Starting your journey in IT, you’ll quickly notice that beyond learning a programming language, it’s also worth mastering a range of tools that make everyday work easier. At first, it may feel overwhelming – code editors, version control systems, the terminal, new apps... But don’t worry! Below, we’ve put together a set of essential software that every IT beginner should get familiar with. We’ll briefly explain what each tool does and why it’s useful. The article is divided into categories so you can easily find the topics that interest you. Let’s dive in!
Code Editors and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)
Example: Visual Studio Code. A well-chosen editor or IDE can significantly simplify learning to program. Beginners often start with simple code editors, but there are also powerful IDEs (integrated development environments) offering plenty of features. Tools like Visual Studio or IntelliJ IDEA are full-fledged IDEs – they can do far more than a basic code notepad, essentially providing “almost everything a programmer needs to work.” The key is to pick a tool suited to your needs – one that’s too complex might be overwhelming at first, while one that’s too limited can get frustrating. Below are two popular editors/IDEs often recommended for beginners:
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) – currently the most popular code editor. It’s free, lightweight, and thanks to thousands of extensions, it can be tailored to almost any language or project. VS Code has an intuitive interface and rich features (syntax highlighting, debugger, Git integration, etc.). According to Stack Overflow surveys, it’s used by over 75% – even close to 80% – of developers, which speaks to its universality. It’s an excellent choice to start your programming journey.
IntelliJ IDEA – a powerful IDE from JetBrains, especially popular among Java and Kotlin developers. IntelliJ offers smart code completion, automatic refactoring, built-in build tools, and many other features. It comes in a free (Community Edition) and a paid (Ultimate) version with additional features. For those focusing on Java, this is often the primary work tool. IntelliJ has a slightly steeper learning curve than VS Code, but in large projects, it can save enormous amounts of time. It’s worth noting that JetBrains also offers IDEs dedicated to other languages (e.g., PyCharm for Python, WebStorm for JavaScript), all built on IntelliJ’s foundation.
(Of course, there are other editors, such as Eclipse or lighter ones like Sublime Text and Notepad++. However, for beginners, VS Code and IntelliJ are the most commonly recommended.)
Version Control Systems
A version control system lets you track changes in code and collaborate on it as a team. The most important tool in this category is Git – currently the most popular version control system and the industry standard. If you don’t know it yet, it’s definitely worth learning, as Git knowledge is required in virtually every programming job.
Git – a distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds. It enables saving snapshots of your project (called commits), creating branches to safely experiment with changes, and later merging those changes. Thanks to Git, multiple people can work on the same code simultaneously without interfering with each other – the system flags conflicts if two people edit the same piece of code and helps resolve them. What’s more, if a new feature introduces a bug, Git lets you quickly roll back to a stable version of the app. Learning the basics (commands like git add, git commit, git push, etc.) is an absolute must for every developer.
GitHub – an online platform for hosting Git repositories. GitHub is often called “Facebook for programmers” because of its social features – you can collaborate on code and showcase your projects. Users can create repositories, share them, and even host simple websites directly from their code. The free version already offers plenty of features. Importantly, having a GitHub account allows you to easily build a portfolio of your projects and find open-source projects to contribute to for learning and experience. Alternatives include GitLab and Bitbucket, commonly used in companies. For beginners, though, creating a GitHub account and uploading a few projects is the best way to learn collaboration and demonstrate your skills.
The Terminal and Basics of Linux
The terminal (command line) is a tool for issuing text commands to your operating system. While it may seem old-fashioned to beginners, sooner or later, the terminal will prove very useful. Every OS (Windows, macOS, Linux) has its version of a terminal – in Linux and macOS, it’s usually Bash/Zsh, while Windows offers the Command Prompt or PowerShell. At first, you’ll probably copy commands from tutorials just to run something or install software. Still, it’s worth trying to understand what those commands actually do – blindly typing without comprehension won’t teach you much. You don’t need to become a Linux wizard overnight – just being able to look up and understand commands will go a long way. This knowledge is especially handy when working with Git, launching local servers, automating tasks with scripts, or managing remote servers.
It’s also valuable to learn the basics of Linux. Many server applications and cloud environments run on Linux, so it helps to know how to navigate directories, manage file permissions, or install software using package managers. You don’t have to switch to Linux as your main OS right away, but using a Bash terminal (even through WSL on Windows) will make life easier. Over time, you’ll appreciate how common Linux is in professional environments. In short: knowing the terminal and Linux basics is an investment that will pay off early in your IT career.
Project and Team Management Tools
Example: a Kanban board in Trello. Good task management and communication are crucial to project success. Fortunately, there are handy tools that help with this. For small projects, a simple Kanban board (like the one above) is often enough – tasks are represented as cards in columns like To Do, In Progress, and Done. As projects grow, companies turn to more advanced systems for tracking progress, reporting, and planning. Communication tools are just as important – team messengers have become standard, ensuring everyone is in the loop and can quickly discuss issues. Here are three popular tools in this category:
Trello – an intuitive app for organizing tasks using a Kanban board. Users create boards with lists (columns) containing task cards. For example, you might have columns like Ideas, To Do, In Progress, Done – moving tasks between them as work progresses. Trello was designed around Kanban but is flexible enough to adapt (with labels, deadlines, checklists, etc.). It’s simple and user-friendly, making it perfect for smaller projects or personal task management. The free version is already very functional, so you can easily experiment with it.
Jira – the most well-known (and probably most powerful) project management system, widely used in medium and large IT companies. Jira offers extensive customization tailored to team needs. Besides Kanban boards, it supports agile frameworks like Scrum – letting you plan sprints, assign story points, and track progress with charts. Jira keeps schedules in check, enables process automation, and generates detailed reports. Though it may feel overwhelming at first, it can adapt to nearly any workflow. Many companies “live in Jira” daily, so it’s worth at least understanding the basics. A free version is available for small teams, so you can test it out yourself.
Slack – a popular team communication tool. It organizes discussions into channels (e.g., #backend, #marketing, #project-alpha) so conversations stay structured and relevant. This prevents important information from getting buried in endless email threads. Slack integrates with tools like Google Drive, Trello, Jira, GitHub, etc., meaning updates and notifications appear directly in your workspace. This centralization saves time and reduces app-switching. Slack streamlines everyday communication – instead of waiting on emails, the team can chat, share files, or jump on quick voice calls. Today, Slack (or alternatives like Microsoft Teams) is standard in many companies, so it’s worth knowing the basics. The free version (with limits, like a 90-day message history) is more than enough for small teams.
Debugging and Testing Tools
****When writing code, mistakes are inevitable ****– but what matters is being able to catch and fix them quickly. This is where debugging tools (which let you trace a program’s execution step by step) and software testing tools come in. As a beginner, you don’t need to know every specialized testing tool right away, but it’s good to be aware that they exist. Below are short descriptions of two examples often used for backend and frontend testing:
Postman – a popular tool for testing APIs (Application Programming Interfaces, e.g., REST APIs). It allows you to easily create and send HTTP requests to a server and check the responses – all through a clear graphical interface. Instead of writing a client app right away, you can use Postman to manually call an endpoint (e.g., GET/POST on a specific URL) and view the results in JSON or XML format. It’s a great way to verify whether your backend API is returning the right data. Postman also lets you save entire collections of requests (e.g., all the methods needed to test your app) and share them with your team. It supports automated tests written in JavaScript and integrates with CI (Continuous Integration) systems such as CircleCI or Jenkins. The basic Postman plan is free and includes all key features, making it beginner-friendly. Both developers and testers use it, so it’s worth learning if you plan to work with web backends or simply want to better understand how frontend–server communication works.
Selenium – one of the most popular tools for automating web application testing. Simply put, Selenium can control a browser the way a user does – clicking buttons, filling out forms, navigating through pages, etc. This makes it possible to write test scripts that simulate user interactions with your web app and verify that everything works as expected. Selenium is open-source and has been around since 2004. Its key component is Selenium WebDriver, which lets you write tests in various programming languages (Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, etc.) and run them in different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.). For non-technical users, there’s also Selenium IDE – a simple browser extension that records and plays back tests without coding. Many QA teams use Selenium to automate regression tests, but developers can also use it for tasks like frontend integration testing. For now, it’s enough to know that such a tool exists – if you ever get into automated testing, Selenium will likely be a natural starting point.
(Other examples: web services can also be tested with tools like JMeter for API performance testing, Cypress as a frontend testing alternative to Selenium, or Postman/Newman for automated API testing. The testing tool ecosystem is broad – and you’ll always find the right tool for the job as your needs grow.)
Containerization and DevOps
Finally, a few words about technologies that may seem more advanced to beginners but have taken the IT industry by storm in recent years: containerization and DevOps tools. In short, containerization means packaging an application along with all its dependencies into a self-contained unit (a container) that can be run across different environments. Meanwhile, DevOps practices (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery – CI/CD) automate the building, testing, and deployment of applications. Sound complicated? Don’t worry – even if you don’t use them on your own at first, it’s worth being familiar with these concepts and tools, since you’ll encounter them sooner or later at work.
Docker – a platform for containerizing applications. Docker lets you create images, which are packages containing your app and everything it needs to run (code, libraries, system configuration, etc.). That image can then be run as a container, which will behave identically whether it’s on your local Windows machine, a colleague’s macOS laptop, or a cloud server. Containers are lightweight and portable – an app inside a container has all its dependencies included, so it “works the same everywhere.” Docker makes deployment much easier: instead of manually installing components on a server, you just run the ready-made container. In development, Docker also lets you quickly spin up databases or message queues as containers without permanent installation. For beginners, Docker can feel abstract at first, but it’s important to understand what problem it solves: eliminating “it works on my machine” issues, isolating apps, and making them easy to move across environments. Many modern projects use Docker, so even if you don’t start with it, knowing what it is and what it does will help you.
Jenkins – one of the most popular CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery) tools. Put simply, Jenkins is a server that automates building, testing, and deploying applications. It’s open-source, written in Java, and highly extensible with plugins. In practice, using Jenkins means defining a pipeline – a sequence of steps that should run after each code change. A typical pipeline might: pull the latest code from the repo, build (compile) the app, run unit tests, and if all goes well – deploy the app to a test server. Jenkins can run all of this automatically, without developer involvement, every time someone pushes code. That way, the team quickly gets feedback on whether a new change broke the app (if tests fail, Jenkins makes that clear). Why is Jenkins worth knowing? Even if you never configure it yourself, you may still encounter its reports or notifications in projects. It’s useful to understand that when someone says “the build failed,” it means Jenkins found an error in the latest code. 😉 Besides Jenkins, other CI/CD tools exist, such as GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, and Travis CI – but the idea is the same: automation and faster software delivery.
Summary
At the start of your career, you don’t need to master all the tools listed above – but it’s important to at least be aware of them and gradually get comfortable using them. Begin with the basics: install a code editor, learn Git essentials, try out a few terminal commands. Step by step, you can explore more tools as needed – for example, by joining a team project you’ll discover Jira and Slack, by building your own web app you’ll play with Postman, and when preparing it for deployment you’ll get curious about Docker. Don’t get discouraged if something feels complicated – everyone started from zero. Over time, using these tools will become second nature, and you’ll see how much they boost productivity. Learning IT tools is an investment in your efficiency – the better you know them, the more you can focus on writing great code instead of wrestling with your environment. Good luck exploring new technologies and tools! 🚀
PS: Remember – all these tools are just means to an end. What matters most are your skills, passion, and eagerness to keep learning. The tools are here to support your work. So pick what suits you, experiment freely, build projects, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. In IT, continuous learning is the norm, and the developer community is always open to sharing knowledge. Good luck! 😊