Brand new and topics needed question

You Can Do This!
1

Brand new to coding…my whole life revolves being in a gym and health. I’m going to school online and not sure what degree to get…I thought it was nursing but now I want no part of that life daily…cyber security has my eye because I want to be able to continuously learn and grow as I get older. Couple questions…
I did look through other questions because I see a lot of repeated issues…I do understand coding is hard and it being hard is a big part of it’s reward
-I started at the beginning with the topics (html) and doing ok but if my interest is in cyber security will I keep going down the list? I do know that understanding everything is needed but I feel like I might be spending time teaching myself to build websites instead of staying on the path that leads to my want to learn cyber security.

-I use the videos…a lot…but I try to know what and why I’m doing even though I do that…freecodecamp is time consuming and one worry I have is that I will spend a lot of time doing but not inching towards becoming “better”. Sometimes I feel like being on here is just a way to feel like I’m accomplishing something…I do know it is all we make of it but just wish I could feel more confident I’m accomplishing something.

-To keep this short I will end with that…I have a lot of questions but I also know the answer to them is to “just do”…it really does solve a lot but my worry is that what I’m doing is leading me somewhere. I look at the freecodecamp tab on my cpu and WANT to click it to spend time in but I ask myself if I’m truly getting anywhere…
For those of us that know nothing about code or cpu’s period…even while we learn something we feel lost and almost like we don’t belong… Doing more solves that and doing I can do…right now i just need to have a direction that won’t fail me
Thanks in advance.

2

I started at the beginning with the topics (html) and doing ok but if my interest is in cyber security will I keep going down the list?

Will it help? Sure. Is it exactly what you want to study? Not really. But it will be useful information. And plus - people often don’t end up where they thought they would when they started.

…and one worry I have is that I will spend a lot of time doing but not inching towards becoming “better”

You’re learning more than you realize.

I have a lot of questions but I also know the answer to them is to “just do”

I think a balance is good. Just do, but also try to understand. Just realize that the full understanding may come later.

For those of us that know nothing about code or cpu’s period…

Well, FCC focuses on web development. For that there is a lot of coding. There isn’t much hardware knowledge necessary (like CPUs). But in web development, security is an important topic that you will get into later.

…even while we learn something we feel lost and almost like we don’t belong…

Yes, “imposter syndrome” - everyone suffers from it.

right now i just need to have a direction that won’t fail me

A lot of beginners worry about having the “perfect path”. There is none. Again, you don’t really know what your destination is yet. I wanted to be a backend developer and ended up working as a mobile developer. Everything you learn will make you a better developer in general. Considering that understanding how websites, servers, APIs, and the internet in general work would be very helpful in some cyber security disciplines, it seems there would be some at least tangential and possibly very solid benefits.

Don’t worry about the “perfect path” - just learn.

If you know where you might want to study cyber security, maybe talk to a guidance counselor there. Maybe look on linkedin and find some people who have the jobs you think you may want and reach out to them and find out what they think.

2 Likes
3

Thanks for the responses…They are so similar to everything I have learned in the gym over the years…The more experienced you think you are the more you learn you know nothing and have to continue questioning things and learning through experience…I am constantly going back to the basics and becoming better at those in order to make sense of the whole picture…
Almost everything we think we need to know right now comes later…

I think I am making this harder on myself because I am not constantly digging in and instead I’m hopping on here in my free time…I don’t have that lazer focus that is needed to be consistent.
My only question is you mentioned

Will it help? Sure. Is it exactly what you want to study? Not really. But it will be useful information. And plus - people often don’t end up where they thought they would when they started.

That makes me want to ask if there is another type of free resource I should be doing instead even though this will be helpful?

Thanks for taking the time to respond…I’ve read your responses to others and you always give good honest advice.

4

hi there @estiller33

I learned couple of things even being a new in this field- starting from scratch.
in the IT community one of the pros here- there are always a help you can get- from the most simple questions untill the most complex one. take as example the stackoverflow- you can find there help from A to Z.

Second, there are going to be people that will always help you- and wont make laugh that “you cannot understand simple question”. there are people almost 24\7 that will help you, or in this forum, or in the Discord server of the FCC- there are great people from every level- from the beginners to gods in coding.

Third coding is kind of complicated, but its a sweet reward when you understand something and succeeded in making it. Coding indeed is constant learning and growing, its changes and grows as quick as computers and cellphones

to tell you the truth, I’m being confused relating for where to go: front end? back end? full stack? or data analyst? so I’ve put it aside for a moment and I’m just learning. Even learning anything that in your opinion is not connected to what you want is good. in the coding world almost everything is interconnected. you cannot learn JS if you are not familiar with html & css, for example and so on.

Just make that first step, and start learning. feeling stucked? there is a great suggestion of a workflow I got from the residents of the forum- and hey, it works! IT world is different from most things most of us were, before we dived in. As condinute learning, I feel that my brain is getting rebuilt and thinks in the way it should be. So this workflow called Read Search Ask- that is the link to this article.

and the most essential, most fundamental concept: Google is your best friend. in Every position, from beginner to GodMode.
Good luck in learning and happy coding! BTW, here is a link to the Discord: https://discord.gg/KVUmVXA

1 Like