Microsoft and freeCodeCamp.org launched a C# Foundational Certification in August 2023. It’s free and taught as online modules so you can complete it at your own pace. It ends with a final online exam.
I’ve been learning C# by using Unity over the past few years but I’m still very much a beginner. I’ve taken some online courses and worked on personal projects, so I’ve picked up some things along the way.
I took the certification to make sure I knew all the basics and had a good foundation to build on for future projects. I also wanted to learn the best practice for C# in case I’d developed some bad habits (which I had!).
If you’re in a similar boat to me and you’re considering whether it’s worth giving it a go, here’s why I would recommend it:
- Beginner-friendly: The modules start off very beginner friendly and build up in complexity from there, so if you’re newer to C# it’s a good place to start.
- Background on how C# works: The course explains why certain things work the way they do for C#. For example learning about the .NET Class Library that data types like int or string are defined in.
- Best practice: it teaches you best practice for C# throughout and gives worked examples.
- Using C# outside of Unity: It teaches you how to run C# code using .NET, so you can start to make applications outside of Unity.
I was also glad I took the course as it introduced me to freeCodeCamp. They have a lot of easy-to-follow tutorials and other certifications/courses you can take for free. They have recently released an e-book for C# so you can keep learning after this certification.
Tips for taking the Foundational C# Certification
If you’re thinking of taking the C# Foundational Certification as a beginner, here’s some tips based on my experience from it:
- Try not to leave long breaks in between modules: I took the course over a few months as I stopped and started a few times. The modules do build on each other, and I found I needed to back track a couple of times to re-read parts I’d forgotten after a break.
- It will take longer than 35 hours to complete: The course has 35 hours of content, but I needed more then that to work through all the exercises and end of module projects. Be prepared to spend more time on it so you don’t feel you need to rush and you can get the most out of it.
- Don’t skip the exercises! I was tempted to skip the exercises to save time when I felt like I’d understood the module well or had come across the content before, but it would be skipping over valuable practice. If I’m telling myself that I understand the content, then I should be willing to prove it.
- Re-read the exercise requirements in the later modules: I didn’t struggle with the exercises up until the last couple of modules where I missed or misunderstood some of the requirements. I didn’t find the wording as clear as it was in the previous modules, but this might have just been me. I’d recommend reading them a couple of times before you start so you don’t go off on the wrong track, as they take a while to work through.