Find the Right Language or Skills Course With One Handy Website
Choosing the right online course or platform for learning a new skill can be daunting, but we’ve found a website that can help narrow your search. Hackr.io's mission is simple. It only offers to let you “find the best programming courses and tutorials.” It’s a bit like ProductHunt, just with a focus on learning. A simple card-based layout offers a seemingly endless array of languages and skills for tech pros. Some are laid out individually; there’s a portal for ‘JavaScript,’ but also sections for larger JS libraries such as Backbone and Node. Similarly, there’s CakePHP and PHP. Swift is relegated to ‘iOS and Swift,’ though it branches out beyond iOS and into server-side applications (Kotlin, however, has a dedicated portal). Luckily, there’s a search bar at the top of the page, should you not immediately find what you’re looking for. The lack of confusing rabbit holes is refreshing, as is the ranking system, but the way in which courses are scored may be wonky. In hackr.io's FAQ section, it notes how user reputation points and badges are awarded, but not if the same rules apply to courses. For example, we can’t tell if the points awarded the “Android App Development by Stanford” course is a result of 201 upvotes, or a different ranking methodology. Those who don’t see their favorite course listed are free to submit it. You can also distill your search parameters to your skill level and how much you might be willing to spend on a course. For that aspect, hackr.io pulls from a variety of sources such as YouTube, Udacity, Udemy, Stanford, and various official documentations. It also says submitted courses are reviewed by moderators, and only allowed to be listed when 66 percent of moderators “approve” the course. Download Dice's Salary Report Now! Aside from being a convenient source for finding tutorials, hackr.io might actually help you earn more. The Dice Salary Survey shows language earnings have leveled off; skills are where tech pros can make themselves more attractive to employers, financially speaking; some skills are even seeing double-digit percentage bumps in terms of reported income. As languages go, a recent RedMonk study suggests there are some you should consider. Long-term, languages such as JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C#, C++, CSS, Ruby, and C have been represented on RedMonk’s list for years. Upstarts such as Swift and Kotlin are also on hackr.io's portal, as are flashy technologies such as blockchain (listed as ‘Bitcoin,’ naturally). For designers (or those looking to branch out), hackr.io also has a dedicated design section where you can learn more about Adobe’s suite, Sketch, Framer, inVision, and more.