Go programmers earn a median salary of $140,000 annually — they’re some of the highest-paid devs around.
Why? Because Golang is one of the fastest-growing, in-demand, and powerful programming languages around, having been created in 2009 at Google.
It’s also one of the most loved languages around, known for generally being a joy to work with.
With such demand for Golang programmers and devs rushing to learn Go to supercharge their incomes, a number of Go courses have sprung up online. These courses teach budding devs how to create scalable backend systems and code with Golang, on their way to becoming a full-fledged Go programmers.
What makes a good Go course?
The internet has made it much easier to get a computer science education, with experienced devs happy to impart their knowledge in lectures online.
However, research has shown that the best way to learn and retain information is by doing. Lectures can talk at you, but to really soak up the Golang programming principles, it’s always best to learn by actually coding in Golang.
Therefore, we highly recommend picking an interactive Golang course where you can code along in the browser, solve real-life problems you could face in the workplace, and create projects according to the instructions. However, for those who prefer learning by watching we have still included some lecture-based courses.
1. Qvault Go Mastery Courses — best Golang course to learn Go overall
- Price: $6/month for all courses — Get coding here
Why it’s the best Go programming course
- Interactive: code in the browser
- Instant feedback: Qvault’s software tells you when you’ve made errors
- Free to try out, then only $6/month to access all their courses
Cons
- Those who prefer lectures won’t enjoy the interactive coding experience
Qvault offers a range of online programming courses aimed to help you learn computer science, no matter your starting level. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned expert looking to take on a new language or pivot into a new area within coding, Qvault have specially designed courses for you.
Based on a learning by doing philosophy, all Qvault courses are interactive — including their excellent Go Mastery courses — so you code in your browser, making your way through their mini-lessons and coding challenges, and actually learn by writing the correct code.
Their Golang course is split into seven parts across the courses, encompassing basic Golang syntax, functions, structs and interfaces, loops, arrays, and slices, as well as more advanced functions like currying, higher-order functions, and concurrency. And once you’ve gained the skills needed to get a job as a Go programmer, take Qvault’s Golang interview prep course to get yourself clued up for potential interview questions!
Qvault’s courses are all built by Lane Wagner, a Go programming pro himself who has written hundreds of expert blogs on Golang and other programming languages. Known as an authority on all things Go, you can be sure this is one of the best courses to learn Go out there.
The courses are all free to try, with the option of upgrading to a Pro subscription for full access to their Go courses, as well as courses, teaching cryptography, Big O Notation, Functional Programming, Python, and more. Beginners will enjoy Qvault’s two Introduction To Coding courses, and accomplished coders will enjoy the more advanced courses. A Pro upgrade starts at $6 per month for full access to Qvault’s entire course suite. Considering Go programmers earn a median $140,000 salary, that really is an incredible bargain.
2. Freecodecamp — best free Go course
Pros
- Free
- Easily accessible on YouTube
Cons
- Not interactive
- Lectures are generally seen as an ineffective way to learn
Freecodecamp is great, offering completely free courses to anyone, no matter their ability to pay or income, so they can learn to code and seek work as a programmer. They’ve helped over 40,000 people get jobs as developers, and are kept around by donations from generous learners who appreciate what they do.
This 7-hour Golang video course covers many main Golang topics, including variables, primitives, constants, arrays and slices, looping, pointers, functions, interfaces, and more. It’s completely free to access on YouTube, and understandably if it’s a lot to get through at once, you can simply save it to your watch later and bring it up again tomorrow or at the weekend.
Overall, it’s a great option if you’re strictly against paying for a more effective Go course, as learning by coding interactively will help you improve your coding skills quicker.
So, if you’re short on budget, Freecodecamp’s Go course could be the best way for you. If you’ve got the money and are willing to invest in yourself, we recommend an interactive course as the time gains in accelerating your learning really will pay dividends when you’re a well-paid Go programmer.
3. Udemy — Learn Google’s Go Programming Language course
Pros
- Lots of course content — 46.5 hours
- One-off fee
Cons
- Not interactive
- Lectures are generally seen as an ineffective way to learn
Udemy’s Google’s Go Programming Language course features a whopping 46.5 hours of lectures, taught by a university computer science professor.
The course covers functions, pointers, concurrency, channels, error handling, mapping, and more, and once you’ve completed the course, you’ll get a Golang course certificate to celebrate your achievement.
It’s a popular course, and good for those who are happy to learn programming by watching lectures rather than coding in a Go playground.
Other Udemy Golang courses include:
4. Coursera — Programming with Google Go course
Pros
- Taught by a computer science professor
- Get a certificate on finishing (but you need to pay for it)
Cons
- Traditional enrolment process with less freedom
- Access to course exercises and assignments costs
Taught by Ian Harris, a professor in computer science, Coursera’s Golang course includes three main course areas: the first part helps you get started with Go, the second ventures into functions, methods, and interfaces, with the third part focusing on concurrency.
At a pace of 2 hours per week, Coursera estimate that this Go course will take around three months to finish, and you enroll in the same way you would a college course. You can enter the course for free, but you can only read and view the course content — without access to the exercises or any kind of feedback — with everything else costing.
Coursera is a popular online course website trusted by thousands of people worldwide and has grown to offer a huge range of different courses beyond programming. If you’re looking for a mostly lecture-based course with some paid exercises and projects and a more traditional academic format, this could be the best Go course for you.
5. Pluralsight: Getting started with Go course
Pros
- 10-day free trial with access to all courses
- Reputed lecture host
Cons
- Very short: 3.5 hours
- Lectures only
Featuring over 3 and a half hours of Go lectures, and hosted by Docker Captain Nigel Poulton, Pluralsight’s Go course covers all the basics of the major Golang fundamentals, like conditionals, functions, and an introduction to concurrent Go programming.
Considered a stepping-stone for new would-be Go programmers, you won’t become a complete expert for having taken this course, and more learning will be required. It’s lecture-focused rather than exercise-based and doesn’t feature any interactive coding, benefitting those who prefer the lecture format.
Pluralsight gives you a 10-day free trial, allowing you full access to their Go course as well as their entire range of computer science online courses, so perhaps if you’re feeling motivated you could even finish the whole Go fundamentals course within the free trial. Beyond that, you may still find Pluralsight’s monthly or annual fee plans for full access a good deal.
6. Codecademy
Pros
- Interactive coding
- Fun, basic exercises
Cons
- Short courses only covering basics
Codeacademy has grown to become one of the largest sources of programming courses, known for making coding courses catered towards beginners looking to get their first taste of computer science and web development in languages like HTML, JavaScript and Python.
One of their lesser-known courses is their Learn Go course, a four-part introduction to Golang covering variables and formatting, Go conditionals, and the last part teaches how to write Go functions in this approximately 9-hour course.
Codeacademy makes learning coding accessible with some fun projects you create on the way, such as simulating a bank heist using Go conditionals, and for those looking to just grasp the basics in this simple Go course, it could be the one for you. For interactive Go courses that go beyond the fundamentals, we recommend Qvault.
7. Golang Tour introduction — easiest way to learn Go for beginners
Pros
- A fantastic introduction to the basics of Golang
- Made by the Golang developers themselves
Cons
- Very basic, 10-15 minute introduction
The Golang developers have released this simple beginner’s tutorial for Go for those who want a super basic introduction to everything Go. Featuring packages, pointers, maps, and even concurrency, this basic Go introduction gives you the fundamentals you need to move on to more advanced concepts and apply them to more complex Go projects.
It’s user-friendly, made by the Go developers, and free to try without logging in or creating an account, so if you’re looking to dip your toe into Golang programming, try out the Tour of Go.
8. An alternative: offline Go learning through Golang programming books
The Go Programming Language book by Alan Donovan and Brian Kernighan
Though you’ll learn Go faster if you take an interactive course, some find learning from books the better option. If you’re one of those people, a Go book many recommend is The Go Programming Language.
It, unlike some other Go learning resources, does not assume any previous experience with other programming languages like JS, Python, or C++, but teaches in a more accessible way that both beginners and learned coders will appreciate.
It covers the basic syntax, the organization of a program into packages, files, and functions, and moves on to more challenging aspects of learning Go such as concurrency, and metaprogramming, with clear guides on how each aspect can be used in real-world situations to solve problems.
It’s a hefty 400 pages, so you’ll be getting through it for quite a while, but if you prefer learning on your own, without any online guides or interactive Go learning courses, you may prefer the book.