Electronics is a big broad subject. So yeah, take it slow and take it easy on yourself as you're learning. It's more akin to asking, "How to self-learn programming?". There are many methods, resources and STRONG opinions, mine included. Here's my usual suggestions:
1.) Get into the culture of it all. Weird, right? But like lots of people are pointing out, YouTube has a bounty of electronics channels, one more niche than the next. There are also audio podcasts like Macrofab Engineering, Embedded.fm and The Amp Hour (disclaimer: this is my and EEVblog's audio podcast)
2.) This is probably the most important -- once you're a bit into the culture, you need something to shoot for. If the first part is figuring out WHY you want to build, then this part is figuring out WHAT you want to build. I would recommend starting with either a simple project (555 timer is a simple starting point) or slightly modifying someone else's existing project. There are no new electronics circuits, so lean into kits from adafruit, sparkfun and the sellers on Tindie. This is a wonderful time for all of the kits in the world. Electronics are cheap and plentiful and simply following someone else's instructions and getting the "muscle memory" for electronics is a good start.
3.) The last step is the HOW of electronics. This is going to be where peoples' opinions crop up the most. Some say start from the bottom up and learn semiconductors first. Others say you should start with firmware and arduinos and slowly learn what each piece is doing as you get into it more. To quote a familiar TV program, the right answer is probably "middle out". This is also a practical answer, since there are always lower level concepts you can learn and higher level concepts you can learn.
I usually do not suggest The Art of Electronics to people getting started. Instead, I think they should use a project idea of what they want to build and Google. Again, a shitty answer, but this is the best method I've found. Most books start with "What is Ohm's Law" and other math based operations and I think that's not the right move for most people. It lost me when I was getting started and I've been doing hardware for 15 years.
If you're unsure of where to start, make something blink. I have a short tutorial on how to build a circuit board, solder it up and blink it with a Rasbperry Pi. It sounds dumb, but it's important to get the dopamine flowing. Check it out here: https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/shine-on-you-crazy...
1.) Get into the culture of it all. Weird, right? But like lots of people are pointing out, YouTube has a bounty of electronics channels, one more niche than the next. There are also audio podcasts like Macrofab Engineering, Embedded.fm and The Amp Hour (disclaimer: this is my and EEVblog's audio podcast)
2.) This is probably the most important -- once you're a bit into the culture, you need something to shoot for. If the first part is figuring out WHY you want to build, then this part is figuring out WHAT you want to build. I would recommend starting with either a simple project (555 timer is a simple starting point) or slightly modifying someone else's existing project. There are no new electronics circuits, so lean into kits from adafruit, sparkfun and the sellers on Tindie. This is a wonderful time for all of the kits in the world. Electronics are cheap and plentiful and simply following someone else's instructions and getting the "muscle memory" for electronics is a good start.
3.) The last step is the HOW of electronics. This is going to be where peoples' opinions crop up the most. Some say start from the bottom up and learn semiconductors first. Others say you should start with firmware and arduinos and slowly learn what each piece is doing as you get into it more. To quote a familiar TV program, the right answer is probably "middle out". This is also a practical answer, since there are always lower level concepts you can learn and higher level concepts you can learn.
I usually do not suggest The Art of Electronics to people getting started. Instead, I think they should use a project idea of what they want to build and Google. Again, a shitty answer, but this is the best method I've found. Most books start with "What is Ohm's Law" and other math based operations and I think that's not the right move for most people. It lost me when I was getting started and I've been doing hardware for 15 years.
If you're unsure of where to start, make something blink. I have a short tutorial on how to build a circuit board, solder it up and blink it with a Rasbperry Pi. It sounds dumb, but it's important to get the dopamine flowing. Check it out here: https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/shine-on-you-crazy...