In 2017, whilst volunteering as a molecular biologist and working for a specialist Global Health web development company, I started to teach myself various aspects of software development. I enjoyed it so much that I left my job to pursue it as a career. Below are some of the books, websites, courses (mainly free/cheap) and tech events that I have come across along the way.
Online resources
HackerRank, a great site to test your skills
This is a good site to work on your programming skills and to practice the kind of tests you might get from a potential employer. I will be completing more challenges in the near future and perhaps my first contest. Watch this blog space!
Books
Code: The Hidden Language of Compuer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold
Brilliant book to learn about computers from the ground up. Starts off very simply with various codes before moving onto electricity and the simplest parts of a computer.
Test-Driven Development with Python by Harry J.W. Percival
Very useful book to learn how to test first and code later using unittest, Django and Python.
Python Testing with pytest by Brian Okken
Another great testing book but using pytest rather than unittest.
Courses
CS50's Introduction to Computer Science, Computer Science, CS50 - HarvardX (online)
In progress.
The Sequel to SQL, SQL, Codeschool (online)
In progress.
Front-End Formations, HTML5 and CSS3, Codeschool (online)
In progress.
JavaScript Road Trip - Part 3, JavaScript, Codeschool (online)
In progress.
Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from zero to hero in Python 3, Python, Udemy (online)
Completed.
Try SQL, SQL, Codeschool (online)
Completed.
Try Docker, Docker introduction, Codeschool (online)
Gives a good introduction to the basics of Docker. How to use images to build Docker containers and configure the images with Dockerfiles in the command line. The next step is to build a Node App with Postgres and Docker.