make new workable applications without any errors or bugs. This would require you to understand how various aspects of programming work together in tandem and independently. If you find yourself not interested in understanding or lacking the patience for exploring various facets of programming, technology, or a computer in general, then programming might not be the right career choice for you.

• Ample persistence

An extremely important characteristic of programming is problem-solving. The final product resulting from programming needs to be free of errors. This makes the entire developing process rife with trial and error until the perfect solution is found. Even after arriving at the final stages of a product, a programmer needs to think ahead and figure out possible roadblocks that could hinder the smooth execution of the product. Moreover, he has to create false-measures and solutions to these roadblocks or user-problems. This requires a lot of persistence and patience to ensure that one does not give up in the face of a stubborn challenge.

• Ability to collaborate

Creating an application via programming is mostly a team-based task, which makes the ability to successfully collaborate very important. This means maintaining a solid relationship at a professional level with other team members, working in sync, and being open to ideas. This particular skill works well with another very crucial soft skill that is communication. Effective communication skills are paramount for ensuring that collaboration takes place smoothly.

What should you look for in online programming courses?

The number of online programming courses online can be overwhelming and most of them may have excellent reviews as well. Therefore, keep the following factors in mind if you are having trouble deciding the merits of a course.

• Faculty

Ensure that the online programming courses you are interested in are taught by experienced faculty. it is better to opt for faculty that has work experience in the field apart from just teaching. Most reputed institutes that offer online programming courses display this information on their website.

An experienced and seasoned instructor can offer insights from personal experience and not just explain theoretical knowledge.

• Ample exercises and projects

Similar to other fields in technology, programming can be perfected only through practice and not just by theoretical understanding. The best online programming courses will feature plenty of exercises and projects to facilitate hands-on learning of various concepts of programming. This can help you grasp programming concepts well and clear any queries with instructors during the course. This factor and experienced faculty should be considered in tandem an inexperienced instructor may not be able to innovatively resolve queries arising from these projects and exercises.

• Self-paced

Several concepts within programming can be difficult to grasp in one go and you may require ample time to understand it, especially if you do not have a background in computer science, programming, or IT. Good online programming courses are designed keeping the different student’s comprehension skills in mind. They do not rush for completion but are self-paced offering flexibility in timings and schedules for learners.

Some other factors that you should consider include the fees, appropriate and accredited certification, and eligibility criteria.

Now equipped with this basic information about online programming courses, you can browse and select the best one as per your ability, schedule, and career prospects. There are several online programming courses available on a number of platforms and mostly free of cost. The good news is that many of these programs are open to students all over the world and thanks to educational platforms such as edX and Udemy, accessing international courses is now easier. Additionally, if you are already a skilled programmer and are just looking for tips and tricks to further hone your skills, you can simply refer to educational videos on YouTube.