Definitely would be interested and keen to learn, it does sound  bit geeky thou :)

This is excellent @bitcalm.  I'm a pretty solid writer, but programming has never been my forte.  I took a Java class in high school for AP Computer Science, and while it was fun to develop programs (I built a P2P command-line Magic the Gathering program which worked surprisingly well) I could not stand debugging programs.  Given how much I've focused on improving my grammar and punctuation, though, I might have a better go of it since I'm more focused on syntax now than I used to be.  Coding is an excellent skill to have nowadays, so I think I'll give it another shot. :)

My suggestion is not using a textbook (was too boring for me).
I always used video tutorials, trying to do what was on video on my own code.

It's also very useful to start with a simple project in mind and try to create it using already existing pieces of code. :)

two other challenge related platforms are: 
- [checkio.org](https://checkio.org/)
- [codeacademy](https://www.codecademy.com/)

nice post. i enjoy this. this is the best post so far

[Lynda.com](https://www.lynda.com) is awesome too. **Highly recommended** for beginners. 

--Source: Dev

I don't quite agree on listing projecteuler in an article for beginners. Project Euler is for more advanced developers who want to sharpen their skills. 

Well actually if the begginer has strong mathematics background, maybe he will be okay.

Learning to program is like learning to oil paint... most don't' do the art justice.

That being said, I whole heartedly agree with **4**... if I do something twice I'm annoyed. If I do it 3 times I'm down right pissed off a computer didn't do it the last two times for me.

Programming = automation = facilitation. I shouldn't have to do math (though I can do math with the best of them) and I sure as shit shouldn't have to do math twice...

When I code the objective is the computer is my bitch and it works for me...

Great post !   +1 and following

This is a very good answer to my content posted the other day.
https://steemit.com/life/@juvyjabian/the-desire-that-turns-into-wish-becoming-a-programmer

Thank you @bitcalm

Hey! I recently started to get to know javascript as my very first programming language. I know this is a big first step to move into when you have no previous experience, but I thought I would give it a go. My brother is a software engineer and he kind of inspired me. Two very very useful websites for me to get to know the language are as follows:
www.codecademy.com    -   This is a beginners guide which shows you step by step how to master the basics for free
https://codecombat.com/play/dungeon    -  This one is really fun too. It's for kids I think, but I used it anyway. I am a 22 year old male (in one hour) and I still found it very useful to learn the language with it being very entertaining while I was doing it. 

I do really think that learning to program is one of those skills that can only benefit you in the future, so if you have the time you should give it a go!

Awesome post anyway

interesting and thanks for sharing  @bitcalm

Excellent Post, I attempted Programming myself... Woah was I in for a shock, It's much more challenging than it seems. The Odin Project, Coderschool and Codeacademy are all great teachers.

Oh, thank you that you made a post "How to get started...", not "how to become...". I tired from the articles about easy programming for all, because it's not true, it can't be easy for all. If you don't have mathematical mind it will be better forget about it.

And your article will help people to understand can they use it or not. Thank you one more time!

@bitcalm, thank you for the resources.  I'm well versed in alot of things but programming is not one of them.   Those references will be very helpful.

I've done some good courses on Coursera for Python, R and other (non-programming) subjects. I think it's good to have some structure to your learning. Once you've got some knowledge you can get into challenges and come up with tools you actually need. I did a Python script to automate how I do my post images. Saves a lot of time and I learnt new things

http://i.imgur.com/uDUhcC8.gif

You have no idea how many people ask this question in AnonOps IRC, I am going to bookmark this page and send it to people who ask from now on. Thanks for compiling this into one article. Big up-vote!