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Best C++ courses to kickstart your career

If you want to learn C++ for a new job, these are the courses you should consider

Some of the best jobs in software development require knowledge and understanding of the C++ language. 

An extension of the C language, C++ is the most dominant object-oriented programming language and is used universally, from operating systems like Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS to web browsers, such as Chrome and Edge. This language is also used in language compilers and interpreters, gaming engines and apps, graphics, banking applications, databases, and more. 

According to the latest PYPL Popularity of Programming Language survey, C and C++ rank fifth in the world, behind Python, Java, JavaScript, and C#. C++ isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, so if you want to establish a career in programming, learning C++ is a fantastic place to start.

We’ve assembled a list of the best C++ courses out there. These range from courses for absolute beginners to more advanced ones.

Beginning C++ Programming - From Beginner to Beyond

Provider: Udemy

Course length: 46 hours

In this course, you’ll learn modern C++ rather than the obsolete version of C++ many other courses teach. It uses a proven curriculum that covers more material than most C++ university courses and includes quizzes, live coding exercises, challenge coding exercises and assignments. Students can also learn all about using C++ Lambda Expressions and obtain the key concepts of programming that will also apply to other programming languages.

Learn C++ from Scratch

Provider: Educative

Course length: Ten hours

Learn C++ for free with this interactive course, and get a handle on one of the most popular programming languages in the world. You'll start with a simple ‘hello world’ program and proceed to cover core concepts such as conditional statements, loops, and functions in C++, before moving on to more advanced topics like inheritance, classes, and templates, along with much more. By the time you're done, you'll be an intermediate level C++ developer, ready to take on your own projects.

C++: From Beginner to Expert

Provider: Udemy

Course length: 17 hours

This course offers students the chance to learn how to program in C++ in a fast and easy way. The course is designed for those who don't have any prior knowledge about programming; it doesn't matter if you’ve never written any programs, or have no idea about programming. Once you’ve completed the course, all of this will change, Udemy claims. 

C++ Essential Training

Provider: LinkedIn Learning

Course length: Seven hours 

Learn C++ programming, starting with the basics. This course guides you through the details of this essential language, and also explains concepts such as recursion, typecasting, and operator overloads, and dives into the powerful container classes and algorithms in Standard Template Library (STL). These exhaustive tutorials provide a solid C++ reference for both experienced programmers as well as those who are brand new to the language.

Unreal Engine C++ Developer: Learn C++ and Make Video Games

Provider: Udemy

Course length: 39.5 hours

This course teaches both how to create and mod video games using Unreal Engine 4, even if you're a complete beginner. Students will learn C++, the industry-standard language, from scratch. By the end of the course, you'll be very confident in the basics of coding and game development, and hungry to learn more. If you're a complete beginner, this will teach you all the coding and game design principles you'll need. 

Unreal Engine 4 Mastery: Create Multiplayer Games with C++

Provider: Udemy

Course length: 17.5 hours

If you’ve acquired a bit of programming knowledge from other coding languages, but are new to C++ game development, then this course is ideal for you. Unreal Engine 4 Mastery is also a great fit for current developers with previous experience using Unity3D or other game engines. Unleash the full power of the Unreal Engine by taking this step-by-step guide.

C++ For C Programmers, Part A

Provider: Coursera

Course length: 13 hours

This course is for experienced C programmers who want to program in C++. The examples and exercises require a basic understanding of algorithms and object-oriented software. Through the four courses — two in C, and two in C++ — you will cover the basics of programming in C and move on to the more advanced C++ semantics and syntax, which will prepare you to apply these skills to several higher-level problems using AI algorithms and Monte Carlo evaluation in complex games.

Object-Oriented Data Structures in C++

Provider:  Coursera

Course length: 21 hours

This course teaches learners how to write a program in the C++ language, including how to set up a development environment for writing and debugging C++ code and how to implement data structures as C++ classes. It’s the first course in the Accelerated CS Fundamentals specialization, and subsequent courses in this specialization will be using C++ as the language for implementing the data structures covered in class.

Learn C++

Provider: Codecademy

Course length: 25 hours

This course starts with the fundamental programming concepts before digging deeper into the more advanced C++ topics. You’ll build everything from a Harry Potter Sorting Hat to a program that can censor text.

Advanced Programming in C++

Provider: edX

Course length: Eight weeks

This self-paced course continues your development of C++ programming skills. Among the topics covered is the development of more advanced command-line programs that utilize functions, arrays, and strings to solve problems. Students learn to program in C++ through lectures and the labs, with the material presented over eight weeks of interactive lectures alongside bi-weekly quizzes. These assess your understanding of the material you’ll experience when you practice writing C++ programs through twelve lab challenges.

Google's C++ Class

Provider: Google

Course length: N/A

One of the best ways to learn how to program in a new language is by examining lots of example programs. The best thing to do is to copy and paste each program below into a text file, and compile it. Then, try the experiments. By extending these example programs, you’ll gain familiarity with various aspects of C++, and you’ll feel more confident when it comes time to write programs from scratch.

Nanodegree program become a C++ developer

Provider: Udacity

Course length: Four months, at ten hours per week

Get hands-on experience by coding five real-world projects. Learn to build a route planner using OpenStreetMap data, write a process monitor for your computer, and implement your smart pointers. Finally, highlight all your newfound skills by building a multithreaded traffic simulator and coding your C++ application.

C++: Advanced Topics

Provider: LinkedIn Learning

Course length: Three hours

In this course, students explore some of the more complex aspects of this core programming language, from smart pointers to move semantics. The course goes over smart pointers, which provide the functionality of a pointer with managed memory allocation. 

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