The Software Engineering Learning Plan

4 min readNov 6, 2020

Personally I have always been struck by the opportunity to express my point of view and my career, in this wonderful world of software engineering.

With this post I seek to answer some questions in general, but in particular, it is aimed at people who want to immerse themselves in frontend development and learn the JavaScript language on their own.

First step on the list HTML and CSS.

HTML is a markup language that displays content in a web browser, and CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, which is used to design content on the web page. Simply put, it renders a text with HTML and makes it pretty using CSS.

There are many free resources on the Web, we have the great YouTube tool, but I will share how I started.

Personally I started in a Udemy course that is free, this course had the basics for beginners, I also complemented myself in a complete 11 hour HTML&CSS course on YouTube, this option is very good because you can see different practices and thus obtain Enough knowledge to go on and on.

Now an important point in this wonderful world is to practice what you have learned. You will find that you will spend 30% of your time learning and 70% practicing.

In the meanwhile, check out a game for mastering CSS flexbox — flexbox Froggy. Flexbox makes it much more simple to build flexible and responsive layout structures, plus it’s a super fun game!

Second step on the list is to add a programming language.

Until now everything has been wonderful, but until now I have not touched a programming language, so you have to choose one.

JavaScript is a great option in 2020. You need it if you want your website or web application to be interactive.

Again I was on Udemy learning the basics in courses. Personally, I learned the basics in a paid Udemy course called Master in JavaScript by Victor Robles, as Spanish is my mother tongue, I preferred to take the concepts in my native language. But I assure you that if you search you will find excellent free options. It’s informative and well explained, and I’ve taken it too.

Today if you search YouTube you will find great free options and well explained, for example a video from freeCodeCamp.org, where you will have an excellent explanation and I personally take it and recommend it.

I want to mention that the choice of the course is completely up to you, I only tell you which ones I have taken and my personal opinion. If you are thinking of a different one, it is important to verify that the course has enough practices, it is not worth it if it is only to copy what the teacher does

In the meanwhile, it’s good to learn more about JS Data Structures and Algorithm Scripting.

To do this, I have chosen the freeCodeCamp course, JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures. It is important to solve algorithms to improve problem solving and also to know how to work with different types of data.

In the course you gradually gain information and apply it in small coding challenges. It would be a great addition to the video course you are taking.

Try doing a little project, just to practice what you’ve learned.

From personal experience I would tell you to make sure you understand the concept well and know how to set your mind in a programming mode.

Don’t start with a difficult one unless you really know how to do it. Otherwise, you risk spending so much time on it and eventually leaving it unfinished.

The next step on the list and the last one would be to learn different frameworks and libraries.

Frameworks help you work faster and more organized, they are also used to develop complex web applications and SPAs (Single Page Application). I would say that once you have a basic or intermediate understanding of JavaScript, you should choose a framework to incorporate into your learning plan.

Choosing a framework is entirely up to you and your path as a developer.

Here are some of the most popular JavaScript frameworks for frontend development:

Vue.js — an open-sourse model-view JS framework for building user interfaces and SPAs.
React.js — a JavaScript library for building user interfaces;
Ember.js — a framework for building modern web applications;
Backbone.js — an uber-light framework that allows you to structure your code;
Angular — one framework for mobile & desktop apps;

One last tip

You’re not taking an easy path. You’re taking a fascinating, challenging, and exciting path to the highly fulfilling career of software engineering. This is the best job in the world. The one you can do from anywhere, at any time, in any company, any industry, and at any age. The only difference between those who wanted to become a software engineer and those who are is not intelligence, genetics, or the age at which they started — it’s that they did not give up. They kept going at it even after being stuck for three days on the same problem (been there, you will too, but damn it will feel so good when you’ll solve it!). The only skills you need are determination, passion, engagement.

Plan Overview:

HTML & CSS;
JavaScript and Algorithms Scripting;
Build Your Own Project;
Learn a Framework.
Always be learning.

The Software Engineering Learning Plan