What is the Fastest Way to Learn React?

With so many ways to learn, you may be wondering which path can lead you to mastery the quickest. With a whole new career (or hobby) waiting just around the corner for you, its easy to feel an urgency to complete your training, It’s important to remember though, that fast doesn’t always mean thorough, so understanding the pros and cons of every path, both fast and slow, will help you make the most informed choice.

Free Resources: The Very Basics

Free resources are available for learning React. YouTube boasts a wide range of tutorials and informative videos on all kinds of React subjects: from short five-minute episodes on the fundamentals to more in-depth breakdowns of advanced topics. YouTube is a great way to explore your initial interest or get answers to specific questions on React. Other websites like Google and LinkedIn offer short free tutorials and trainings designed to help you grasp the history and basic principles of React. Free resources are often your fastest option and can last anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Their brevity is one reason they are so popular for beginners, but the drawback of these courses is that they will lack the in-depth knowledge and real-time interaction with an expert instructor that more immersive programs offer. With that in mind, it’s best to use these resources as a brief introduction to make sure you’re interested in the subject (or as supplemental learning materials) as opposed to the sole source of your education. 

Introductory Classes: Ideal for Eager Beginners

If you’re looking for something slightly more in-depth than YouTube tutorials and blog posts, an introductory course is a great place to start. These classes cover the history of React, basic principles, and the fundamental techniques. They often will focus on specific tools within the software as well, or complementary subjects like JavaScript or various other programming languages. You’ll have access to top-notch curriculum crafted by an expert instructor and will usually spend a portion of the class on project-based assignments that can be added to your professional portfolio. Introductory courses can be held in-person or online in a live or on-demand format. 

Introductory courses will often cover subjects like how to compose components, how to reuse components to get the most out of your code, and how to deploy your apps using AWS (Amazon Web Services). The goal of an intro class is to offer you a strong foundation in the subject, building your confidence to pursue more advanced tools and techniques. These courses can vary in length from a few hours to a few days, but rarely are longer than that. 

Certificate Granting Programs: For Aspiring Professionals

While certificates take substantially more time than introductory courses or free resources, they offer a wider breadth of knowledge, noteworthy credibility, and the potential to network. These programs cover a React curriculum in a few weeks (or a few short months for part-time students) and are focused on professional development and technical training. 

While they may be longer than other options, they are also shorter than an undergraduate or graduate degree. The content covered will focus more on professional skills rather than introductory material or advanced theory, so you won’t get the immersive theoretical background that a marketing program would give you. You also won’t spend 2 to 6 years working on a degree, or saddled with substantial student loans debt. These kinds of programs are the fastest options available for students whose goal is immediate professional development and employment.

On-Demand Courses: It's Hard to Tell

Self-paced courses from websites like Coursera and Udemy can be a great way to learn as well. These classes are a great way to learn the ins and outs of React from whatever angle you find to be the most interesting as there are plenty of React experts with their own tutorials and blogs that can help.

If your schedule is complicated or you prefer to learn at your own pace, on-demand classes offer the most flexibility and freedom. All lessons are prerecorded and there’s no due dates or class times to worry about. You can skip any lessons you’ve already mastered or spend more time on more difficult subjects. With this comes the disadvantages of no live collaboration with other students or instant feedback from an expert instructor. While you’ll have more time to master challenging subjects, you won’t have someone to help walk you through those challenges or provide additional insight. 

It’s also important to remember that with more freedom comes less accountability. On-demand classes can work for independent learners who can keep themselves on task and motivated, but may not be the best fit for those who find motivation through accountability. Without scheduled class times and due dates, you may fall behind or take longer to complete your training. And without the right level of motivation, you can easily lose interest in completing the training altogether.

Learn React Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers in-depth courses both live online and in-person at their New York office. Their React Development Bootcamp covers everything from the basics of React and Node.js to advanced components and server deployment. You'll start with learning how to compose components, the foundations of React, and then move on to building dynamic fully functioning web applications and deploying them using AWS (Amazon Web Services). This Noble Desktop course (and many others) boasts small class sizes, one free retake, and setup assistance. If you’re interested in pursuing further education, this course counts towards three of Noble’s certificate programs: Full-Stack Web Development, Software Engineering, and JavaScript Development. 

Want to take your skills to the next level? Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Development Certificate is a longer professional training program that will teach you how to build web apps with JavaScript, one of the most popular programming languages in the world. You’ll learn to master React and Node.js, create APIs with Express.js, and work with databases with MongoDB. This course also covers additional topics like Browser Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) built into web browsers, third-party APIs, and third-party frameworks and libraries. If you’re a new developer or an existing one coming from a different background, learning JavaScript will up your game to web application development.

Similarly, the Full-Stack Web Development Certificate helps you develop the skills and knowledge to meet the growing demand for developing and maintaining web applications. This course will teach you to use programming languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript to program memorable, interactive web pages. You’ll also use the MERN tech stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js) to add databases, APIs, AWS and other server environments, and interactivity for those web applications. Focused on a series of projects, you’ll leave this course with a portfolio of working web applications to show to potential employers.

Finally, Noble’s Software Engineering Certificate covers HTML & CSS, JavaScript, and React, and back end development with Python, Django, and Node.js. You’ll learn HTML to mark up web pages and CSS for styling; the fundamentals of JavaScript; Git for version control; and how to use Flexbox and Grid to layout, align, and reorder web page content, as well as make it adapt to different size screens. The second part of the course will cover JavaScript programming concepts, including variables, data types, loops, and DOM. You’ll also build your very own desktop application using React and deploy it using the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud environment. Finally, you'll master the lexical syntax of Python and quickly move to more advanced topics like dictionaries, custom functions, and sorting algorithms. You'll then progress to object-oriented programming, working with APIs, and querying databases with SQL. By the end of this course, you’ll have a portfolio of projects, a polished resume, and a professional LinkedIn profile; be prepared for common interview questions; and be armed with tips for applying to jobs.