[beastcoast]

One thing that is extremely useful IME is to learn how to read code, but don't worry about writing code. For example, check out the APIs of a service using its API explorer, and then read some of the code behind those APIs. Most code is very straightforward and the code that isn’t, is either a.) well documented, since SDEs also have to grok it, or b.) only understood by a few SDEs on the team, but those SDEs are willing to take the time to explain it to newcomers.