So I can’t say that im giving up… or that I’m even feeling discouraged. But, I feel a bit lost. Im greatly unsure as to what direction I should be taking at this point. Maybe I should continue to build my practice websites and projects ?
I have a solid general overview and understanding of html, css and vanilla javascript… Im a little afraid to go into react because I feel that I haven’t had enough experience with Javascript yet so, to remedy that situation, im taking this course on udemy (which is fantastic).
I can tell that Im slowly getting a better understanding of how everything works. but I guess you can say that I feel like im not making any tangible progress. I feel like im sitting still… I want to do some tutorials but I don’t want to get stuck in “tutorial hell”… I want to try to build my own things with javascript but I don’t feel that im there yet.
I just don’t know what I should be doing… So, Im studying my course and just trying to learn as much as possible. Maybe after the course is done, I can take the information ive learned and go back into project mode…
IDK, just feeling bit lackluster with my coding journey.
Any advise? How can I inject some magic back into my relationship with JS?
I would say that there is never a set journey in web development. The journey is the one you choose.
The paradox is that you will never feel “ready” to build projects into you have built a project. I suggest coming up with a simple project idea, break it down into manageable parts, and start building it! By break it down I mean that instead of thinking about the whole project and feeling overwhelmed, break the process down into something you can manage. Can you turn that project into a navigation bar, a main body section for your content, and footer? Can you break that navigation bar into a section for a logo and a section for navigation links? Can you break this down into these pieces? If you feel overwhelmed, keep breaking it down. All developers break down projects/problems into pieces they can manage.
I want to emphasize that you WILL NOT know everything and that is COMPLETELY NORMAL. No developer knows everything about every project they complete. That is what google, stackoverflow, FCC forum, and other resources are for. Everyone in every field references others work and other materials frequently.
Personally, my first project felt overwhelming because I tried to think of it as one big piece. Eventually, I learned to break it down into individual pieces and only focus on ONE PIECE AT A TIME. Every time I faced an overwhelming problem, I took a step back from the problem, broke it down until I could solve a piece, and continued.
I also want to emphasize that looking something up is to be encouraged. If you do not look something up, you already knew how to do everything and therefore did not learn anything new. But if you attempted (attempting first matters) and then looked something up, you are one more step ahead of where you were before you looked something up.
My most important tip would be:
Be your own source of compassion and support and empowerment. Do not let any critic in your mind deter your from pursuing what you are passionate about!
I feel like most people can relate to your situation when they are first learning how to code.
What worked for me is to build stuff that I was interested in building.
When I built my first website a few months ago, I didn’t feel ready at all to tackle the project when I first started.
But I just took it day by day and learned along the way.
Build things that interest you and they will help keep the spark alive in the learning.
That’s always been my approach to learning.
Building passion projects
Thanks @jwilkins.oboe , and @jessesdevaney ! What you guys mentioned really helped. I guess I need to diversify my project building so that I can stay interested. Building sample websites was fun, but I guess it got a little boring for me and I didn’t know where to go from there.
I mainly wanted to focus on building websites because I felt that its where the job security would be, but I didn’t feel that I was really experimenting with Javascript fully by focusing on my web pages, which for me were more html and css heavy.
Ive taken your advise, and already started a new project that is more javascript heavy and I already feel more exited about things!
Its a real challenge finding new things to build because I don’t even know what all I can do with javaScript yet
That’s totally understandable.
Just start with smaller projects on subjects that you enjoy and as you get more comfortable with javascript then you can build bigger things.
I’m not even as close to being as far along as you are and I get frustrated sometimes… look at it this way… I just started a few days ago and I’m looking at what you’ve already finished and I just hope I can make it that far without giving up.
Thanks a buch. This really sets my mind at ease. Sometimes I want to consume information nonstop to reach my goals faster, and it often results in mental fatigue, learning blocks, and creative slumps. Im glad to hear that what ive been experiencing is relatively normal and relatable. Knowing that makes a big difference in my moral department
Thanks same to you! and even if I do end up quitting I may stay in the forum… these people seem like they’re all great at counseling lol… I’ve never seen so much positive energy its overwhelming!! ! Take care
I think it means that it’s interesting to try something you don’t feel ready for, that’s ‘too big’ like react. If you want to grow, take on something you’re not ready for. It may be horrible, you may feel pain and despair but it will not be useless even if you feel you’re not learning anything. That being said, I do switch from project mode to tutorials regularly. Freecodecamp’s exercises and projects are awesome. I learned so much from them. But, I did need more background to grow. Javascript is not enough. You also need to understand the machine. Later on you will learn about node.js, backend sofware and that’s quite hard. There are also other languagues that javascript interacts with. The course that really helped me overcome many problems was CS50’s introductio on computer science on EDX. There’s a freecodecamp article about it. Harvard CS50 Guide: How to Pick the Right Course for You (with Free Certificate) - It’s really great and I think (not sure) you can do it for free. Then I went back to freecodecamp and coded on.
I get you don’t feel that you’re making progress. I have that too. Sometimes I do feel I have made a ‘jump’. At first these ‘jumps’ come in a quick succession. You feel you are learning. But after a while long stretches follow of what you describe. BUT YOU ARE LEARNING. The next ‘jump’ may still be a long way of, but you will feel it, that sudden realization you’ve reached a new level and it will feel soooo good.
My impression is that you are doing very well, stick to it, you’ll get there allright.
Greets,
Karin
And thanks for the link, I’ve done udemy courses as well. There are JS courses by Anthony Alicea there that I quite enjoyed and they’re not expensive. (If you are ever interested, right now I’m doing a great udemy course on c++ (c++ for total beginners) It’s a bit outdated but free and really very good. from zero to hero)
Wow thanks a buch for your insights. Ive already moved on to working on a fun personal project that challenges me and that really helps me ‘see’ how much progress ive actually made, which made a big difference.
Yeah I compleatly agree, switching to project mode to tutorial mode and vice versa is critical. I guess that this was my first time learning this valuable lesson
Thanks for the resources, I will be sure to take advantage of the tools you provided.
Im assuming here you are speaking on understanding Javascript on a experience based level. Like learning how it works how it works in a practical perspective ? Can you please elaborate on “Javascript is not enough”. Maybe I can assume you’re speaking of learning both front end and back end aspects of Javascript .
Thanks! Thats always good to hear. I do feel that im still moving forward. Its soo refreshing to hear that many others have experienced the same difficulties. Very encouraging to say the least .
No I really mean the computer, the machine. Front end JS works in a browser but there’s also backend JS, called node JS. That JS talks to a computer. It can read and write to files, talk to a database. These days entire applications run on a browser and they can do all these things. But, and here it is, Node JS is a TOTAL nightmare! Well, it was to me, that’s what I mean with ‘background’. CS50 gave me that and explained what I needed to know. Then I returned to FCC to put it all into practice and learn more.There are also issues of speed and memory. At some point you will get there and you will want to understand that machine you are working with better. JS is a great way to start though, the road is long but it provided me with an excellent basis to build on.
Ahh fantastic! I understand now Thanks for taking the time to break that down for me
Yeah, A part of me is interested in the cyber security side of building websites as well. I mean, If im building a website for someone I would like to make sure that im building it as safe as it can be right?
Do you think that learning node.JS could serve as an introduction to that side of things or is this a totally different realm that im thinking of?
Ive always been curious about cyber security, but as im currently Learning Javascript; I don’t want to go too far into a completely different discipline. But I know they must overlap at some point because so many websites are built using Javascript .
You’ve peaked my curiosity im on a Node.JS YouTube wormhole now.
Very interesting stuff. Im not going to get too deep(yet), but its interesting. So its not a language, but almost like an editor that runs on the machine that enables Javascript use outside of the browser?
Very cool. I can only begin to imagine its capabilities
It’s JS allright and yes it can run outside of the browser. You can build your own server software with JS, it allows you to talk to databases, mongoDB is a database that uses javascript. There’s all sorts of ways to use JS now. With Electron JS you can even write your own desktop app (actually it uses a browser window offline and hides all the browser details, so it looks like any other desktop application) You have only scratched the surface!
? Can you please elaborate on “Javascript is not enough”. Maybe I can assume you’re speaking of learning both front end and back end aspects of Javascript 
.
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Well, it was to me, that’s what I mean with ‘background’. CS50 gave me that and explained what I needed to know. Then I returned to FCC to put it all into practice and learn more.There are also issues of speed and memory. At some point you will get there and you will want to understand that machine you are working with better. JS is a great way to start though, the road is long but it provided me with an excellent basis to build on.
im on a Node.JS YouTube wormhole now.