"Becoming A Developer Is Chaos. I Feel Overwhelmed..."

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Join us as we delve into the struggles of a young woman who has set her sights on a career in coding, but with every line of code she writes and every tutorial she watches, she's filled with doubt. Despite her passion and determination, she fears that she won't be competitive in a field filled with tech-savvy engineers and seasoned developers. Hear her struggles and journey as she tries to find her place in the tech world and learn to code.
Can you relate to battling self-doubt and the fear of failure, or is she alone in feeling this way?
Weronika Glazer (guest):
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[@DonTheDeveloper]

If you'd like to come on the show and ask me a question, just fill out this short form: forms.gle/esQMbaRjQt9SkD1XA

[@masternobody1896]

i am in hell as a dev

[@bbhoxe]

@@homecoder7816 probably considering the overall recession and that the companies don't recruit so much junior devs now

[@bbhoxe]

@@homecoder7816 Of course just being more patient. Coding and programming are not gonna die anytime soon and once the market goes back and the companies start hiring more again it will be still a valuable skill to have. It's not impossible to get a job now, it's just harder than for example last year

[@viktorberczeli3009]

@@bbhoxe Dear Weronika I say just push through the hard times and don't even think quitting. You are not alone with the struggle. We are all scared who are learning to code. But how I pushed through the hard times that I realized as you said motivation is just not enough. Need to keep doing. That means allocate more energy and time to code. I really recommend daily 4 hours that include reading(book, documentation), researching and active coding(I do have a coding time extension in VScode). You really just need to start building. I like "code alongs" because they give me ideas so I can start coding alone also. I would go React as said in the video. Your chances getting a job gonna skyrocket. Also you can add TypeScript. You just need to immerse yourself in coding(which requires a lot of time). Also you need to start pushing your full real project on your porfolio website. I've added you on Linkedin so I don't actually need to write here everything. Feel free to reach out as I'm also just a beginner who is looking for a job in the near future.

[@playstationboer-xp6lp]

❤

[@bbhoxe]

Hi guys!! It's Weronika from this podcast episode :> It's been a while, but thank you so much for all the comments and words of encouragement

[@robertom7326]

Congrats! I am about to finish my front-end bootcamp. Can you tell me please how long it took you to create/build your first project without copying someone else's code? I hope that made sense, I am just dealing with the imposter syndrome rn and it's quite scary to feel like I am not able to build a react app from scratch yet without reading or watching a tutorial cuz that gives me the feeling it's not a good practice. Again, congrats for landing on your job.

[@HSGG_]

it's a very long road, but social media has portrayed it as something easy, and quick to obtain, which is misleading a lot of people.

[@HSGG_]

Also, projects in tech industries are on a completely different scale, compared to portfolio/school projects.

[@nicholasmuiseYT]

This x 10. I'm an instructor of software engineering at the college level, so there may be bias in this response. I see so much content online that has bled its way into the mainstream that almost anyone can take a couple of online courses, watch some KZbin content, then go get a job as a professional developer making six figures. There are so few people who are actually capable of doing that, only a special combination of talent, hard work, continual motivation, and luck can make that happen. Everyone else is going to have to walk a far different path than that to get to that. Becoming a COMPETENT developer takes years of learning and practice IMO. I'm not stating that formal college/university is the way to go, for some it is, for some it isn't. Some of the best developers I've ever met were self taught, but they sure didn't get there in six months or a year of independent study watching some KZbin content or reading a book. And as you mentioned, the scale of projects is completely different in industry than school/learning projects. You literally could go from a project with a dozen files in it in practice to a project with hundreds of files in it, integrating dozens of different frameworks etc.

[@darthwater999]

I think it's just being smart enough to not be misleaded by influencers. It meant to be a work, not a walk in the park, how could people think like that?

[@BlazedOutTurtle]

Far too many times people think they can simply polish up their resume with buzzwords, build 1 or 2 calculator apps, and be ready to cut to the front of the line past CS majors, and passionate hobbyists. That might have been feasible perhaps a decade ago, but the reality of it is even the most average entry level junior positions require a lot more than just “I know Java and a bit of HTML”.

[@cristian-bull]

I feel its in part due to that "everyone can program" trend in educational programs. Toy projects are definitely not the same, and working on a team requires a completely different skillset. In my field, Machine Learning, people learn to do toy models with super clean datasets, and find reality to be quite different: 60% acquiring, cleaning and preparing data 10% Modelling 30% deployment, further cleaning, and maintenance of models with new data

[@df6148]

Being a self taught programmer is a lot like watching a football that you never played or seen before. It looks chaotic at first. Suddenly, you realize there’s a defense and an offense. That there’s numbers assigned to certain personnel. That only certain players can handle the ball. That there’s actually a turn based structure to the game. That there’s styles of offenses in the same way that there are styles to production teams. That there’s different methodologies in offensive schemes but that many have the same goal just like how there are different languages that aim to produce a backend or front end. The entire journey isn’t really in an exact line. It’s a discovery. Sort of like an open world game of Skyrim or breath of the wild. You take what’s practical and you implement it. Every software developer is like a mixed martial artist. Different skills with crossover in many layers. Some of us are big time on the main cards. Others are in the rut just getting started and fighting for a chance. But we all share a common thing and that is the struggle. It doesn’t break you to make you quit. It breaks you to make you grow. Like a muscle.

[@aniketgoyal495]

Bro, you explained that perfectly.

[@df6148]

@@aniketgoyal495 thanks! I’m glad I could contribute 😁

[@letgabeequaltrue9097]

The hardest part in the beginning is spending 3 hours figuring out that the coding error was just a 15 second fix.

[@JeremyWall]

20+ years as a developer and I *still* sometimes spend 3 hours figuring out the coding error was a simple 15 second fix.

[@callidus5586]

Man oh man, I have great laugh when I find that bugger 🤣

[@passportbro904]

Thats why I hired a private tutor so im never lost, and ill never apply for jobs until he tells me im ready, which makes me feel good, I mean how can I fail with a senior developer as my tutor lol, I shouldn't anyway.

[@jasonruff1270]

@@JeremyWall Yeah those brackets won't close themselves and yet I still forget that.

[@m.Gladislaw]

Y'all still not using TypeScript?

[@bobziroll]

Head of Education at Scrimba here. Thanks for the shout-out, Weronika! Solo Projects in Scrimba are a great way to escape tutorial hell. The main benefit they provide is scoping - one of the hardest parts for beginners choosing a project of their own is knowing what is - and isn't yet - part of their skillset. Sometimes a feature you want to add to your project can be easily researched and added. Other times, that feature seems easy from the surface, but can lead to an abyss of difficulty, being much harder than it originally seemed. Abysses like that can sometimes lead to despair, which is harmful for one's learning. Solo Projects are meant to be an in-between: taking off the training wheels while still having someone "spot" you while you're riding. We usually provide "extra credit" challenges for solo projects as well, in case students are ready to go above and beyond. The best next step, like Don said, is to build your own projects outside the Scrimba platform. In fact, I'd say most Solo Projects should be done on your local machine, not on Scrimba. Where Solo Projects are great for practicing and solidifying the skills you're learning, personal projects are the last step before you're completely independent. Facing challenges and overcoming them is the best (and only) way to really gain confidence as a developer. Keep up the good work, Weronika! Stay consistent and keep writing code as much as possible. You've got the right approach and attitude, you'll do some great things in your career!

[@bbhoxe]

Thank you so much Bob, this is extremely encouraging for me and I can't express enough how much Scrimba has helped me so far and is still helping me to grow and learn everyday. The Scrimba team is doing truly amazing things for future developers!! Weronika

[@paulcoffee77]

Yes, I stumbled on scrimba and Per is the best instructor, best way to absorb the material is with their interactive browser.

[@viktorberczeli3009]

Thank you! Your React courses really helped me a lot! Hope Weronika gonna feel the same.

[@We-kv3ze]

Scrimba looked promising until I saw it was 300 euro while theres lots of free alternative out there.

[@HOBOsnake]

@@We-kv3ze Then use those free ones. I've found value in paying for things that I don't necessarily have to. Sometimes something just fits your learning style and many free and paid services at various price points can be useful. I mean clearly scrimba has helped out the girl in the video. At least be empathetic to that, lol.

[@nonequivalence1864]

I have a comp sci degree as well but honestly the CS degree didn't teach me jack. I had to build side projects while balancing my classes in order to land an internship. Long story short - I did. Now, I've been a pro software engineer with over 6yrs of experience. I've never been more confident in my career than I have EVER felt and making more money than I have EVER made. I remember being broke alongside the crippling anxiety of learning code. You only can grow during discomfort, doubt, fear and anxiety. If you're not feeling these things on a daily basis, you're not growing. It's that simple. Long story short: Whoever's reading this - keep grinding and keep on keeping on. The other side of this is a great lifestyle and a respectable career. Take care and good luck to you all.

[@ReplayEcho]

Hi I’ve been learning programming for the past 6 months. HTML css JavaScript and react. Im also in school for comp sci and I definetly agree with you that most of my learning has been outside of my classes. I’ve experienced a certain type of anxiety mainly related to the amount of knowledge I need and how far off I am from that level. But if I’m not experiencing more anxiety from learning to program should I increase my study load? I plan on starting my first project when I finish learning the basics of JavaScript react and node. When I’m learning concepts it is hard but it doesn’t bring on anxiety. The only time I get anxiety is when I look at the end goal or how far I have to go. Is my thinking incorrect ?

[@doublesushi5990]

@@ReplayEchoanxiety is normal. iteration is important, keep speed-going over things and let things come to you(they will(believe it or not)). TAKES TIME, take breaks, then come back, then create, fail, reiterate, etc.

[@dyto2287]

I dropped out from uni after 2 years. Second year of studies got full-time job offer and I realized that I learn more from the job than university.

[@ReplayEcho]

@@dyto2287 my two biggest reasons for college right now is credibility so I can get interviews and potentially find a girlfriend at college. I do most of my own studying for cs completely apart from school.

[@dyto2287]

@@ReplayEcho College relationships rarely work out. Better dodge that bullet. For credibility you can find less paid but software engineering job. Work experience > college degree.

[@aricwilliamsdeveloper]

I remember being at this stage, feels like you just spinning your wheels down a never ending path of hot new tutorials having no idea what being a developer is actually like... this stage is the 'trough of sorrow'! no secret to get around it, you gotta go through it. get a online tutor, breer / coffee , long walks in the park and grab that bull by the horns and give it hell!!

[@alexandrf2428]

I suppose you just picked one tutorial and followed it?

[@aricwilliamsdeveloper]

@@alexandrf2428 Not really, I picked the tutorials that gave me the source code and studied the source code over and over recognizing patterns, after that I would then watch some of the videos on that tutorial. I mostly would just study other ppls code… I did that technique out of frustration because tutorials never explained things thoroughly with the exception of 2 teachers… If the tutorial did not give me the source code i would use it for reference in the future. NOW IF I HAD CHAT GPT!!! MAAAN i would not even watch tutorials…. Just source code and projects lol.

[@dwayneneckles]

I'm overwhelmed. Not everyone has this issue. But no one suggests ways they over come. They just brag/humble brag that they finished said goal.

[@brianna6694]

Completely agree

[@ReadThis_]

It's not only you my friend. Lots of us are completely overwhelmed too. I just think you have to think less and do more. And at some point you will start understanding your code more . And what you need to do as well. This has happened with me in Python and even though I still feel overwhelmed ..at least I understand much more right now. And the journey goes on..

[@kelvinwarui2982]

i can only say that time is all you need, some of these coding concepts at the beginning are very intimidating you wont understand half of it no matter how much you try but once you start implementing projects and putting the knowledge you,ve acquired into practice then you will know why you're doing what you're doing. Most of the coding is not understanding the whole language ,classes functions apis, etc, it is knowing where to start in finding a solution to a given task you.,ll be suprised at how even senior level engineers google for the most simplest of tasks

[@kelvinwarui2982]

@@ReadThis_ Yes you are right , think less and do more , you will only start learning when you start doing

[@mentalist6703]

@@kelvinwarui2982 sorry to take your time but can you help me? I have recently started a unpaid internship and they just provided me a lot of resources for FullStack development to learn in a week. I am beginner frontend developer, I haven't have a great knowledge box that's why I thought it would be better for me to learn and practice my skills in an unpaid internship. I can understand what the teacher is teaching in the courses provided my internship startup but I just don't understand how I will be able to retain all the information provided in those videos without practice and just watching the videos. Sorry for my not cleared message, I m completely lost and very self doubting now 😭

[@pejko89]

Finally I found an internship as a Java Developer after 4 years of learning (had pause for a year and a half, so 2,5 years of active learning). I did great, but this big company lost a client and now has a lot of seniors on the bench. So I have to wait several months for them to find a project for me. It's frustrating, I'm 33 years old self taught developer who works a physical job while waiting. So hard to get an interview...

[@MiltkaStar]

What’s your portfolio website? Can I check it out?

[@mentalist6703]

I am also self taught beginners, I just had my first day at an unpaid internship yesterday and I m feeling just like her. I was excited to practice the concepts I have learnt and increase my knowledge box under their guidance but on my first day, they provided my link to all the FullStack courses and asked me to finish them. I am barely beginner in frontend and after knowing how much knowledge box I should have to have to barely start my career, I m completely overwhelmed and thinking about my future making me anxious and depressed.

[@tkfast1659]

Me too I am in unpaid internship for more that 1 and half month, and I face the same , problem ..no one to show you anything but I am trying to figure out by myself...until now I solved 6 tasks 5 is very easy and 1 is hard , and now I am working on another ...try to use stackoverflow and chatgpt

[@mentalist6703]

@@tkfast1659 nice ! Actually I was overwhelmed in this internship. I have recently started it and I didn't have much experience in FullStack but they give task which are like easy for them but too much for me to have knowledge of every concept... I m also using chatgpt for now to survive 😂

[@RepublicOfWesternCanadaNOW]

Keep going man. I'm going to start Python this week

[@yourlocalhuman3526]

how's it going?@@RepublicOfWesternCanadaNOW

[@dylanm7638]

Don you are great man !. everytime I watch your content, there are all the things to keep me going my coding journey, I am so lucky to found your channel.

[@ajalanbrown2200]

“learn what your interested in “ so underrated when I was a junior I wanted to learn every programming language and framework once I dialed it back and specialized in what I’m interested in made me become a better programmer but also enjoy the work that I do , personally and professionally.

[@fredagsfys]

You have the wrong mindset if you think it's already stressful learning a bunch of things and worrying if it's applicable or obsolete within a year. I've been in the industry for just about a decade now, you never stop learning and if you do, you will become obsolete. This is part of the profession, keeping up to speed. What's most important isn't the next framework or language. It's knowing the fundamentals by heart and soon you will realise that most languages are mostly the same. They are only different by syntactic sugar and have different trade-offs.

[@mikelautensack7351]

Just embrace the challenge! Its not supposed to be easy so just get after it and don't stop until you get what you want.

[@stuntdoll]

This is great. I am at this stage as well. I agree that there are many resources out there. Right now I am using KZbin and Udemy as my tools for self learning. Learning is never linear and you need to explore your interests and career aspirations. I was a special education teacher and familiar with curriculum writing. I made my own syllabus with the topics that I need to learn by looking at various bootcamps. I looked at their curriculum and I also started to look at job descriptions and included those in my notes. Something that helps me is to document what I learned after completing a mini project or code along on KZbin. This helps me keep track of the goals that I have accomplished.

[@sameerhussain2579]

"Learning is never linear". Couldn't agree more.

[@Ak-zm3ce]

really liked the this hope that you continue more of this

[@Beocaaa]

Started learning react this week at Fullstack. I love that they teach us the fundamentals before making our life easier with libraries/frameworks. Makes you confident moving forward.

[@oredaze]

I'm just starting out with programming. It's hella overwhelming, but not because of "chaos" or option paralysis. I feel like I can overcome any obstacle if only I knew one thing - am I smart enough to learn this, am I going to make it in a reasonable time frame or am I just deluding myself. Every step I take I feel like I could take several times more effectively and be more focused and more motivated and productive if only I knew that I am gonna make it. But I don't yet know that and it's killing me. The uncertainty of "am I wasting my time, should I do something else" is very scary. It's like the imposter syndrome, but an earlier version of it or something. But my character is fearful like that with everything, so I'm trying to ignore it so far. Nevertheless programming is the most complicated thing I will [attempt to] do in life, so it would give me insane power if I knew I am gonna make it. Like what if I am living in a delusion that will go nowhere? I don't know how to overcome this mental struggle. For context I want to be a game dev for money (and passion for gaming) and on the side make some linux desktop software for fun. Maybe in the reverse order. I have a few years of free time before savings run out.

[@miningape]

I understand where youre coming from - one thing to keep in mind is that everyone started there and in order to build things more quickly and know the right decision you need to have made these "silly" mistakes before. I think your comment is similar to someone hitting the gym the first time and being pissed they can't curl 100kg - You need to start at the small weights to even consider doing something like that

[@chaii_latte]

This! I don't want to waste time, if I can avoid it.

[@alexandrf2428]

"So many things to choose from that you end up doing nothing". Exactly that .

[@brianagar]

This was really nice to hear as a newbie

[@brian-lau]

Agreed on setting realistic expectation, find a course/tutorials of your liking. Find a couple of friends to follow through together. I think the priority should be on learning and building! Really key on learning to "figure out what to learn" part. I really like how Don asked the "how you going to do that " to reinforce the with contents they just went through! I will borrow this

[@ivaylokehayov6957]

Samwell Tarly helping Sansa Stark with software development

[@Onyxmoon]

It's the long lost scene between Sansa Stark and Sam Tarley.

[@ItsRyanStudios]

Keep your blinders on and keep building and learning. I'm self taught (but with a degree and short career in organic chemistry) I sent out over 100 applications over the course of 3 months, had 4 interviews, and finally landed a great paying contract with a small family owned business. I studied react fulltime for 6 months only to be asked to build a vue app in my current position, and sometimes tasked with understanding c#/.Net code. It's just the nature of the industry. As long as you have a passion for what you're doing and are open to learning new things, you'll be able to make it. Also 50% of success lies in the interpersonal skills. Know how to navigate and pickup on social dynamics. Make life EASY for your manager. No one wants to babysit or argue with a junior dev.

[@insomnia20422]

Focusing on one framework is a big mistake in learning. Its way more important, as you already experienced, to learn how to use different frameworks and understand the commonalities. Lots of employers look for flexible people that can learn new stuff fast. I am happy that it worked out for you.

[@miketsypan5284]

Weronika will do great! Way to go!

[@RyanTipps]

Self taught path for me was DEFINITELY not linear. I did a bunch of crude data analysis on Job postings and used that as my top-level guide for determining what to learn. Even still, you'll have choices to make within that.

[@scrotiemcboogerballs2133]

What skills did you end up deciding to learn based on your findings in your research of job postings?

[@cryptochatter7279]

Python, JS, and Golang fairly obvious these best job getters

[@Bayo106]

@@cryptochatter7279 JAVA

[@muriukialex]

You have a really great voice DonTheDeveloper!

[@dev_jono]

Hello Developer Don, I'm Developer Jon! Haha, I had to sorry :"). Anyway, great interview, and I definitely understand her stress. I'm also self-taught and I definitely agree with you that the path is not linear. I chose to use books instead of just videos; the book I chose (Learning Web Design by Jennifer Niederst Robbins) was comprehnsive enough when you looked at the table of contents, and I never regretted it. That was two years ago, I binged the book and I still use it to this day as a handbook if I need to brush up on something I had never really used, or hadn't used in a while. But that was just the beginning. I also surronded myself with web development related media everywhere like youtube videos (of course), other books etc. But the reason I think books and courses are good versus just media you find on the internet, is that courses and books gather the majority of what you need and will ever use all in one place, while on the internet everything is scattered and in so many different forms and places, and they're repeated everywhere. After a while you see and endless void of beginner HTML, CSS courses and Javascript courses. It's no wonder aspiring devs get paralysed by the weight of the material.

[@ogaimon3380]

do you have any good books to recommend ?i'm learning python if you know any books do tell

[@chukwudiogudo5379]

Just placed an order for the book on Amazon! I need to be reading too. Perhaps it’ll sink in better

[@juliak2039]

Omg, only started watching but so relatable.

[@Snowboardbound]

Once you’re a bit more experienced, choices just become flavours, and you pick and choose what you need. Soon you’ll realize it’s all pretty much the same stuff, just different ways to use it. Just focus on building building building. Anything and everything at the beginning.

[@ozordiprince9405]

True. Most JavaScript Frameworks and libraries are basically copies of each other with only minute differences.

[@AshtonMotana]

You know what helps a tone for your own app testing with large data sets, you can create, example of social media app or anything with lists. You can create data, thousands of items in minutes. For your database, create a CSV indexer than capture data from a CSV File, use that to create shit loads of data from a single user within minutes. This will help you to learn about pagination and fetching data in small chunks and how to fetch more either automatically by via scroll detection or manually with a button press. Capture CSV data will help to accelerate app testing.

[@iorekby]

The biggest single issue I have seen in tech in the past 17 years that's worst than ever now: Ineffective mentoring and upskilling programs in tech companies. Most tech companies simply expect engineers to keep pace as they do their job. "Oh hey we know you spend 40hrs a week developing in Java on AWS but we are moving to Golang on GCP so can you learn that too somehow while still doing Java 40hrs a week". Downtime is essential for upskilling. Time for mentoring and being mentored is essential. You have to have a culture that supports learning in your tech company. Not just a company that throws you a free Linkedin learning subscription and expects you to build a 2nd plane while you're already flying in the air.

[@XDBjoernXD]

I wish you good luck on your Developer Journey Weronika

[@bbhoxe]

thank you!!

[@playwithvayofficial]

I am so grateful to have been self taught in music for nearly two decades and there were so many headaches along the way, but I got pretty proficient in the end. So many parallels to draw from when learning to code. Right now, I only know a little vanilla JS, but I'll keep going. I guess consistency is the biggest takeaway here.

[@badpotato]

you have good videos.. and they are different than other youtube channels.

[@valeenoi2284]

Trust me, as a tech lead that overseas 15+ developers and is on a project with 300+ other people, I get overwhelmed with so many different technologies and libraries that come at you on a weekly basis. You just have to accept that you wouldn't be able to master most of them, but to know enough to solve small problems one at the time. You have to be persistent about your endeavors or else you will just quit the industry after a few years. When you gain experience with so many different aspects of technology, you'll use those experiences and foundations to find the solutions that's almost impossible to see at first. I've gotten to the point that I just don't think about how much I don't know and just deal with the problem in front of me, and in the process, I'll end up learning something small and try to pass it on to other junior to senior level developers. To be honest, I am getting to the point that I'm a burnt out but still enjoying "solving problems".

[@captainaxlerod1297]

Best thing you can do at that stage is narrow your focus down, really zoom in one one specific problem, do that, solve it, and do it over and over and over again without ever zooming out, soon you'll have enough under your belt to land your first job.

[@chukwudiogudo5379]

“Find a problem and solve it” this phrase has been my own “imposter syndrome” as I undergo my self taught learning stage. As at yet, I have not been able to grasp that phrase but still keeping up with learning(Just finishing CSS & about to start JS) Any idea how I can overcome this “find a problem and solve” phrase? Or is programming not for me because I am yet to “find a problem to solve”?

[@JoeCnNd]

Def. Want to hear updates from her.

[@raba650]

When she said coding things from memory, I think there’s a certain extent where that might be true & the other half might involve being resourceful while debugging.

[@aramv898]

The I like to do my journey, is being assertive and sure about any decision I make think of self taught journey as a business you cannot effort doubt or laziness and its okay to make mistakes and fail.

[@Saoocey]

I know this is 2 months old, but gpt 3.5 or the bing "gpt-4" thats open for free is suprisingly good at making a full 12 week learning plan; although it didn't include projects (which I can figure out), it did even give me extra practice. Finally now I've been able to start on a structured plan w/o having to spend awhile researching where to go (and all free!)

[@bard2x]

Wow, she's talking what I am feeling everyday. I can relate 1000% to her. T.T

[@danielsalim5643]

I think that most computer science students face the same problem, which is due to taking many courses from different fields in computing. This can cause confusion in identifying the career path they want to pursue. I myself also face the same problem

[@jonnyedwards6345]

I got a £60,000 Remote Front end developer job after 3months of self study, it doesn’t always take years

[@RepublicOfWesternCanadaNOW]

What's your road map? How did you learn it?

[@jonnyedwards6345]

@@RepublicOfWesternCanadaNOW I already had intermediate experience with Python and JavaScript that I had developed across 6months prior which helped a bit. However nothing crazy that you can’t learn quickly But I started with HTML & CSS, finished a 6 hour tutorial alongside the free code camp web course in it in 3days. I found it extremely easier since I already had experience with Python and Javascirpt. I then practised JavaScript for about a month, videos, code wars, tutorials, and I made some projects. I also made some decent websites and a portfolio of course. And I also learnt react in a month whilst also polishing up my other skills.

[@magnoliansoup]

Your profile pic is very suiting then, lol Near is a mastermind. Congrats! I have the same goal but only working on my first personal project now. I don’t know JavaScript or Python yet. However, I do find Vim to be very fun and easy to use which is motivating.

[@shrinivasmutalik7067]

To all the freshers out there,study and implement every concept in the programming language and start solving leetcode.For Html css js or ts practice,study code.Learn one framework before you get into the industry.All the best folks!Have a great journey 🎉

[@DJDELLANNIE]

This is something that scared me away from this field. I have a degree in computer science but yet I get so overwhelmed with learning. There’s so much stuff to learn so I decide to take a break about a year and a half. All because I was mentally screwed. I think this time around I’m going to give it an honest try again but I’ll definitely stay away from social media listening to how fast I can get a job.

[@thinhle4307]

I'm now in the same stage as she is. just got out from html/css/javascript with copple projects and feel overwhelmed with the experience that companies are requiring, this has be very helpful and inspiring, thank you

[@BrandonWingerAir]

My college course switched topics every month adding another bible sized textbook to the stack, after graduating I was overwhelmed how to prioritize and go through them before they get outdated so could find a job or clients asap

[@homeandtechgeek]

Im sticking html and css...to create static web pages.. Translating mock ups into html and css...my goal is to build something from an idea without looking into tutorials...later to other languages...like javascript..

[@thisbridgehascables]

As a self taught developer.. main thing to learn object based programming. You can’t learn everything or remember everything in a language, framework.. etc. It’s much harder than all developers on KZbin say.. they are grifters and most are doing KZbin full time and don’t actually code anymore..

[@samojerom1046]

Today coding and programming is not good choice for a new beginner programmer, because the market is already full with programmers ...... also content creators is suffering from same issue, building a business in social media or having a good job in coding and building websites is not an easy . today many markets and companies are closing and there is very competitive markets ...... it is very hard time and going into worse .

[@playstationboer-xp6lp]

Just started 3 days ago, 42 years of ag, 2 children. Learning HTML after 20 years of being a chef is so much different. Please send me some motivation, I am so scared right now. It seems al so difficult to me. I will learn this shit, no matter what. But I need some support

[@opheliamaybeloved6627]

proud of you, you got this! keep goin'!

[@playstationboer-xp6lp]

@@opheliamaybeloved6627 thank you so much!

[@I_am_Raziel]

You CAN do it. Motivation is key :)

[@playstationboer-xp6lp]

@@I_am_Raziel 😍

[@I_am_Raziel]

@@playstationboer-xp6lp By the way, if I would start right now, I would use ChatGPT. If you ask the right questions, it can be your private assistant and tutor. Good luck, bro. Give your kids a hug and tell them you are going to make it, no matter what. I believe in you

[@samojerom1046]

This girl is suffering from the same issue that many new programmers are suffering which is frustration because new programmers they have to learn so much stuff in a short time so they get a job and getting money to support themselves ...... many company today will not recruit new programmers which they didn't have projects in their background .....

[@itsyaboimat2393]

So I start my bootcamp in two days and I'm terrified I'm currently a firefighter, and I've been doing that for the last 10 years. here's my problem I have mild left side cerebral palsy, so I don't want them to look at the disability and immediately dismiss me as a possible hire, so I'm torn between just saying Eff it and go full time firefighter as it's what I've done the last 10 years but it's unbelievably hard on your body so I'm looking for a career that's not going to ruin my back anymore

[@paulywalnutz5855]

in my experience you dont need a 'good portfolio', you need to interview well. and you need to be able to highlight transferable skills, because they are just going to assume you suck at coding anyway. so take pressure off yourself to make some amazing portfolio and just have a go at some projects, revise important topics like data structures. And just keep doing this everyday lol

[@andrewdrewdrew1637]

did that help you land a job?

[@tylernol1566]

To add to this, a good skill to describe to a prospective employer is that you learn and try things in your PERSONAL projects, but that you will adhere to professional standards and existing patterns at work. In my younger days I'd practice patterns and things I read about online in the production code. Not good. At your work you want to use the right pattern for the job, not adhere code to a pattern "just because". As your knowledge of engineering grows you'll understand why. But for now, this is what I would convey to a prospective employer. Ultimately now I just look up documentation for a language and how to do something anyways, it's not like you memorize every little thing of a language or a framework. Even code you work on all the time, maybe you don't go to a certain area of it often, and when you do, it looks foreign. It may take you a couple hours to get acclimated again. Anyways, what's the difference in that moment to a Jr dev? That's what is important to convey: your logic ability, your reasoning ability, knowing that you don't know something (easier said than done) and asking for a second opinion, taking your time, etc. Taking your time... yes...

[@alexandrf2428]

The one will not even get invited to the interview without good portfolio unfortunately.

[@haha-eg8fj]

@@alexandrf2428 Spot on. Many employers demand everything just to do a tiny part of a project. As a job seeker, you need to show you understand everything.

[@user-qk6pv5rq4b]

Stay strong. Keep doing. Wish you best. Greetings from Ukraine

[@ninasamsonova4418]

When you're at the very beginning keep your strategy as simple as possible. learn basics by writing code, try the most popular tech stack (it's probably well documented and there's a lot of tutorials and solved use cases) and apply for jobs as soon as possible, 'cause real production experience and mentor's reviews can't be replaced by any tutorials. Job experience will boost your knowledge in a month, like you couldn't on your own for a year. you'll never feel like you know everything, and anxiety will only grow with waiting time.. take bad interviews as experience, after a short time you'll be able to learn new stuff on your own without such struggles..

[@randyrips]

Keep going sista. Don’t give up.

[@We-kv3ze]

I have trouble getting breaks inbetween, I just keep going and then become unmotivated. Also the amount of smart people in this field, they seem so motivated, unstoppable even and code for hours without breaks, read upon every update and learn every framework.. these people.. they scare me. I just want to code u know... lol

[@bronsonsnip0r]

I would say dont focus too much on JS, React, Angular, etc. There will be a new framework that claims to make it all better and easier every few years and ppl start jumping on it. Webdev is really hard. What I suggest to do is: learn the FUNDAMENTALS first. There are so many layers of abstractions in webdev, which make life easier but also hides aways whats underneath it. So all the way down there is pure JS. Learn that first, because then you appreciate and understand how those frameworks work and why the work like that. Some people say learning Assembly is the key to understand all programming languages much better. Well I wouldnt go that far but learning like C is also a good start, whatever you do later.

[@nonyabizness577]

I think Programming Paradigms also help especially for interpreted languages like ES7, Python 3.11+, Java 11+, with all the abstractions like you mentioned, it kind of gets difficult when you don't have a lower-level understanding of how programming languages interact with the machine. There's sooo many concepts nowadays and having a solid foundation really is key to understanding things a lot easier. You don't even have to know the ins and outs of every language out there, simply being able to take advantage of the average use cases that a technology/tool offers often is more than enough.

[@thelonercoder5816]

nah you should def hyper focus on one framework since companies want someone who know how to read and maintain their codebase. It's highly unlikely a company will switch over to some new language or framework since it's extremely expensive. Also you said to not focus too much on JS yet want people to understand the basics. Vanilla JS is the basics lol. Unless you want people to know how to read freakin binary code my guy lol.

[@scpresearcherssite1054]

feel the same.

[@yogi2983]

just keep going. it's hard and you'll get overwhelmed but get a mentor who'll help you with challenging stuff and don't stop coding.

[@kenmtb]

"get a mentor" ...great idea but how???

[@freaklore]

Well, there are about 9000 programming languages. Imagine all the frameworks that come and go. It is quite impossible to learn all of this. You can get familiar with the syntax, data structures and algorithms but having a defined path will save you some time in your studies. Best to become a specialist within whatever language interests you most, that would include a framework or whatnot. Do you compete with everyone else? Or, dig around for supposed dying programming languages and master one of them? It really is choose your own adventure and there is no wrong choice as you can always pivot to another language or programming pathway to follow.

[@AshtonMotana]

Boot camps can accelerate your learning and a good path.

[@simonegiuliani4913]

Learn CS fundamentals and just pick just 1 OOP language to learn decently and apply for a Junior role once you have completed at least 3/4 projects. Technical people can smell from 200Km away if you are talking bs during any interviews. Going horizontal on many technologies for someone who doesn't have any fundamentals is the recipe for a disaster.

[@thelonercoder5816]

I think it also depends on the complexity and size of your project. I think 1-2 big, complex projects that you coded over a couple months matter more than 3-4 small projects that only took you a week lol.

[@HLB512]

Has anyone else tried Scrimba? Was it useful?

[@sul-dev]

Interesting 🙂

[@myronschabe]

I would advise this young woman to look for an internship...the market is challenging right now, and the market is flooded. Don't get too distracted/overwhelmed by everything that is out there. Javascript, Html, Css are the core skills, you need React or Angular you need to know about Typescript, you need to know Git and something about Webpack. If you are just going to stay with Front-end you need to know how to access a database via a REST Call... You need to know how to do your Html, CSS responsively for different device screen sizes. These are the core basic front-end skills...

[@e-volution]

We all feel the same even with 20+ years of experience. And of course, always trying to deal with the paralysis by analysis. 😂

[@NoMansLand24]

I’m in a bootcamp and I feel so frustrated. I want to quit everyday cause I feel like I’m on a treadmill. Hope she makes it

[@y.a.3903]

The question is whey someone wants to be a developer? Because one enjoys solving problems or for making money? If it is the second option, then it was a bad idea. There are other better alternatives.

[@herono-4292]

Which one ?

[@thesecondantagoniser4008]

My advice is that you need to build something which you want to make. Coding is just a tool; you learn it because you want to BUILD SOMETHING and not because you want a job. If you're not interested in building anything in particular but you're just learning how to code because you want that $$$ then DO NOT become a programmer because you will waste your time. The whole point of being an engineer is because there is a problem you want to solve or because you want to make life easier (unless you're getting into entertainment like video games). I've been in the industry almost 5 years now and that's how you thrive.

[@chukwudiogudo5379]

But most CS undergrad don’t have any problem in their heads they plan to solve before going into college or am I missing something? I love to code but right now I’m yet to figure out a problem to solve even though I’m still in the process of learning. Did you have a problem in mind to solve before you ever started to code? Please reply so we don’t get discouraged. Thanks

[@kyanvalipour380]

Hello! I would suggest going through Zero To Mastery's curriculum. It's paid, but it's by far the best learning experience I've had thus far. This is just my personal opinion, though.

[@personcunha]

I'm 42 years old and I fell the same sometimes.

[@scott_itall8638]

34 and feel the same, self taught skipped employment and went straight for self employment which is a massive challenge but worth it.

[@holup5035]

@@scott_itall8638 27, had 1 year frontend junior exp. No company want to hire me anymore, and i feel like building things like I did with react and redux is suuper not up do date. Well at least i have a hobby haha

[@changoviejo9575]

People just want easy money. It takes years for a self-taught developer to get a job, the ones that get there quick are either much, much smarter than average or their current career is heavily related to logical thinking. Either way the struggle to learn to code is brutal, definitely not a side project. The third option is that they are lying.

[@thelonercoder5816]

can confirm. Only other exception is if you have great connections to people already in the industry that can vouch for you.

[@Wanderer2035]

Dam I wish I can help her. Now I see why some developers offer to mentor others for free

[@passportbro904]

I hired a tutor full time from India for $5ph, im hoping that gives me an edge, he knows everything his into ai and stuff, all I got to do is listen to him and soak it all up, id recommend anyone to hire a tutor, 50% of the pressure goes, and how can you fail? Your tutor will tell you when your ready to apply for jobs. I work with him 6 days a week for 2-4 hours a day.

[@brians2328]

Definitely smart idea... any contact info?

[@Sky-yy]

Add timestamps atleast

[@billybanter9573]

I was like that all through college then I got a job as a Spring / Angular dev and I just concentrate on that.

[@AshtonMotana]

Do MERN Stack with Apollo Server and Apollo Client, with GraphQl, MongoDB and Mongoose

[@josephl6727]

Definitely for not the faint heart.

[@Lucas-tf5ge]

Hi guys! I'm a frontend developer from Brazil currently i work in a position in my role using React, if you need help or want to talk, answer this comment for me to know!

[@dota2content755]

I'm currently doing Web development, my biggest advice is just don't overthink it, and try frameworks and libraries.

[@robd1859]

I wish there was a union apprenticeship for coders

[@asus12351]

Your better off if you have a mentor than going at it completely alone.

[@collinsenoseje8436]

real talking going on here

[@AshtonMotana]

The best developer is one that wears 3 hats, as a user, designer and developer.

[@CabalBoone]

wish she worked at my company

[@bbhoxe]

why is that

[@dsinghr]

just learn enough to get first job as an intern OR a junior developer. Your real learning will happen on job. Rest all is BS - a 15 year exp. software engg.

[@Random-om8rq]

Don't apply for a software engineer job or study software engineeing it's not even engineering it's just software development that companies make it appear as prestigious as to attract public attention and engender trust they cannot gain through competence.

[@nosam1998]

This claim is easily refuted by just looking at the very definition of "Engineer". I know others who share this sentiment and I would argue it's because of the amount of money that we make instead of what we do. Software Engineering IS engineering. Here's the definition from a dictionary "a person trained and skilled in the design, construction, and use of engines or machines, or in any of various branches of engineering: a mechanical engineer; a civil engineer.". The contributions from the position/title of Software Engineer could vary between companies but the majority do fit the description above. We take an idea/customer input/etc... and turn that into something. Also take note of other "various branches of engineering" : "Digital Technology. the art or process of designing and programming computer systems: computer engineering; software engineering."

[@culthorror]

Sansa stark e Sam?

[@user-te2pe5qm8o]

Glad to know not only I failed at the dev ride, let's sob together!

[@lang6626]

Don’t nobody want to tell this young lady things aren’t as good as they used to be, there’s something called chatGpt trying so hard to take your job

[@kennynoel2863]

Sansa? IS that you?

[@UnderArea51]

Learn Java - Its a happy place

[@ahmetykar7132]

This girl is very honest and very sweet.

[@greatbullet7372]

the insecurity on this one is real, i think the university or college is missing a big important part, called givin a perspective. Its not her fault she just relies too much on whats been told and sold there.

[@skybuck2000]

MONEY WILL BE YOUR MOTIVATOR ! =D

[@teatimee]

No, seriously. The better the coder you are the more you don't know. Good luck