JavaScript is killing me…and making me discouraged. I was all but ready to quit today…
I have completed all of the activities/lessons in the FCC JavaScript course up to Basic Algorithm Scripting. (Though I did need to use many hints and I also followed along with a FCC JS youtube video that was super helpful).
I thought I was finally starting to get it. Now that I am at Basic Algorithm Scripting, I have no idea how to do any of the algorithms on my own. I looked at a few hints and I can follow what is happening, but I can’t come up with it on my own.
Ideas for how to keep going? Should I switch to youtube and try to do some of those videos? Do I go back to the beg of the JS course and just start it over? I don’t feel like the lessons really prepped me for the algorithms that show up. I don’t want to give up…so I am just looking for ideas on how to get JS to make better sense for me. Any other resources that would be good? I was thinking a sort of JS cheat sheet would be helpful because I can’t memorize what all of the different things do, but I didn’t find one that was super helpful.
This is ‘the hard part’ for learning any programming language. This isn’t a matter of memorizing syntax. It’s about a) understanding a problem b) developing a process to solve the problem c) articulating every little step in that plan d) turning those steps into code e) finding and debugging mistakes.
That’s a hard process!
Luckily, that’s what we are here for. If you start the process and get stuck, then come over here, tell us what you have so far (even if it’s just an incomplete understanding of the problem!) and we can help you get moving again.
Yah, definitely hard. I think I understand the problems but not from a JS standpoint of know what code to put in to get it respond. It’s the b and c of what you said
Thanks for the advice to come here. I do often…but not really to be like, I DONT GET IT. Soooo…I’ll try that approach.
most beginner struggle with their first programming lanaugage.
Learning how to code takes a different mindset and new skills that take a while to get used to.
When I was first learning, I too struggled with javascript and programming basics.
But I kept practicing a little bit each day and it did eventually start to make sense. eventually I was able to land a full time software developer job.
learning this stuff is not easy but it is possible to get to the other side.
this is a common issue.
algorithmic thinking takes time to get used to and a lot of practice before you will get comfortable with it.
I would suggest looking at sites like codewars and exercisim for extra practice.
through time and practice, you will start to recognize a lot of patterns and get better with coming up with solutions.
one common trap that beginners fall into is trying to memorize all of the methods.
there are way to many methods to memorize.
instead focus on the core concepts and practicing those concepts through coding challenges and building projects.
over time, you will start to remember certian things because you have coded a lot but there will always be things that you will need to look up.
even senior developers look up things all of the time.
the key to build up a foundation to grow from and understand the basics.
So I guess then my thinking is…I should pause FCC because I don’t know how to proceed at the current spot I am and maybe go find other resources to keep practicing or to look at codewars and exercism for practice and then come back to FCC. My issue is that I have gotten all the way up to the algorithms and have no idea how to even start any of them. So I feel like I am at a standstill.
When I say memorize, I don’t really mean sit down and memorize. I just mean that in order to even think about how to approach the code, I can’t remember any of the possible strategies.
I appreciate the advice and do know it’s supposed to be hard and that this is a common pitfall which helps my mindset…but not really the frustration. lol.
yeah, I think you can started with codewars exercises and exercism exercises to help with the algorithm challenges.
also, looking at some youtube videos on learning how to break down some of these problems will help too
but also, algorithm challenges are only one part of javascript.
the other major component is building projects.
to help reinforce your learning overall, I would suggest starting to build small projects.
I did this a lot when I was first learning.
I would build things like a background color changes or inputing a sentence and having the app output a reversed string.
all of these project consisted of a few lines of javascript code, but it really did help me
you can try these resources to get started
yeah, I get it
I was in the same position as you back in 2020.
it took me a really long time to learn how to problem solve and break problems down into bite size pieces.
you can try some of these sources for learning how to get better with algorithms
Thank you!!! That is super helpful! I will definitely start working through these. I appreciate it. I’m trying not to fall into the “give up easily” camp. I appreciate hearing your story…I think I listened to a podcast you were on --maybe codenewbies? --…so you’re basically a celebrity to me …just gotta stick with it. perfectionism is my biggest enemy.
I’ve also been slowly doing cs50. maybe I should go back to that to get some more ideas around algorithms and problem solving.
