Hello.

I'm guessing a lot of you are learning C# and hoping to get a job in the field, or indeed, starting a new job soon as a junior developer.

I have worked in software development for a long time. I am 39 years old and I started work as a Visual Basic developer when I was 19. For the record, I have no formal qualifications in software development, it's all experience for me. Personally I feel that if you have a passion for something then that's the most valuable qualification you can have, and of course a willingness to learn from the experiences that get thrown at you.

I currently work as a Senior Developer for a clothing retail company in the UK. I have also worked for local government, large multinationals like PepsiCo and Unilever (via a sub contractor) and web hosting companies developing automation systems. As it stands I am working purely as a developer but in the past I have also been involved with networking and network architecture.

So I'd like to share a few tips for the new guys. Nothing can be more daunting when moving into a new job, especially where the job requires technical expertise. I suspect many of you are worrying that you might not have the required skill set or that you might let down your company in some way.

The first thing I'd like to say is this, everyone is learning. All the time. There may be people in your company that are really clever and are turned to by others for advise and guidance, but I guarantee they don't know everything and they are constantly learning too. When you start your job you'll be picking things up all the time and it will feel quite hard to take it all in, but don't worry, if you don't know about something, ASK. Ask as many questions as you want. If you are unsure, don't nod your head, get clarification. This is key to confidence. Also it is key to being trusted. Once you are clear on a subject then it's easy to be confident and you'll gain the trust of your colleagues. So make sure you ask plenty of questions.

Don't be afraid to input ideas. You'll find that a lot of development work is actually discussing and working out what to do about a problem or how to go about designing some new software. Get your ideas out there, get feed back. Even if your idea is not adopted, the feedback from your ideas will help you learn. Take it on board and use it to advance your knowledge. Like I said, everyone is learning.

Forget syntax. I defy anyone to know every syntactical nuance in C#. It's impossible so don't even try. We have a wealth of resources at our disposal. Google is one such resource.

Learn some common coding patterns. For example, take a look at the Entity Framework Repository pattern. A very commonly using coding pattern and it's likely you'll encounter it.

Get up to speed with unit testing. It's likely any software company worth their salt will employ a unit testing framework. So get to know some common ones like NUnit.

Submit yourself to the code review. If you've done some coding, make sure you have other developers check it out. Get feedback. Learn.

Adopt to business practices at first, don't try to change them at least not yet. Software companies tend to employ Agile project methodologies. The implementation of Agile can vary from company to company and it can change from time to time. Go with the flow and get to know the process. Submit ideas to help improve it.

For a new developer it's important that the other developers see you as a partner rather than a hindrance. So ensure you are giving feedback as well as receiving it. Show that you are willing to learn and do a good job. Communicate. I've worked with new developers who are just too shy and have ended up doing the wrong thing or produced bad work simply because they didn't ask enough questions or get involved.

You will enjoy being a developer. I still love it after all this time. If you feel that you are falling out of love with your profession, do something that YOU want to do as a side line. Make a new tool, refactor some code, produce something for yourself. Just stay enthused.

I hope this helps.

Here are a few beginner resources for learning the C# language. I've kept them to C# related so you can get the fundamentals of C# before moving into advanced topics and frameworks.

Microsoft/Official Documentation

MSDN

Microsoft Learn

Channel 9

Websites

Codecademy

W3 Schools

Pluralsight

C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners

dotnetperls

Hi everyone,

I've been working as a Software Architect and C# Developer for over 10 years now. Looking at community forums, I constantly see beginners feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things they are told to learn (Entity Framework, ASP.NET Core, MAUI, Cloud, etc.).

If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, I would tell him to ignore the hype and focus strictly on a simple, 3-step "recipe" before touching any advanced framework. Here is the foundation that actually builds good programmers:

1. Master Programming Logic First
Language syntax is just a tool; the real skill is problem-solving. Before worrying about classes or web APIs, make sure you are extremely comfortable with loops, conditionals, arrays, and basic algorithms. Logic is the universal language of programming. If your logic is sharp, you can learn any language in the future.

2. Deep Dive into Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
C# is an object-oriented language at its core. You need to stop thinking in terms of "scripts" and start thinking in terms of entities and behaviors. Understand exactly what Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Abstraction mean in practice. Once you get a solid grip on OOP, you will naturally start understanding the SOLID principles, which will stop you from writing "spaghetti code."

3. Demystify Design Patterns (This is the game-changer)
This is where many juniors get scared, but they shouldn't. You need to realize that many features C# offers natively are just Design Patterns implemented under the hood.
For example: when you use IEnumerable, you are using the Iterator pattern. When you use event or delegates, you are essentially using the Observer pattern.

In commercial software, Design Patterns are not optional "fancy concepts." Real-world, large-scale applications usually implement at least a half-dozen or a dozen of these patterns (like Singleton, Factory, Builder, Strategy, Adapter). Why? Because without them, adding new features or evolving the system over the years becomes an absolute nightmare. They are proven solutions to common architectural problems.

To summarize:
Don't rush. Build a rock-solid foundation in Logic -> OOP -> Design Patterns. Once you have this 3-step recipe down, learning any .NET framework becomes incredibly easy.

Keep coding and don't give up! I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments if you guys are struggling with any of these concepts.

I'm in the market for a new job and I want to move more into backend and in every LinkedIn post they're looking for .NET devs in my area.

I thought fine, I use some AI to coach me, but had trouble right away with trying that route. I then looked into Microsoft Learn because what better way to learn than from the source? But DAMN, they seem to use their own terms for exactly everything and they just throw modules at you left and right making it impossible to navigate through what order I should learn things and what's relevant to even click on.

I looked a little at ASP.NET and Blazor, but I feel like I'm not learning what the market is looking for. I've written a little Java at work and OOP doesn't really come natural to me, but C# looks like straight up magic.

Can someone here please help me sort out what's relevant and what to focus on?

Here you can check a comprehensive roadmap for learning C#/.NET Technologies: https://github.com/milanm/DotNet-Developer-Roadmap

Lesson 1: variables and console Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1k3hNBxZSCWA2uAF8XA5mBVM-zgG7UcFi_0t2nN1Zaak/edit?usp=sharing Code: https://github.com/Almantask/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/blob/Chapter1/Lesson/Variables-And-Console/Src/BootCamp.Chapter1/Program.cs Twitch video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/534459142

Next lesson will be about open source, git and how to work with it in Visual Studio.

Would you like to join? Hit me up in the comments! 😉

I'm genuinely curious and a bit confused. I often see people recommending Node.js, Java (Spring), or Python (Django/Flask) for backend development, especially for web dev and startups. But I almost never see anyone suggesting .NET technologies like ASP.NET Core — even though it's modern, fast, and backed by Microsoft.

Why is .NET (especially ASP.NET Core) so underrepresented in online discussions and recommendations?

Some deeper questions I’m hoping to understand:

Is there a bias in certain communities (e.g., Reddit, GitHub) toward open-source stacks?

Is .NET mostly used in enterprise or corporate environments only?

Is the learning curve or ecosystem a factor?

Are there limitations in ASP.NET Core that make it less attractive for beginners or web startups?

Is it just a regional or job market thing?

Does .NET have any downsides compared to the others that people don’t talk about?

If anyone has experience with both .NET and other stacks, I’d really appreciate your insights. I’m trying to make an informed decision and understand why .NET doesn’t get as much love in dev communities despite being technically solid.

Thanks in advance!

Hello, I am offering free weekly online C# lessons on Discord. There I store all the lessons-material. There is a channel for programming-related questions in general, homework, and much more. There are more people who are willing to answer your questions there. We're willing to help you get into programming or learn to code and do it well.

I am free to answer questions daily and have voice consulting when needed. Lessons are in multiple formats: live-streamed on Twitch.tv, recorded on YouTube, presented via Google Slides, live coding in Visual Studio, written in a wiki. Reference to all the material that I have made can be found here:

https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/wiki/Summary

Are you someone who wants to learn programming, but is intimidated by myths or simply doesn't know where to start? Maybe you're someone who has a bare minimum understanding of how to write code, but would like to learn object-oriented programming, SOLID, software design? Maybe your goal is as simple as learning C#? If any of it suits you, consider joining our Discord and we will help you as much as we can :)

Find us here: https://discord.gg/rCMKcUU

Hey All!

I created a site https://pypup.com that teaches programming through organized and repetitive structure. It has received very positive feedback amongst python community and other popular languages.

I finally added C# as a language and feel free to give any feedback.

Hi everyone,

I’m aiming to become a .NET Core (ASP.NET Core) backend/software developer and I want a realistic roadmap that will make me internship-ready.

What I’m asking for:

1. If you were starting today, what would your step-by-step roadmap look like for .NET Core backend?

2. Which 1–2 portfolio projects are best to finish (and polish) to be “ready to apply” as an intern?

3. What are the most common gaps you see in internship applicants (testing, DI, auth, async, SQL, Docker, etc.)?

4. Any resources (official docs/courses/repos) you consider “must-follow”?

Project ideas I’m considering (open to better suggestions):

- REST API with CRUD + EF Core + validation + logging

- “Monitoring/Reporting” style app (errors/health checks, dashboards, alerts)

- Ticketing/task tracker with auth and roles

I’m not looking for an endless list—more like a focused plan and a project that demonstrates the right skills. If you have an example of what “intern-ready” looks like (features, structure, tests, deployment), I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

Code, which withstood the test of time... Refined solutions to the most common problems that software developers face. Those are design patterns!

I would like to help you understand the justification of the patterns looking at them through a prism of best practices like SOLID, YAGNI, DRY, KISS and how it helps in Agile development.

Every lesson = ~30 min theory (slides with examples), 30-90 minutes live coding (in Visual Studio), 15-30 min quiz (Kahoot). Each lesson has a homework (refer to the boot camp link below) that has automated tests and will be code reviewed by me.

There will be at least 1 weekly lesson at 7 PM GMT every Wednesday and if I can make it in time, also one on Saturday, 7 PM GMT.

Design patterns is a module of an ongoing C# Boot Camp (don’t worry, you don’t have to have old lessons completed, you can if you want to of course)

https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero

All the lessons will be live-streamed on Twitch:

https://www.twitch.tv/kaisinnel

Past lessons (raw) are recorded and saved on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AlmantasKarpavi%C4%8Dius/videos

And if you are learning anything software development related, especially C#- I have founded an extremely helpful, supportive and friendly community called C# Inn:

https://discord.gg/rCMKcUU

How much is it going to cost you? Nothing! All free! Even though it's free, I have invested over a thousand hours in the topic, practised it at work for more than 4 years and I would like to share my knowledge with YOU! Just because I love the subject and would love to inspire people to have the same love on the subject as I do!

Happy coding everyone! 😊

Hi guys,

For those of you who enjoyed previous AngelSix C# series for learning, I wanted to let you know that he started releasing his new C# course. It's kind of a restart of his channel from what I've gathered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiee4Mye1HU&list=PLrW43fNmjaQVSmaezCeU-Hm4sMs2uKzYN

Let's show him that we appreciate his time and his drive to provide us with more knowledge for free!

Cheers

Each week I will be releasing a new chapter on how to learn C# from A to Z. With this week: Write your first 'hello world' program. Here you'll get an introduction to C# and the basic C# code.

The goal of this tutorial is to get you started with C# and a console application. We are going to do basic stuff such as writing a text on a screen, catching keyboard input, and working from that.

The goal is not to go into much detail just yet. This is meant to give you a basic idea of C# and what we are going to learn in upcoming chapters. Still, if you are an absolute beginner I highly recommend starting with this tutorial first.

Find the tutorial here: https://kenslearningcurve.com/tutorials/learn-c-part-1-writeyour-first-hello-world-program/

Feel free to let me know what you think. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

In the next chapters, you will learn C# more in depth.

Hello!

I have a discord group with around 800 members (ofc not all are active). This is a discord server filled with people learning C# and also C# devs. Everyone is welcome no matter what skill lvl. Everything on the server is free. Most of us are doing Web Dev.

We have:

• - Private projects and Open source projects such as a Jokes api, recipe console app, xamarin forms calculator and a discord bot

• -Code reviews and Pair programming (One guy codes the other watches and then they switch)

• -Monthly Challenges with deadlines

• -Tons of learning content

• -A place where everyone is welcome no matter what and feedback+constructive criticism is appreciated

This is a place for serious people that are interested in either learning C# or helping others learn. I am sharing this because everyone deserves to be a part of a community like this and getting in touch with other developers is essential. Learning to code is for everyone, the same goes for learning to write good code. If you have any project idea or an ongoing project share it, either if you want a review or someone to work on it with you. Communication is important so it is very beneficial to have a mic (it is ok if your english is not on point)

Link: https://discord.gg/F3Z9EFadP5 Please dont be shy! We are all friends here.

Hi, I’m new to the world of programming, and I’d like to learn C# to develop applications for Windows. Where should I start?

Answering the possible question of whether I know other languages: in general, NO. I know just a little bit of Python — the basics like simple math operations, print, input, and variables.

So I came here to ask for some guidance.

70 students, 15 mentors, 5 lessons and 100 homework submissions via pull requests. Programming is fun, so is learning it! You don't need to pay for studies if you know where to look for resources. One such resource is our community- C# Inn. We help people with programming of all levels. Right now we have an ongoing boot camp called "From Zero to Hero". It's dedicated to get people with 0 XP started with programming, or inexperienced programmers get experience with how to write proper, practical, clean code and work with open source. 2 weekly programming lessons, homework, constant mentor feedback and code reviews, automated code reviews and tests, great supportive community. 8 chapters and roughly 70~80 lessons to put you on track with enough experience to land a job!
Here is the material of the last two lessons:

Lesson 4: Logical flow
Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UBuFbvh4H7CtyCP9NnWOa3cTOZmb8zjDJjZCxhG-D2I/edit?usp=sharing
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/540125670
Git: https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/blob/Chapter1/Lesson/Logical-Flow/Src/BootCamp.Chapter/Program.cs
Youtube: https://youtu.be/uuCx4T3NqmU
Homework: https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/blob/Chapter1/Homework/4/ Note a few mistakes in video.

Lesson 5: Loops and arrays
Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1drg2UNGkh2SypFR5MH7pcNbUYlii-tQXqVkh1qQh_Z0/edit?usp=sharing
Twitch video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/541694181
Git: https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/tree/Chapter1/Lesson/Arrays-And-Loops
Homework:https://github.com/csinn/CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero/tree/Chapter1/Homework/5

It's never too late to start learning and have a solid base. Boot camp is only 3 weeks in, so you can still join! Would you like to learn? Would you like to help others? Maybe both? If interested, here is an invitation link:
https://discord.gg/rCMKcUU

Hello everyone! New year calls for new projects and challenges. Therefore, I have decided to come back to streaming programming lessons. The course is a boot camp for people with 0 experience in C#. It is mostly backend-oriented and will include the following topics:

1. Fundamentals of programming (variable, function, types, console, Visual Studio)

2. Debugging

3. Object Oriented Programming (OOP)

4. C# (generics, operators, events, delegates, LINQ, NuGet)

5. Error handling

6. I/O (reading/writing files, serialization/deserialization, compression/decompression)

7. Testing (unit, integration, xUnit)

8. SOLID

9. Desktop UI (WPF)

10. EF (basic DB terms, connection, CRUD, testing EF)

11. Async programming (TAP, async data structures)

12. Design Patterns (GoF, Enterprise)

13. WebApi (REST, Postman, Http methods, IoC, action filters, middleware)

14. Git. As you can see there are many topics and this will be ~1 year-long course. Topics might change.

Lessons will be streamed live on Twitch.
It will also have a GitHub repository, Google Slides, discord discussion channel, maybe kahoot too.
Both people who want to learn and people who want to be involved in preparing lessons/homework, review are welcome to join!

There will be 2 weekly lessons: on Wednesday and Saturday 9 PM GMT +2.
First lesson on January 11th (Saturday), 9 PM GMT +2.
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20200111T21&p0=660&msg=%E2%85%AD%23+2020+Boot+Camp.+Lesson+1%3A+Introduction&font=serif&csz=1
If interested, join the following C# Inn discord where homework, lesson material and discussions will happen after stream:
https://discord.gg/rCMKcUU

P.S. Feel free to ask any questions down in the comments :) (might take me half a day to reply due to work/sleep)

I’ve had a game idea in my head for almost two years now. It’s a co-op exploration game set in a flooded city where players have to navigate rooftops and abandoned buildings while managing limited resources. I’ve written pages of notes about mechanics, story arcs, and world-building.

The problem is I don’t know how to code. I’ve tried opening Unity before and honestly, I closed it within 20 minutes because I felt completely overwhelmed. It feels like learning a new profession just to test whether my idea is even fun. Recently I experimented with a tool Tessala co that claims to generate playable game worlds from text prompts. I described my concept in plain English and it generated a rough, interactive environment. It wasn’t polished, but it was the first time I could actually “walk around” inside my idea.

I’m not sure if this is a real solution or just a temporary shortcut. Has anyone here transitioned from zero technical background into actual game development? Is starting with AI prototyping a smart move or am I avoiding the hard but necessary learning curve?

tl;dr

I wrote an article on refactoring a Chess program to use an Object Oriented Design. You can read the article here: LINK

Details

A few days ago, someone posted a link to a chess program they had written in C# asking how they should approach finding bugs: Original Post

After looking at their code, I recommended that they focus on continuing to grow their OO skillset which will make it much easier to test their program.

I also messaged them asking if it would be okay if I refactored their code and if I could use it in a tutorial on refactoring. I was very happy they said yes because I've always wanted to write a Chess program but could never get myself to do it.

This resulted in a few live streaming sessions of myself talking through my refactoring process. With what I consider a pretty reasonable refactor, I went ahead and write an article on my process (who really wants to watch a 10 hour live stream?)

Anyway, here is the article I wrote. I hope someone finds it useful: LINK

As always, any feedback is always welcome. I love to improve and grow myself.

Hello, I have been having this idea for doing code reviews live on Twitch for awhile now. Recently I decided that it's time to make it happen.

Me and a few guest developers would be reviewing code, submitted beforehand. The point of it all is for all parties to learn from both mistakes and successes of the other. We will put the biggest focus on Clean Code and clean architecture.

Let me know what you think about this idea and if you're interested to take part in it as any role.

I want to learn programming in C#. I am not "completely" new because I tried it somewhat over 10 years ago, but it was only like 2 months of self-teaching and I don't remember too much.

So this is just a thought of a beginner:

Learning "language" is easy. Easier than learning real language, because no real language is as organized and clear as C#. Learning basic of C# means learning about data types, classes, keywords, conditional expressions, loops, methods, accessibility keywords, scope, ways of declaring something, linq etc. It can be done in a month or two of moderate work.

But then you know the grammar of a language, and you still can't speak in this language.

It's like if you learn a language, you walk into a coffee shop and think "Ok, so now I'll use my new skills to order coffee!"

But then you realize you don't know how is coffee in this language, and how to properly say hello in this situation etc.

So you want to say, "Good morning. One cup of coffee with cream and sugar, please." and after googling for an hour you manage to say "Howdy, pronto, glass of kava, milky sweety.". And the guy behind the counter looks at you as if you were retarded.

You don't know proper words and how to use them, and your vocabularies are a complete mess.

Like yesterday, I wanted to learn how to serialize my objects to a file, maybe as JSON, so I opened some course, and it said "Ok, if you want to serialize something into JSON, use the System.Runtime.Serialization namespace". But I couldn't really grasp how it works, so I went looking for the web. Then I found that "What? System.Runtime.Serialization? Just use Newtonsoft Json." So I did, but later I found "What? Newtonsoft Json? Just use System.Text.Json".

Some database things? Just use Nuget package for Entity Framework. Oh, there are like 200 of them. Version 2 is newer than version 6, but there is also another version 6 that is the newest, so you have two versions 6 right now, one from 2013 and the other from 2021.

And documentation and various tutorials etc. are complete mess, because a lot of them are outdated and target .Net Framework instead .Net Core, or maybe just .Net? At this point, because years ago a lot of people omitted the "framework" part from ".NET Framework" the only way to see if someone is writing about old .NET Framework or new .NET is to check date of publication.

So yeah, learning how language works is pretty easy, but then learning how to use seems to be super daunting. I know that this is nothing new, and this post doesn't really provide anything valuable, I just wanted to vent a little :) Also, excuse my English, I am not a native speaker.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice from experienced C#/.NET developers on how you would learn the ecosystem if you were starting again today.

A bit of background:

• I learned some C# years ago by building small console applications (text adventures, utilities, etc.).

• I'm comfortable with the basics (variables, methods, classes, loops, input/output, etc.), but I want to rebuild my knowledge properly instead of randomly jumping between tutorials.

My long-term goal is not to become just another CRUD web developer.

I'm mainly interested in:

• backend development with ASP.NET Core

• building APIs that work with a Next.js frontend

• Blazor for internal/admin tools

• console applications

• infrastructure tooling

• networking

• Linux/server automation

• DevOps-oriented software hosting/server management panels (something similar in spirit to Pterodactyl, Portainer, Coolify, etc.)

I enjoy building tools that interact with servers, processes, Docker, SSH, networking, DNS, reverse proxies, monitoring, and automation much more than building simple business apps.

I'd love advice on questions like:

1. What roadmap would you recommend for someone with these goals?

2. In what order would you learn C#, .NET, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, networking, and infrastructure?

3. Which C# features should I master before moving into ASP.NET?

4. Which .NET libraries are considered essential for infrastructure/network applications?

5. What projects would progressively teach these skills?

6. Which books, YouTube channels, GitHub repositories, or courses are actually worth studying?

7. If you work in infrastructure, cloud, DevOps, or backend with C#, what skills do you use daily that beginners often overlook?

I don't mind spending months or even years learning properly—I want to build a solid foundation instead of rushing through tutorials.

I'd really appreciate hearing how you would approach this today.

Thanks!

(By the way, I’ve noticed that people don’t comment much on these threads, while other posts easily get 50+ comments. I don’t know if it’s specifically because, as professionals who’ve been giving advice here for several years, you’re tired of the same questions, or if you’re afraid to answer because your answers might not be accurate. It’s totally fine I’m grateful for every answer. I just notice that there are 500 views but only 20 comments. Let’s get involved, please! )

Have you ever wanted a senior programmer friend? What about hundreds of such friends? Friends, who help when you are stuck. Pals, who give feedback on your code, career advice. Mates, who would never look down on you and accept any question that you have. Kind people, who not just want to give you an answer, but lead you to it by giving hints.

C# Inn is a community on Discord which tries to do just that. Our #1 goal is to create a community, where programmers discuss everything freely and help each other out. We help with questions, software design, career, projects; we do events like hackathon, code reviews, interviews and many more! We simply want to learn from each other.

We’ve been around for more than 2 years now: 5.8k members, thousands of questions answered, hundreds of events organized. Would you like to be a part of our community?

C# Inn Discord invitation link: https://discord.gg/rCMKcUU