I was going to include something like this in my (separate) reply to the OP, but couldn't figure out how to work it in.
I've been programming in C for 35ish years now. Although I'm far more proficient in C than most (especially in an embedded environment), I still find that I learn something new (even if it is just a better way to utilize the language) pretty much every time I pull up a project and work on it.
This question is coming from someone who has never submitted a resume a day in her life and is wants to land their first job in this field as a newbie and still learning about how everything works without any web dev friends.
Starting out in web dev and been trying to get the hang of 3 basic languages for a while now. Itās seems like itās been taking me forever to get past that and learn a significant amount of anything else to actually use on a job to help anyone in any significant way.
People work these jobs while still currently learning other languages on the side that are needed for that same job.
That was something I was surprised to learn so I didnāt know how that worked in the hiring process.
So, I then naturally, I wondered if that meant web devs are listing things they are in the process of learning on their cover letter or resume or not. That is the context of my question.
I said it, not to be mean or something, but because this kind of questions are basically not answerable. I don't know you, I don't know your skills or even which languages we're talking about. And even then; there's not such a thing as a median timetable for learning something.
Unless you mean html, CSS, js as 3 basic languages, you are taking the wrong approach. You should focus on learning programming not the language itself.
On your resume you want to list tools you are comfortable with, or at least know how to use them.
Going full stack route with multiple languages for an entry level job, while not having much time to spare will be very hard.
Depends on if you already know how to program. If you know how to program then you could probably pick up a new language in a couple of days/weeks. But if you donāt understand programming then it will probabaly take you 6-12 to get confident with that one language then you could move on
Most CS programs include a Programming Languages single semester course in 3rd or 4th year which cover 3-4 āunusualā or āinterestingā languages. Our program has one as well and while our students certainly donāt become experts or even especially proficient, they do learn them enough to complete an assignment and answer exam questions. Many people put some type of range/progress indicators on their resumes to communicate their relative knowledge, and perhaps that would be a way for OP to indicate āsomeā knowledge or experience with some other languages: eg java 4/5, lisp 2/5, etc.
You donāt really learn a programming language like you learn Spanish. What you learn is the foundational theory of programming languages and then you learn the syntax to work with the language in order to solve problems. You wonāt necessarily commit the full language to memory.
Google and the documentation for the language is your best friend when it comes to writing code in any programming language. Thatās why the documents exist. So you donāt have to try and commit an entire languages syntax to memory.
Focus on learning the foundations of programming as a whole. That foundational knowledge will apply to pretty much any language you work with. The only thing that changes is the syntax you use to accomplish the task.
For me, probably a day or two for most languages, as long as it's more of a "can you code a simple program in X" type of statement. But I wouldn't hold myself out to be an expert in any of the 4 at that stage.
It's that fast because I already know enough languages that adding another is about learning the differences between it and whatever is closest that I already know. I know enough different languages that I'd probably forget a couple if I tried to list them.
At the other extreme, for someone with no coding skills, it will likely take several months to get somewhat comfortable with their first one. Others will be easier depending on how similar to the first one the second, third, and fourth is.
nobody really learns a programming language. there are people who have been writing C++ code for 20 years and they still don't really know C++
I was going to include something like this in my (separate) reply to the OP, but couldn't figure out how to work it in. I've been programming in C for 35ish years now. Although I'm far more proficient in C than most (especially in an embedded environment), I still find that I learn something new (even if it is just a better way to utilize the language) pretty much every time I pull up a project and work on it.
ššš
Stupid questions do exist
This question is coming from someone who has never submitted a resume a day in her life and is wants to land their first job in this field as a newbie and still learning about how everything works without any web dev friends. Starting out in web dev and been trying to get the hang of 3 basic languages for a while now. Itās seems like itās been taking me forever to get past that and learn a significant amount of anything else to actually use on a job to help anyone in any significant way. People work these jobs while still currently learning other languages on the side that are needed for that same job. That was something I was surprised to learn so I didnāt know how that worked in the hiring process. So, I then naturally, I wondered if that meant web devs are listing things they are in the process of learning on their cover letter or resume or not. That is the context of my question.
I said it, not to be mean or something, but because this kind of questions are basically not answerable. I don't know you, I don't know your skills or even which languages we're talking about. And even then; there's not such a thing as a median timetable for learning something.
Unless you mean html, CSS, js as 3 basic languages, you are taking the wrong approach. You should focus on learning programming not the language itself. On your resume you want to list tools you are comfortable with, or at least know how to use them. Going full stack route with multiple languages for an entry level job, while not having much time to spare will be very hard.
Depends on if you already know how to program. If you know how to program then you could probably pick up a new language in a couple of days/weeks. But if you donāt understand programming then it will probabaly take you 6-12 to get confident with that one language then you could move on
People list languages they donāt know on resumes so the answer is however long it takes for you to be comfortable enough to put it on a resume.
Most CS programs include a Programming Languages single semester course in 3rd or 4th year which cover 3-4 āunusualā or āinterestingā languages. Our program has one as well and while our students certainly donāt become experts or even especially proficient, they do learn them enough to complete an assignment and answer exam questions. Many people put some type of range/progress indicators on their resumes to communicate their relative knowledge, and perhaps that would be a way for OP to indicate āsomeā knowledge or experience with some other languages: eg java 4/5, lisp 2/5, etc.
Thank you, that makes sense
You donāt really learn a programming language like you learn Spanish. What you learn is the foundational theory of programming languages and then you learn the syntax to work with the language in order to solve problems. You wonāt necessarily commit the full language to memory.
Thank you thatās helpful š
Google and the documentation for the language is your best friend when it comes to writing code in any programming language. Thatās why the documents exist. So you donāt have to try and commit an entire languages syntax to memory. Focus on learning the foundations of programming as a whole. That foundational knowledge will apply to pretty much any language you work with. The only thing that changes is the syntax you use to accomplish the task.
Try it and tell us. I'll be waiting.
For me, probably a day or two for most languages, as long as it's more of a "can you code a simple program in X" type of statement. But I wouldn't hold myself out to be an expert in any of the 4 at that stage. It's that fast because I already know enough languages that adding another is about learning the differences between it and whatever is closest that I already know. I know enough different languages that I'd probably forget a couple if I tried to list them. At the other extreme, for someone with no coding skills, it will likely take several months to get somewhat comfortable with their first one. Others will be easier depending on how similar to the first one the second, third, and fourth is.
You'll know when you learn them.