How long does it take to Learn JavaScript?

— 4 minute read

Are you considering learning JavaScript? In this article, we'll discuss how long you would need to become a beginner JavaScript developer.

Which student are you?

To provide you with a helpful answer, we'd like to describe two types of students:

  1. Students with (almost) no programming experience
  2. Students with programming experience in other languages

1. Students with (almost) no programming experience

If JavaScript is your first language, then learning JavaScript at the beginner level will likely take between 6 to 9 months. This is a rough estimate and can vary based on the time you can dedicate to learning, your learning style, and the resources you use.

If that's you, then you want to study with resources focusing on teaching you the fundamentals of programming.

For example, Learn Programming is an interactive course that teaches you the fundamental programming concepts in JavaScript. That's important as you need to spend quite some time on the fundamental topics below:

  • Variables
  • Data types
  • Operators
  • Control structures
  • Functions
  • Objects
  • Arrays
  • Classes

Once you're comfortable with the above topics, you can learn JavaScript at the beginner level.

Many students ask me: when am I ready to learn JavaScript? And my answer is:

If you're comfortable with array iterations, objects, and the basics of classes, you're ready to start learning JavaScript. Otherwise, you need to spend more time on the fundamental programming concepts.

2. Students with programming experience in other languages

Learning JavaScript will be much easier if you've already learned a programming language. You can expect to learn JavaScript at the beginner level in 3 to 6 months. Again, this is a rough estimate and can vary based on the time you can dedicate to learning, your learning style, and the resources you use.

If you're already comfortable with a programming language such as Ruby or Python, you will notice that the fundamentals of programming are the same across languages. However, the syntax will be a struggle at first.

On the other hand, if you've learned a language such as C, Java, or PHP, you will be more at ease with the syntax. Note: C, Java, and PHP are not similar to JavaScript; it's just the syntax that's similar (with regards to parentheses, curly braces, and semicolons).

If you're already comfortable with the basics of programming language, check out Learn JavaScript. It's an interactive course that teaches you JavaScript step by step.

Keep in mind that JavaScript is a very unique language. We'll discuss why in the next section.

Why is JavaScript unique?

Even if you already know another programming language, you will notice that JavaScript is quite a unique language. It has to do with many aspects, but mostly because it was designed to run in the browser.

So, while you may be somewhat comfortable writing code that runs on the server, JavaScript was initially intended to run on the client. This means that you will need to learn about user interaction, events, and the DOM (Document Object Model).

In general, a bit of HTML and CSS will be necessary once you start learning about the DOM.

JavaScript can also run on the server. This is made possible by Node.js. However, if you're learning JavaScript for the first time, we recommend focusing on the browser first. Once you're comfortable with JavaScript in the browser, you can learn about Node.js.

How should you learn JavaScript?

While you may hear recommendations such as "write code every day", it's important to take your time and take breaks. Learning is a bit like going to the gym. You solidify your knowledge when you sleep, just like you build muscle when you rest.

We also recommend you use flashcards designed with spaced repetition. This helps you solidify your knowledge over time.

If you decide to use Learn JavaScript, you can make use of the built-in flashcards. They're designed with spaced repetition in mind.

Conclusion

The time it takes you to learn JavaScript depends primarily on whether you've got the basic programming concepts honed down. Then, you want to take the syntax into consideration, as that might really slow you down at first if you come from languages such as Python or Ruby.

In general, for learning JavaScript at the beginner level, you should account for 6 to 9 months if you're new to programming, and 3 to 6 months if you're already comfortable with another programming language.

Do you want to Learn JavaScript step by step?
Checkout my interactive course where you read short lessons, solve challenges in the browser and recap topics with Flashcards:
Learn JavaScript