Hey there! I’m a preschool teacher, turning 34 next year, who is looking for a career change. I was considering either doing UX or coding. After doing some exercises in each though, I found myself having a lot more fun doing the coding! So happy I found fCC. I enjoy the ability to work at my own pace and the guilt-free cost compared to the bootcamp options I came across.
I had some minor experience with HTML and CSS when I was younger (back in the days of Xanga and mySpace, haha) so that really came in handy! It was all coming back to me, and I had fun working through the Responsive Web Design Certification. Now I am starting JavaScript… and whoa. It is a little confusing. Trying not to lose steam or get discouraged. Definitely feels like I’m learning a new language and learning a new type of math at the same time!
I feel silly that I’m asking this but I am curious how others are going about this curriculum. Should I go through the whole core curriculum in order or should I be choosing specific languages to specialize in? Is it enough to just stick to the core curriculum, or are people expected to supplement these lessons books or video tutorials? I was definitely using w3schools.com to help with some css and html questions I had, but I wasn’t taking notes or writing anything down the way I would have if I was using a textbook. Sorry for all these questions. I’ve just never done responsive e-learning this way.
Hello. Welcome to our forum.
This happened to me too, and I believe it happens to anyone who hasn’t interacted with JavaScript. You won’t grasp everything at first, to some concepts you won’t even understand much even after carrying out some research about the bothering topic. You won’t get some of these concepts not until much later.
Going through the curriculum would be the best idea. Some of the concepts cut across most programmming languages, you’ll have an easier time learning ohter programming languages in the future. You can supplement the curriculum with other resources, FreeCodeCamp YouTube channel, MDN Docs,W3 Schools…their are a ton. The goal is to grasp what JS offers. .
Above all, practise…write code where possible, even the fewest and simplest lines of code can unvail something major that you’ve been having hard time understanding.
Our general advice is to start out by following the curriculum in order. As you progress, you will gain experience in your own interests and learning styles. You’ll also get exposed to more alternative resources. Most people end up drifting away from the curriculum before they finish everything because they are able to self-direct more. But you need to start somewhere, and freeCodeCamp is a really good place to start.
HTML and CSS are markup languages. And a lot of the concepts will be easier to pick up for beginners. But JavaScript is a programming langugage. So not only are you trying to learning JavaScript but also programming in general.
Most people struggle when learning JavaScript for the first time.
I started learning back in 2020 as a career switcher too and it took time to understand JavaScript. But I just kept taking it day by day and continued practicing until it started to click for me. Through enough persistance and hard work I was able to land a developer job as a JavaScript developer.
My advice is to take it one day at a time and ask questions often when you get stuck.
That is why the forum exists so people can help each other learn and grow.
You should do it in order because that is how the curriculum was designed.
It is totally fine and normal to use other resources while you are learning.
You will never just learn from one single source.
Use freeCodeCamp as your main guide and supplement with other sources as necessary.
I think taking notes is fine. But you will get more practice by building projects. The new JS curriculum is cover that.
