Do you want to learn JavaScript but aren’t sure how to go about it? Or maybe you’ve started learning, but you’re making slow progress. If so, read on!
This article summarizes what JavaScript is, including its advantages, before diving into the 8 best ways to learn JavaScript in 2024. So if you’ve been wondering how to learn JavaScript, whatever your budget, previous experience, or preferred learning style, there’s bound to be something for you.
To cap things off, we’ve covered IDEs for learning JavaScript, advice on jobs you can get with JavaScript skills, and bonus tips to help you learn JavaScript fast. So if you’re looking to learn JavaScript step by step, you’re in the right place!
What Is JavaScript?
JavaScript is one of the most popular dynamic programming languages that can be used to develop interactive web pages, desktop apps, mobile apps, games, and even more.
It’s no wonder that for 10 years in a row, JavaScript has been voted the most popular programming language in the annual Stack Overflow Developer Survey.
JavaScript Is the Most Popular Language - Stack Overflow Developer Survey
Want to know more? Read our in-depth
Advantages of Learning JavaScript
- Career opportunities: There’s high demand for JavaScript developers. For starters, over 98% of websites currently use JavaScript. Brands and businesses with these websites need developers to maintain them, and if you are a skilled JavaScript developer, you will be well-positioned for those roles.
- Versatile language: JavaScript allows developers to explore areas like frontend and backend development, mobile app development, game development, and more without needing to learn a new language from scratch. And there’s also a popular range of JavaScript libraries and frameworks to make development even easier in each area.
- Community support: There are many supportive JavaScript communities and online forums, which are all welcoming to beginners. You will never be alone if you choose to learn JavaScript, and when you get stuck, it’s easy to find answers.
- Easy to learn: JavaScript is the definition of a beginner-friendly language. No prior programming experience is required to learn JavaScript, which is why so many boot camps use JavaScript as their preferred language. And once you’ve mastered the basics, you can easily pick up JavaScript frameworks.
How to Learn JavaScript
If you want to know how to understand JavaScript to become a successful JavaScript developer, you must consider various learning methods and choose the one that works best for you.
But before you get started learning JavaScript, you might also benefit from spending time learning how to learn.
I know that sounds a little strange, but having a solid game plan to get the most out of your time learning JavaScript can be helpful. Take a look at a free course like Google’s Learn how to learn, which you can easily complete in one weekend.
One thing’s for sure, JavaScript never stops growing and evolving, and new frameworks and tools are released yearly. These can be very useful for JavaScript developers to improve workflow and speed up their development. Spending time learning how to learn can help you make the most of these when you’re ready to use them.
And if you're just starting with JavaScript, consider something like the Zero to Hero in JavaScript course on Educative to build a strong foundation step-by-step.
The 8 Best Ways to Learn JavaScript
1. Take a Course
For many people, taking a course is an easy way to learn JavaScript. These courses are self-paced, making them ideal for JavaScript learning for beginners that need to keep their own schedule.
But choosing the right course can be a challenge. With many JavaScript courses online, there are many excellent resources to choose from, but this also means that there are some not-so-great ones as well!
If you’re unsure which course to choose, check out our article on the best JavaScript courses online, which includes free and paid options.
By taking these online courses, you will learn the theory of JavaScript programming, and you will also get to practice building projects to add to your portfolio.
You can even go a step further and add extra features to your projects. That way, when you can showcase them in your portfolio, you’ll be able to stand out to potential employers.
2. Learn From Books
If you prefer learning by reading, you should consider investing in JavaScript books. These can be your main source of learning, or they can be great as supplementary learning material.
Books are a great source of in-depth JavaScript knowledge, and they are often authored by industry experts with years of experience.
Programming books are also subject to rigorous scrutiny before publication, ensuring that readers get accurate and relevant information.
One of the great advantages of books is that they make it really easy to find the things you need. Like most developers, you’ll find that you keep returning to books even after you’ve advanced your career as a JavaScript developer.
3. Coding Bootcamps
Coding boot camps provide a structured approach to learning JavaScript from scratch. They put you on a schedule and force you to learn a lot in a short period of time.
Learning on your own is great. But sometimes, it’s hard to keep yourself accountable.
Signing up for a boot camp allows you to join a community of other learners and get direct access to teachers. This is great if you need to ask for further explanations on complicated topics.
Most boot camps let students build capstone projects, which often involve applying advanced concepts. This is a great way to create portfolio-worthy projects to showcase to recruiters and potential employers.
These days, coding boot camps also include career coaching sessions in their curriculum. These sessions offer valuable insights on landing a job as a JavaScript developer. Some even have career fairs where you can interact with reps from startups that are open to hiring entry-level developers.
Applying for JavaScript developer jobs? Check out these
Javascript Interview Questions & Answers
4. Meetups & Conferences
Most meetups or conferences feature talks from experts, which can be a great way to learn new skills or look at particular topics from a new point of view.
You can also interact with other developers at various stages in their careers when you attend meetups or conferences. This is a great way to expand your professional network and hear about potential jobs that may not be publicly advertised.
And with JavaScript being a constantly evolving language, attending meetups and conferences can help you stay up-to-date with emerging trends.
5. Build Projects
As soon as you learn the JavaScript basics, you need to start building projects!
This will help you quickly grasp the concepts you’re learning from tutorials, and you’ll probably find that you won’t improve if you only code alongside tutorials. You need to get stuck into building things on your own to truly embed coding skills into your brain.
When you build projects, you will get stuck. And that’s okay! This is the time to figure out a solution by yourself. Doing this will help you improve your debugging and research skills, two essential qualities to have as a developer.
You should also take the time to learn version control tools like Git and, naturally, GitHub. These are important to use when building your projects as they will help you learn best practices used daily by professional developers.
A strong GitHub profile with solid projects can also serve as your portfolio.
Excited to build stuff? Check out the
15 Best JavaScript Projects for Beginners
6. Learn in Public
One of the best ways to learn any skill faster is by sharing what you learn or teaching it.
There are many ways to do this, like writing blog posts, making videos, or answering questions on sites like Stack Overflow.
You can also join the 100 Days of Code Challenge. This requires you to learn for at least one hour every day for 100 days while sharing what you learn with others.
Learning in public forces you to dive deeper than you usually would when writing JavaScript. And if you are wrong about something, you will likely encounter someone ready to correct you. Doing this can really help you become a more consistent learner.
7. Read Documentation
It’s good to learn from JavaScript tutorials. Often, they will give you an overview of concepts, which is enough to get started. But if you want to do a deep dive on particular topics, you will have to read the docs.
Reading the documentation helps you learn how to write clean, readable code. This is a valuable skill to have when you work in teams, and it will also cut down the time you spend on debugging errors in your JavaScript code.
Documentation should be your go-to resource if you want to adopt industry best practices as a JavaScript developer. An excellent JavaScript documentation you should check out is the MDN JavaScript Reference.
8. Open Source Projects
An open-source project is one whose source code is publicly available. You can inspect the code and even request to modify or improve it.
As a beginner, contributing to open-source is a great way to level up your JavaScript skills while learning how JavaScript is used in real-world projects.
You will learn how to code in a team when contributing to open-source projects, which is excellent for improving your soft skills like communication, teamwork, and code reviews. These are all essential skills to have as a JavaScript developer.
You don’t need to become an expert before you contribute to open-source. Many open-source projects encourage contributions from JavaScript beginners. You can check out First Timers Only for a practical guide on how to get started.
Looking for more ways to learn JavaScript? Check out
Choosing an IDE to Learn JavaScript
An Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) is a program that enables developers to write code conveniently and efficiently.
You can write your JavaScript code using a simple text editor like notepad, but since IDEs are specifically designed for writing code, using them will increase your developer productivity and bring many other benefits.
- Syntax highlighting: IDEs make code more readable with formatting. They make certain words bold, italics, or different colors, which makes it easy to spot errors when necessary.
- Auto-completion: This helps developers to write code faster. It’s similar to how Google offers suggestions when you start typing your queries.
- Refactoring: Most IDEs have auto-refactor features that allow developers to restructure their code without affecting core functionality.
- Automation: IDEs can automate tasks such as compilation, testing, and debugging
There are two main types of IDEs to choose from, local IDEs and cloud IDEs.
- Local IDEs: Developers can download and install these in their local environment. An advantage of local IDEs is that they allow for lots of customization, but they can also require significant processing power to run smoothly. Some popular examples of local IDEs for JavaScript are IntelliJ IDEA and Komodo IDE.
- Cloud IDEs: Allow programmers to code within a browser without downloading or installing software on your computer. Being platform-independent, you can access a Cloud IDE from anywhere with a computer connected to the internet. Some popular cloud IDEs for JavaScript are Amazon’s Cloud9 and CopePen.
If you don’t need the full power of an IDE, code editors are also a solid and lightweight alternative. Some popular code editors are Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Atom, and Sublime Text Editor.
What Jobs Can You Get By Learning JavaScript?
- Web Developer: JavaScript powers over 98% of the client side of websites on the internet, so it makes sense that the demand for JavaScript developers is high. When you learn JavaScript, you can become a web developer to build and maintain websites, and depending on your interests, you can specialize as a front-end, back-end, or full-stack developer.
- Mobile App Developer: JavaScript is very popular for building mobile applications. You can explore JavaScript libraries and frameworks like React Native, Ionic, Ember.js, and others if you are interested in becoming a mobile app developer.
- System Administrator: A system administrator’s responsibilities include maintaining servers, networks, software, and hardware. As a system administrator, understanding JavaScript will help you create scripts for troubleshooting and managing your systems.
- Security Engineer: Security engineers ensure the safety of networks, servers, and digital devices to prevent digital attacks. If you want to get into cybersecurity, knowing a programming language like JavaScript will expand your career options.
- Technical Writer: If you are good at breaking down complex, technical topics, this is a career option you can consider. Technical writers employ their skills to create documentation, product manuals, how-to tutorials, and more.
Bonus Tips: How to Learn JavaScript Fast
If you want to know the fastest way to learn JavaScript, the following tips can help you.
- Daily practice: Consistency will help you learn faster. For example, it’s better to practice daily for an hour than to have irregular practice sessions of 6 hours.
- Avoid auto-completing code: In the early stages of your learning, you want to become familiar with the language. Try only to use auto-completion when you have a firm grasp of the basics.
- Get your code reviewed: Show your code to experienced developers, and ask for their feedback. This practice will help you improve your code and learn best practices.
- Solve coding challenges: Use websites like CodeWars, HackerRank, or LeetCode to tackle challenges designed to help you improve your problem-solving skills.
- Learn version control: Learn how to use a tool like Git. It will help you track how your projects progress and is also useful when collaborating with other developers.
- Read stories from developers you admire: Learn from them, including how they learned to code and dealt with challenges. This can motivate you to keep going.
- Listen to podcasts: You can quickly learn from a great podcast episode. Some beginner podcast recommendations are CodeNewbie, Scrimba, and HTML All The Things.
- Take breaks: Regular breaks will help you avoid burnout. And sometimes, what you need to solve a bug is some time away from the screen.
- Ask questions: When you get stuck (and you will), Google it and ask questions. Don’t be shy or afraid that others will think less of you. The best senior developers always ask questions and aren’t afraid to say they don’t know.
Conclusion
Coding in JavaScript is a valuable skill to have. Most beginners are hungry to learn but are unsure how to learn JavaScript or which resources to use.
This article discusses the 8 best ways to learn JavaScript in 2024, including courses, books, boot camps, conferences, building projects, reading the docs, and contributing to open-source projects.
What’s great is that you can use a combination of these methods to learn JavaScript. If we wanted to highlight one specific way to learn JavaScript, it would have to be building projects. This is an excellent way to solidify your understanding while creating a portfolio to showcase to potential employers.
To help you start your JavaScript journey, we’ve also included advice on choosing an IDE, bonus tips to learn JavaScript fast, and some of the different jobs you can get by learning JavaScript.
Want to give your resume a boost? Check out
The Best JavaScript Certifications
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I Teach Myself JavaScript?
Yes, you can. You can use many resources to learn JavaScript from scratch, including online courses, books, boot camps, and video tutorials. If you’re unsure how to start learning JavaScript, know that many JavaScript developers have taken the self-taught route, so you can do it too.
2. Is It Hard to Learn JavaScript?
This depends on whether you’re a beginner at programming. Learning JavaScript will not be challenging if you are proficient in other coding languages. On the other hand, if you’re learning to code from scratch, JavaScript is an excellent choice as it’s beginner-friendly. But like any new skill, you must invest time to truly absorb the information and overall computer programming concepts.
3. What Is the Best Way To Learn JavaScript?
The best way to learn JavaScript from scratch will depend on your preferred learning style. Some like online courses, others prefer books, and some like the sound of joining a boot camp. You must figure out what works best for you and then run with it.
4. How Long Does It Take To Learn JavaScript?
This depends on your skill level, and the time you can commit to learning. For experienced programmers, it can take 2-3 weeks to learn the syntax of the JavaScript language. Learning JavaScript for beginners might take longer, so be prepared to spend 3-6 months, depending on your schedule.
5. How Much Do JavaScript Developers Make?
This depends on several factors, including your education and experience, but the average base salary for a JavaScript developer in 2024 is in excess of $80,000.
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