JavaScript (JS) is one of the three core technologies of the World Wide Web (WWW), along with HTML and CSS. Among all the websites available on the internet today, 97% of them are developed using JavaScript. These statistics show that JavaScript has a dominant place in the programming place.

Being one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web (WWW), JavaScript is a scripting language for creating dynamic websites. With HTML and CSS, your website can only be static in nature. To add dynamic features, you will obviously need JavaScript. When you learn all three core technologies of WWW, namely HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you can call yourself a web developer.

Developed by Brendan Eich at Netscape in 1995, JavaScript has evolved a lot since its inception to become a popular language for the web. Originally, it was developed as a client-side or front-end language. However, the advent of Node.js has made it possible to use JavaScript as a back-end language as well.

So, if you aspire to become a web developer, may it be a front-end or back-end web developer, there is no way without learning JavaScript. If you are an absolute beginner to JavaScript and want to know how long does it take to learn JavaScript, this article will help you out.

How Long Does It Take to Learn JavaScript from the Ground?

JavaScript is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. For beginners, it might be pretty challenging to get started with JavaScript, as it is not as simple as learning HTML and CSS. But when you start learning fundamental concepts and practicing them, you will unequivocally get to grips with JavaScript.

When you opt for learning JavaScript yourself, the estimated average duration to become well-versed in that language is about six to nine months.

Fortunately, a plethora of free resources is accessible today on the web. You will find free articles, tutorials, and video lectures covering all the fundamentals of JavaScript.

However, if you go with online courses or Bootcamps, the duration to learn and champion JavaScript solely depends on the course or Bootcamp you choose.

Some Bootcamps or online courses available on the internet last for, on average, 15 weeks. So, if you are ready to invest in your learning, opting for Bootcamps or online courses is advisable.

The reason is that you will get to work on real projects, along with covering all the basics and advanced topics. Moreover, you will get an opportunity to develop industry-leading skills that make you job-ready within a few weeks.

As a beginner, you might have a bunch of questions in your mind before starting to learn JavaScript. I have listed some of the most common questions below that arise in the minds of novices before getting started with JavaScript.

What Prior Knowledge do I Required to Learn JavaScript?

Basic knowledge of computers is a must before you start learning any programming language. As you will be creating dynamic websites after learning JavaScript, it would be advantageous to have a better grasp of HTML and CSS. It would be sufficient enough to possess a better understanding of HTML and CSS. No need for other programming languages.

Once you are done with JavaScript, you can pick up another trending programming language so that you can have a better understanding of programming concepts.

What is the Complexity of the JavaScript Language?

As mentioned above, JavaScript is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. Though novices may find it difficult at the beginning, they will find it easy once they get started with it. More importantly, JavaScript keeps evolving, and you need to stay up with it after learning all the basics.

Once you get familiar with the language’s syntax, basic concepts, and corresponding frameworks, libraries, and other platforms, you can start developing small projects. To become a proficient JavaScript developer, practice is the only key. As you develop more and more projects, things will be more clear to you.

How Long will it Take to Learn JavaScript if I already know HTML and CSS?

If you are already well-versed in HTML and CSS, it means that you have knowledge of computers and know how websites work. So, you can skip some introductory parts of JavaScript that cover the web, its technologies, websites, and their working. So, you can simply save 2 to 3 days of your learning time.

How Long Will it Take if I Already Know Some Back-end Languages, like PHP, Python, and Java?

If you already know any one of the back-end languages, like Python, PHP, and Java, it implies that you have a sound grasp of programming concepts. It will become easier to learn JavaScript when you know other back-end programming languages. Simply you need to understand why you are learning the language and its basic syntax.

It may take hardly two weeks to learn the basic syntax of JavaScript by investing 3 to 4 hours each day. Later, you can move on to learning advanced concepts of the language, such as closures, event loops, web APIs, etc. And when you implement these concepts while building applications, things will be more clear.

How Will I Know if I am Job-Ready?

Once you are good with basic and advanced concepts, have the ability to write JavaScript programs, and possess enough confidence and knowledge to face an interviewer’s questions, you can consider yourself job-ready.

To ace JavaScript interviews, you can refer to commonly asked JavaScript interview questions. Regarding this, you will find a lot of resources on the internet and prepare for your interviews.
The best thing you can do is to build simple JavaScript projects and mention them in your resume to increase your chances of getting hired.

What Different JavaScript Projects can I Build as a Beginner?

There are numerous project ideas that you can develop in JavaScript. Some of the most popular JavaScript project ideas for beginners include Vanilla JavaScript Stopwatch, Clock, Calculator, Virtual Drum Kit, Hangman game, Tic Tac Toe, Pong game, Paris game, and Maze game. You can even get help from GitHub as it provides source code.

Conclusion

Well, we have reached the end of the discussion. Since JavaScript is one of the core languages of the web, learning it opens up a wide range of employment prospects. Spend some time learning JavaScript so you can compete in this market.
When opting for online courses or Bootcamps, make sure they provide the training that you are looking for while fitting into your budget as well as schedule.