Roadmap for Anything Programming

1. Know the basics of the field (why is it important, how it is impacting companies and people, what is its future, etc.) and the relevant big names (firms who are known to work in the field).

2. Choose your favorite portfolio from the field (like ML engineer in data science, or Backend Dev in web development). Note: This needs not be your target job profile; it is just for beginning in your relevant field, you can always change it given that you are not losing on the importance of any of the existing skills you gained.

3. Prepare a list of all the skills which are generally seeked in the portfolio (like Kotlin for an Android app dev)

4. Classify the skills into beginner, intermediate and advanced for not overwhelming yourself (like HTML, CSS, basic JS for beginner; complete responsive web page with HTML+CSS+JS and Bootstrap for intermediate; React components, JS OOP and advanced DOM, asynchronous calls, etc. and a fully polished UI based website for advanced)

5. Don't try learning any part of the skill in unnecessary detail (like wasting time on what is using namespace std; in C++ as a beginner); rather try experimenting with whatever you learn, even if you don't understand).

6. For every major step corresponding to the skill you learn, do small projects and after learning the skill at your level, do TONS of projects. You'll always forget some part of whatever you learn, but projects will make you retain the most relevant skills (don't copy paste projects).

7. Clear your doubts (many platforms like StackOverflow) as you climb the skill ladder but at a low frequency (don't keep looking for solutions every now and then; try out the thing and note down the problem, then resolve, say, every 3 days or every week)

8. After you are comfortable in your level, do some major projects (like cool shopping site landing page for a beginner; a complete sports showcase site with beautiful UI and proper backend for an expert)

9. Once you are comfortable with your skillset, try out some larger projects and practice COLLABORATING with others (preferably friends) and learn using productivity and git tools like GitHub (though these skills can be learnt earlier in the roadmap too)

10. Try replicating a famous product from your field (like a data science enthusiast can build a complete deep learning based automatic modelling platform with web app like IBM Watson Studio)

---

Recommended Bonus:

• Knowing the basics of DevOps and at least one cloud platform like AWS, GCP or Azure is helpful for an aspirant of any field.

• Competitive programming should definitely be done in parallel with what the roadmap suggests (any language is good but some contests favour C++, Java) because this is one strong skill to have, especially if you have a high rank on a renowned CP site like CodeChef.

---

• If you have done all of these, then:

  • Start seeking for connections on LinkedIn in your relevant field
  • Take guidance from experienced people in your domain
  • Also keep checking on internship and remote job sites for understanding what exactly employers look in the portfolio of your choice
  • When you are at intermediate to advanced level, start learning to prepare your resume and how to tackle interviews
  • The most important thing for all domains: DEVELOP SOFT SKILLS

Resources

• See this amazing repository for a more detailed roadmap
• See this one for CP