FreeCodeCamp the Right Way: How to Use FCC as a Self-Taught Developer

This is the first in a series of articles where I reflect on my ongoing programming self-study journey and address topics that I hope will assist others looking to learn on their own. For more updates, follow me here on Medium, or on LinkedIn at http://linkedin.com/in/anthonyvolk.

Maybe you’ve made the decision to self-study programming and are looking to design a curriculum, or maybe you’re just curious about the freeCodeCamp program and what it has to offer. In this article, I’ll be discussing at length the benefits and pitfalls of the freeCodeCamp program as an aspiring self-taught developer who has worked almost exclusively with the curriculum over the last couple of months. I’ll also offer recommendations on how to integrate freeCodeCamp into your own self-study journey.

First things first: What is freeCodeCamp?

For those unfamiliar, freeCodeCamp (FCC for short) is a free web development self-study platform. FCC attracts hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users, and for good reason. The program offers hundreds of hours of free learning materials, tasks, and projects that promise to push the user from zero programming knowledge to mastery of (at least basic) web development front-end and back-end frameworks. Not only that, but unlike other free learning platforms, FCC offers important integrated tools that enable anyone to simply hop into learning and developing. Key among these include: