How Long Does it Take to Learn Git?

Like many aspiring Web Developers and Software Engineers, you might want to learn Git but worry that it will take too much time. As a streamlined efficiency tool, Git is easy to learn if you understand its use. Students with coding experience can learn the basic features of Git in as little as twenty minutes and become proficient in only a few hours of guided study. Students without coding experience will need to learn the skills that Git utilizes to learn Git, which will take much longer. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn Git and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Git?

Git is an open-source programming tool that allows users to effortlessly track the changes made during the early stages of software development. It allows individual programs to keep a record of the changes that they have made to easily restore or back-up earlier versions of their code and it allows teams of developers to record the changes that individual members make to a file or program. Designed to support distributed non-linear workflow, Git allows programmers to create non-linear histories and branched records of how a program has been developed over its time in Git.

Developed in 2005 for Linux, Git has since become one of the most commonly used distributed version control software. In 2022, nearly 94% of computer programmers report using Git as a vital part of their regular programming activities. This means that learning Git is an important skill for anyone hoping to undertake collaborative development projects, particularly in open-source communities where it is expected that many development histories will be documented using Git.

Read more about what Git is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Git?

Git can be used to ensure that you have a detailed record of all the changes being made to a file of code. Individual users can take advantage of this documentation to quickly restore or reconstruct prior versions of code or to see where specific changes were made if those changes came with unintended consequences. Groups of developers can use Git to collaborate more effectively on a shared file as the system will keep track of all the changes made independently, providing a stable record of how each developer impacted the file over time.

In addition, thanks to the prevalence of GitHub, learning Git will significantly expand a developer's ability to store and share their software. Since each instance of Git on a computer stores its own directory and history, the documentation on your programs is not operating at the whims of an external source or mainframe, making the histories far more stable. In addition, GitHub lets users publish and share code effortlessly, making community-driven collaboration all the more productive. Git and GitHub help fuel community-driven software development, and learning how to use these tools will ensure that you, too, can participate in these projects.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Git

On average, no matter your coding experience level, learning the functionalities and features of Git can be done very quickly. The program is lightweight and accessible for new users, at least as far as intermediate proficiency is concerned. This means that users can learn the basics of Git in under an hour and become proficient in only a few hours of focused study. 

Other Factors

While learning Git will depend on factors such as your own pace of learning and your familiarity with computer technology since it is a tool for archiving, documenting, and improving coding workflow, the primary factor that will impact your learning speed is whether or not you are going to be learning how to code alongside learning Git.

Web Development Training

Students who know how to code will find it relatively easy to learn Git. For students not versed in programming languages, learning Git will be more complex and will be a somewhat useless skill to learn. However, for students who need to learn how to code alongside learning Git, many web development training courses teach both skills, as students will learn to code alongside learning Git. To learn more about the options available for this kind of training, please visit the Web Development hub to see the courses offered through Noble Desktop.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Git is a relatively approachable program for anyone with a computer science background who understands the documentation it is being used to track. If you have programming experience, picking up Git won’t be much of a problem. For students learning to program while learning Git, it can be a more daunting task, as it is adding another complicated technical skill on top of an early coding education. It isn’t impossible to learn Git without much prior programming knowledge. Still, students will find that the two concepts strongly correlate and that the more comfortable they get with coding, the more comfortable they become with Git.

While there are no formal prerequisites to learning Git, because it is a tool to streamline workflow and make the process of software development more accessible and more efficient, there isn’t any reason to learn Git without knowing how to program. This is why many professional training programs teach Git as part of their web development curriculum. Technically you don’t need to know how to code to learn Git, but coding is a prerequisite to using Git. 

Git is an open-source application that runs on all major operating systems. It can be downloaded from Git’s main webpage.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Git.

Watch a Free Git Online Course

In a professional training environment, Git is rarely learned on its own. Rather, students taking web development or programming courses will learn the basic principles of Git during their lessons. students looking to learn more about Git without committing to a development course will want to consider the free options available. Noble Desktop provides a brief tutorial in the What is Git & What is GitHub video offered on their official YouTube page. This short course gives an overview of the basic features and functions of Git, making it an ideal place for students to learn how to use the software application.

Students may also want to explore the free introductory options available through other service providers such as Udemy and Coursera. These providers offer asynchronous, on-demand learning options for students who want to learn Git without investing in a full web development or software engineering course.

Read about more free Git videos and online tutorials.

Learn Git with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Since Git is an open-source efficiency tool, you’ll rarely find a course that strictly teaches students how to use it. Instead, students will learn Git as an essential complementary skill in more formal web development or programming course. This means that students looking to learn are aspiring to be programmers or developers, meaning that web development training will likely be a part of their future. To assist with this, Noble offers a wide variety of web development courses designed to fit your needs as a student.

At Noble, students can learn Git as part of their front end development training curriculum. In these training courses, students will learn the techniques required to program the client-facing, interactive web application elements, such as a webpage. In these classes, students will primarily focus on learning how to program using HTML/CSS and JavaScript, though advanced courses will also teach languages like React. In Noble’s Front End Web Development Certificate program, students will receive hands-on training in several important web development skills, including tracking and managing file changes using Git. With this training, students will be able to see how their programs develop over time, documenting a history of their work, and they will be able to see how Git is used to assist them in collaborative development projects. Since this is a career-focused course, the class assumes no prior coding experience, making this a good place to start for students hoping to enter the field of web development.

Noble also offers a more immersive Full Stack Web Development Certificate program that will teach students all the skills needed to work as Full Stack Web Developers (developers who handle both the client- and server-side elements of a webpage). While a part of this will be learning how to use Git to track and document changes to code, the vast majority of the course is comprised of intensive web development training courses in which students will learn HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Node, Express, MongoDB, React, and SQL. This course is perfect for anyone who wants to learn all the essential aspects of web development. Since this is a career-focused course, students will receive professionalization assistance, including one-on-one career mentorship and portfolio-building seminars.

Key Insights

• Learning Git is a relatively straightforward skill that can be picked up in only a few hours of dedicated study.
• Students should be aware that since Git is an efficiency tool, the difficulty of learning Git will be dependent on your own knowledge of programming languages.
• Students who need to learn how to code alongside learning Git should explore their options for comprehensive web development training (which includes Git training) offered both in-person and live online through Noble Desktop.