Getting Schooled | Programming Talk 101 – A Newbie’s 1st Take

For someone who’s knee-deep in the Atlanta tech and startup scene, I know next to nothing about programming. Despite working for Nicely Built, a dev shop in Virginia Highlands, my knowledge of coding is super minimal. I have a desire to learn the basics, but haven’t been quite sure where to start. All of that being said, I’m sure it makes sense that I jumped at the opportunity to enroll in Tech Talent South’s new Alpharetta-based course, Intro to Programming for Business People. The class, in partnership with Gwinnett Techical College, takes place in the Alpharetta Technology Commission space!

Night One: The Recap

The class, taught by Elliot Wood of CallRail, started with the most basic question of them all, “What is programming?” Hint, hint: You want the answer? A creative process for solving problems with smaller building blocks.

We also tackled the following topics:

  • How does the web even work?
  • What is a programming language?
  • What are four programming concepts to really grasp in order to hit the ground running?

Wood made the concepts digestible (not so incredibly daunting, as they had seemed) by using super common and extremely relatable examples. At one point, he compared different programming languages to different models of cars. (Who knew that Ruby was so much like that car I passed on 75 on the way to class?!).

While I don’t expect to walk away  from this three night program as a Jr. Developer, I do have high hopes for being able to communicate with the programmers and developers I cross paths with on a weekly basis and even those I might work with in the future!

Be sure to check out Tech Talent South’s full list of programs, and keep an eye out for part two as we wrap up our class!

About Tech Talent South:
Tech Talent South provides beginner-focused programs teaching web development and coding to adults and children. Locations: Atlanta + Raleigh + Charlotte + Asheville + NOLA + Dallas | + Pop Up Code |

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