What is the Best Course to Learn JavaScript?

Courses on JavaScript come in many forms, with differences in instructional style, organization, and topical focus. Classes may simply teach students basic coding skills, may address specialized uses of JavaScript, or attempt to provide a complete education addressing most of JavaScript’s varieties and complexities. This article will address the main types of JavaScript classes, the differences between these classes, and how to compare different classes to your learning goals to find the best match.

How Much Do You Know About Programming?

Your first consideration is your previous experience with programming languages. If you are completely new to coding, you may want to take an introductory class in computer science or web design to acquire the concepts and habits of programming. Some JavaScript courses require prior experience like knowledge of HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the primary language used to create webpages. 

Even if you are already comfortable with coding, you may have no previous knowledge of JavaScript. In that case, you’ll want to avoid intermediate or advanced courses that build on early JavaScript coding ability. An introductory course might be a good start, especially if you aren’t sure you want to use JavaScript in your career. Short live courses, on-demand video lessons, or even free tutorials can give you a start, explaining how JavaScript works and demonstrating simple programming tasks. However, if you are sure you need to know JavaScript in significant depth, for a particular project or your career goals, a longer course might be a better option if it starts at an introductory level and then progresses toward more complex coding tasks.

If you have already used JavaScript and want to add to your existing skills, a more advanced course might be better, to skip past introductory lessons and address the specific knowledge you need. Intermediate and advanced topical courses on JavaScript are available both as live instruction and on-demand programs.

How Much Are You Willing to Pay?

A second consideration when comparing JavaScript classes is your available budget. You may be considering the expense of training relative to its potential gains, but even if you could find a better career or develop a valuable product with your new programming skills, those returns are further into the future, and you have to consider your current costs. Fortunately, the most expensive options may not always be the best choices, depending on their fit to your educational goals. 

College degree programs cost the most, but this cost comes not only from instructional quality but also their extended duration (giving students more time for lessons and practice work), the college environment (including hardware access and interaction with faculty and students), and additional material that can expand your understanding of related topics but may not be necessary for specific careers. Professional training programs like certificate programs and bootcamp courses can provide training in specific skills like JavaScript programming at a much lower cost. Students who only need to know JavaScript for specific projects or as an additional job skill might prefer even shorter, more cost-effective classes. And if you are only exploring JavaScript and its related careers, a short introductory class is even less expensive.

Once you have limited your search based on the extent of study you need (or can afford), you might want to look for lower-cost options, but seeming bargains are not always worth the discount. There can be tradeoffs between the cost and quality of study programs. Free lessons, for example, are cheapest but do not guarantee the quality and accuracy of their instruction. They also do not provide much organizational structure and may be incomplete, requiring students to search for missing answers and resources. Another low-cost option is on-demand study, which uses pre-recorded video lessons with minimal instructional support. However, these courses also require more time and effort on your part. These difficulties are especially troublesome for comprehensive and advanced JavaScript courses, where coding errors will take longer to diagnose. 

Expert instructors may charge more steeply for their guidance but can help students progress quickly and confidently through challenging material. It might be worth the added expense to gain a faster, more thorough education, especially if you need to know JavaScript at a professional level. Still, if you can manage delays and maintain your motivation, free or on-demand courses can be a cost-effective option for introductory study.

How Quickly Do You Need to Learn New Skills?

When choosing between possible JavaScript classes, time is always a concern. Some students need to learn JavaScript as quickly as possible. They may be working toward a project deadline or limited in their free time for study. Such students would prefer full-time scheduling to reduce their required calendar time. They might also seek a more accelerated course. However, a given course can only be reduced to a certain degree. For a complete JavaScript course like a bootcamp, full-time study still takes several weeks, and for a certificate program, it can take two or three months to finish. 

If you only need basic knowledge, however, a short introductory course takes only a few days. If you already have experience with JavaScript, a short advanced course can also help to gain specific skills quickly. On-demand courses can also be a faster option as long as you can stay motivated and avoid delays, since you can complete lessons without having to wait on a class schedule.

However, if you have the time to spread your studies over more days, you might consider part-time study. Part-time classes reduce daily demands, giving more time to complete work between classes. They also help students who cannot comfortably study for long periods. 

Do You Want to Become a Professional JavaScript Coder?

If you only need to study JavaScript to improve your webpage designs, a short course is a better option than a professional training program. Even if you do intend to use JavaScript professionally, you may not need an in-depth course on the subject. The level of study required to use JavaScript for web design or front end web development is less than needed for back end or full stack web development or software development, and both careers demand less expertise than extended JavaScript development. An introductory or shorter course might provide enough detail for your requirements, or at the least, can help you identify material you will need to cover in later classes. Still, if you do intend to make JavaScript a central skill in your career, the course you select should address that career’s needs and provide guidance about employment in that area. 

What Additional Skills Do You Need?

Beyond its basic or ‘vanilla’ code, JavaScript has a wealth of additional tools, like libraries and programming frameworks, that make the language more efficient and give it additional functionality. Different uses of JavaScript will benefit from some of these tools and not others. Certain projects and careers require certain tools, such as the React Native framework for building mobile applications using JavaScript. If your interest in JavaScript is based upon a certain type of project or employment, you may want to seek classes that emphasize appropriate tools. In some cases, programmers already using JavaScript will only need a class on a specific tool, rather than a comprehensive course that happens to include that tool.

Do You Prefer In-Person or Online Training?

You should consider whether you will benefit more from direct, in-person learning or online classes. For many students, learning a programming language is just as easy online as in-person. Coding rarely requires direct personal contact and can be easier to learn from on-screen examples than verbal explanations. Online study also means that you can use your own computer, in your own home; it also spares you the additional time and expense of travel to a classroom location. There are usually more options for online classes, too: more schools, courses, and instructors to choose from as well as the option of on-demand lessons. You are more likely to find a course that matches your study goals from the wider selection online.

However, for other students, the benefits of in-person study are worth its more limited options and travel demands. Some find that a physical classroom helps them maintain their academic focus. They may need face-to-face interaction with an instructor to better understand concepts and address their questions. Physical schools can also directly provide computer hardware and software and printed materials, although JavaScript tools are usually free or inexpensive to download. 

Learn JavaScript with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several JavaScript classes differing in length, cost, complexity, and teaching goals. For students seeking a complete, career-oriented program of study, the JavaScript Development Certificate program is designed to produce professional, job-ready JavaScript programmers. This program focuses on JavaScript’s uses in web development. Students should already have some practice with web design or front end web development, or at a minimum, be comfortable coding in HTML and CSS. This program’s classes take a few months to complete even for full-time students, but in addition to units on basic and advanced JavaScript coding, the program includes lessons on additional tools used in web development, like the Node.js and Express.js libraries; MongoDB, a database management system; the React library for component programming in JavaScript; and SQL, a data management language. A final unit explains the web development industry and discusses career options and likely interview questions. Participants receive further career assistance in the form of eight 1-on-1 mentoring sessions and a starting portfolio composed of their in-class projects. In addition to the live online classes, this program provides supplemental written materials and access to video recordings after each class. Students completing this state-licensed program receive an official certificate and can retake the class once for free within a year.

As a more accelerated training course, Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Programming Bootcamp also provides a career-ready foundation in JavaScript. However, it omits the additional web development libraries and tools included in the JavaScript Development Certificate program, and the course takes only a few weeks rather than several months. Participants are still trained in JavaScript’s foundational features and techniques, with a focus on web development. Note that this course also requests prior experience with webpage coding. The bootcamp does address some commonly used JavaScript libraries, features found in newer JavaScript releases, career planning, and common JavaScript-related interview questions. The projects in this course can be used as a starting portfolio, and the instructor provides a bonus 1-on-1 mentoring session to address further questions. The bootcamp course includes a proprietary workbook and awards a certificate upon completion, and students may retake the course once for free within a year.

The shortest JavaScript class in Noble Desktop’s course catalog, JavaScript for Front-End, teaches basic JavaScript coding for front end web development. Again, participants are encouraged to have some prior experience with web design or front end web development to get the most out of this short course. The course takes only a few days for full-time students and covers JavaScript’s essential features and programming techniques, sufficient to use the language at a basic or ‘vanilla’ level. This background also prepares students to learn more advanced JavaScript techniques and tools in later courses. One such tool, the GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP) is included in this short course. GSAP assists programmers in creating animated features for webpages. This course includes a supplemental workbook, awards a certificate upon completion, and can be retaken once for free within a year.