Learner question - Time intensiveness of the Junior Programmer pathway?

I've just started up with Unity and run through the Essentials pathway in 6 working days and I'm about to start the Junior Programmer path; but I'm also doing a formal IT certification online through TAFE (Australian trades college basically) from the end of the month with an estimated 20-30 hours a fortnight workload plus I have a job to hold down. I was hoping someone who's done the pathway could tell me what to expect, if the 12 weeks expected completion time is as generous as the two weeks for Essentials, whether the Units are the type you can just put an hour or two into at a time of if you need to get through it all in one sitting etc.

Any hints on what to expect would be greatly appreciated, thank you

 

I've done them in my spare time as well and needed like two weekends; if you have some IT/coding experience then you can probably be much faster than the 12 weeks. Its 4 or 5 parts if I remember correctly and each part is about half a day. The code you write yourself is just a few lines, but the tutor gives lots of hints in the videos so you should watch them as he also states a few things that might go unnoticed otherwise. Overall the pace is low to medium but it's fine as the target audience are people who may have never used a PC for coding before.

In the course you also have tests (pretty easy ones though but useful to check if you've learned the topic) and bonus tasks and also an own small game that you can work on while they take you through different stages of development (of course on a veeery tiny scale but still useful as you are instructed to get something really small finished instead of starting something big and never finishing it).

The course touches many different topics so its a good start point to see stuff like input, animations, particles and so on but if you want any more details you need to watch more tutorials, code yourself and google stuff. After finishing it I felt like having taken a guided tour through many relevant topics but it's definitely not something that answers all questions.

Lessons 1 and 2 were like "eh easy" but the following were really cool in picking stuff up that was taught earlier and expanding it. I didn't expect much from the course and it certainly didn't cover all the stuff I'm interested in but its a good start and I learned more than I thought I would.

 

Thanks, I have a fair bit of experience coding from a decade ago (C++, ActionScript, SQL, php, html) but not C# so I expect to pick it up quick but very much wasn't confident in diving right in

 

I think that will be fine as from my experience the concepts of coding (that you need loops, if-statements or later certain OOP paradigms) are more relevant than the language itself. In this course you will not use advanced C# constructs or only in a very limited manner where you don't need to understand them entirely (IEnumerator instead of void as return type and stuff like that). A lot of concepts like namespaces are also just used and not explained in detail as you don't need to understand them at this stage. I have never used C# before and had C++ and Python experience and it was no issue at all. You can easily skip some videos where they explain stuff like if-statements but I strongly suggest paying attention in all others as there's lots of additional information in them even if in the end you write only one line of code after a 5 minute video. This is especially relevant in the later tutorials on UI design and gameplay management.

What helped me alot were the bonus assignments and the own project because this forces you to use the skills from the tutorials and adapt them to a new task. Also for me this was much more fun as I could set my own goals. Just pick a really tiny game or a small part of a larger game that you have in mind (like, if you want to create an action RPG you create one fixed level with just a few identical enemies and only one attack for now). Stuff that you have seen in a similar way in a tutorial becomes drastically more difficult if you hve to adapt it yourself or change in just a little bit, so don't think your self-learning for your own game will be nearly as fast as the pace of the tutorial which already isn't high. It's like going on a hike tour with an experienced guide and then moving out into the woods all by yourself.

 

bit of an old post but still dont find this particularly helpful for anyone else who is coming across this, I literally just finished this course and unless you skipped more than half of the course there aint no way u got it done in 2 weekends regardless of prior programming knowledge. There is literally a whole part to this course where you begin to develop your own prototype which I see you mentioned , if you decided to make something that would only take you a day I can see why you feel like you didnt learn much. What about all of the resources towards the end of the course that show you how to research errors etc. Bit misleading

 

https://learn.unity.com/pathway/junior-programmer
https://learn.unity.com/project/beginner-gameplay-scripting
https://learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting

I have been working in C++ for 6 years, but I had no prior experience in C# and Unity. I familiarized myself with the basics through tutorials and scripting guides for nearly 2 weeks in English, which is my second language. During this process, I did not rush anything and refrained from taking any shortcuts.

All the learning material provided me with a solid understanding of the basic concepts. However, it's important to acknowledge that becoming a proficient programmer or game developer takes more than just a short period of learning. The knowledge acquired during this time serves as a foundation upon which to build further expertise.

Additionally, these pathways not only impart technical skills but also provide valuable soft skills that are beneficial for personal and professional development.

Tip: It's essential not to rush through a pathway if you don't fully comprehend the lessons. Simply copying and pasting concepts without understanding them is a waste of time. Take the time to grasp the material thoroughly, as true learning comes from comprehension and application, not just surface-level replication.