The Three ways to learn IT

There are three path. You can take all of them, each of them are foundational for the next. Consider how much time you want to spend based on what you want to achieve learning these.

Some recommendations:

• Deviation from these suggested paths is highly recommended.
• Remember to spare sometimes for yourself to try implementing what you have learn.
• Stay away from the Tutorial Hell.

Here are the what you can expect to achieve for each path:

Path A: making decent amount working as a free-lance programmer

Path B: working as a programmer as your main job

Path C: be able to understand and take advantages of the hottest trends in the field, build a venture

Path A

• Learn basic programming using C or Python (1 month)
  • Just the basic is enough
  • Focus on understanding: variables-pointers/memory address, data communication, loop-conditional statement
  • Learn UI design, Data base, String manipulation
• Learn some basic about OS, and computer architecture. (2 weeks reading, 2 weeks practicing implementing)
• SQL and data base (1 week reading, 1 week implementing)
• Object-oriented Programming
• Basic data analysis or GUI Library or Web Development.

Path B

Like Path A but cut the steps the things that you think won’t be necessary.

• Install, config and dive deep into an open-source social network(like mastodon) and e-commerce platform(spree), read and code on your own.
• Choose to learn 1 of these:
  • ML, AI and Blockchain
  • Andre Kapathy’s Github
  • Read and play around with Linux Source code, socket programming.

Path C

Like B but with some additions

• Learn ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning):
  • Aim for for certification from a close-source ERP
    • Typically from Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle (NetSuite) or SAP.
    • Alternative: Open and read the source code of an open-source ERP
      • Odoo
      • ERPNext
• Learn Business Process Management
  • Fundamentals of Business Process Management
• Learn the ISO procedures
  • ISO – Directives and Policies
• Take the highest certificate from one of the leading ecosystem
  • Oracle Certified Master
  • Mircrosoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02)
  • Cisco, IBM, etc.
• Learn project management, how to write business plan
  • Google Project Management Certificate
  • (Book)Product Management’s Sacred Seven: The Skills Required to Crush Product Manager Interviews and be a World-Class PM
  • PMBoK
  • Startup School
  • Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers (The Strategyzer series)
• Do research on business models, new services
  • https://fourweekmba.com/100-business-models-book-by-fourweekmba/
• Follow Tech News
  • Radar Trends – O’Reilly
  • Tinkering everyday, have an idea notebooks.

Endnote: I think there are still quite a lot more other topics like the Algorithms and Data Structure rabbit hole. I still can’t figure it out how to put those in each path without making them feel so daunting. Feel free to discuss your thoughts.

Most of these I learned from Mr. Aiviet Nguyen and some parts of the blog is the direct translation of his writings in Vietnamese.