Basic JS done, not sure about the skills I got so far

Hi everyone,

I’m Cinzia and I’ve begun learning coding mid April.

I completed the Responsive Web Design certification in approximately one month and then I started with the Javascript module, completing only the Basic Javascript part.

I usually add to the curriculum here also readings on MDN and W3S, and I recently purchased the books HTML&CSS and Javascript and jQuery. These made me realise how sometimes I am missing very basic pieces of the puzzle in my picture.

Despite learning for months, I sometimes feel as if I don’t have solid fundamentals and that maybe I would need more small projects to put into action what I’ve learnt. Do you know any websites which offer little projects ideas to start putting the new knowledge into practice? Or other resources you use / used?

I’d like to make sure I understood properly the basics of JavaScript before moving onto the next module.

But maybe at this point I am just a bit unmotivated.

How do you / did you cope with this along the way?

Or would you suggest a paid / guided course?

Any suggestion is welcome! :slight_smile:

Thank you,

Cinzia

Everything you are feeling is normal. This is hard stuff.

I’d recommend to just keep going. You’ll get plenty of chances to practice JS. And yes, take little side trips. Don’t understand the array prototype method reduce? Yeah, read the MDN docs on it, watch a youtube video, build a little test app, etc.

When I was learning, I kept a note pad next to my computer. I’d write down the things that I felt I needed to learn better. Then when I had some spare time, I would go back and try to delve deeper. But I think you have to be careful - it’s too easy to get caught up in perfectionism. There is value in pushing forward, getting the big picture, and then filling in the gaps later with experience or extra study.

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Thank you for the reply and advices!
I’ll try and follow your suggestion to keep track of what’s unclear and come back to it later.
Hope that with time and practice it will get better or that my mind will enter in the thought process!

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Yeah, remember that you’re learning a language. No one would expect to speed read through a textbook on Russian and get everything perfect the first time.

I can argue that you will learn way sharper if you will keep refactoring your existing projects. This way you will be able to see how certain changes in your existing code affect performance or UI of your project. Start with implementing JS techniques in projects you’ve done for Responsive Web Design certification, you can add form validation, server-side code, dialog windows, rich data, CSS-in-JS, IP location sniffing, dark/light themes - sky is the limit!

Good luck!

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I’m at a similar level, and also feel like I need more projects. So I make my own. They are silly user interfaces, and not particularly useful other than to let me practice and learn. I’ve made a Rock, Paper, Scissors game and a Guess the Number game.

I don’t think freeCodeCamp teaches you how to use Javascript to make things happen in the browser until you get to the Front End Libraries cert. But MDN or W3S will show you how you can use DOM events and methods if you want to make your own projects.

Even though, like you, I felt like I knew next to nothing after completing Basic Javascript, I went ahead, and am now doing Basic Data Structures. Still, I go back to the basic JS challenges periodically and redo some of them. I’ve also looked at JS stuff on Codecademy for more practice. While I do feel like I’m progressing, it has been slow.

You are definitely not alone!

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I finished the FCC Javascript lessons and utterly failed to learn anything. I totally understand. This failure caused me to want to give up on code, but my mom and boyfriend won;t let me.

My mother has just purchased a book on Javascript that is highly recommended and my boyfriend, who is a web developer. is going to give me lessons till I figure it out. I was also told to follow along with tutorials as I go.

If the book is helpful, I could let you know if you wish.

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thanks for the advice! I will for sure as soon as I will make sense of how to use JavaScript in any project :slight_smile:

Hey! Thank you for sharing! Reading that others are in the same situation makes definitely a difference, and also I feel less alone!
I guess I need to use some creativity now to start little projects and just keep going!
Let’s hope it will clear up down the way? :slight_smile:

Sure! Let me know about the book!
And thanks for sharing, it’s nice to know that I’m not alone and that it’s “normal” to feel this way at this point

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I got the book and did the first chapter and lessons. It was fun! I really enjoyed it. So far, I’d totally recommend this book.

It is called “A Smarter Way to Learn Javascript” by Mark Meyers. You read a short chapter, then go online, type in the link supplied in the chapter and do the short and fun lesson. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!