Just want your opinion on this topic.
I have recently finished Basic JavaScript, those 111 lessons… and currently going through ES6. The reason I went through Basic JavaScript twice is to get a better understanding which in all honesty did help.
Now, my problem is that I still don’t see anything practical with JS. I’ve no idea what and when to expect to implement it. I see a lot of people saying
“Don’t copy someone else’s code from the internet when you’re building the project, build it yourself” but I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen because, by the time I get to it I’ll forget most of it.
My goal is not to become front-end developer. I have friends that work as programmers and my current role is IT Support (nothing fancy). What they said is that the best role that’ll suit me is DevOps, SiteOps with backend mostly. That’s what I’ve been told by many of my friends.
They’re all coding professionally and are telling me to build projects and focus on learning that way and I’ve no idea if that’s right. Nevertheless I’ve been told to start with JS and get familiar with programming language so I could then move on to something else.
For example, I have two projects that they gave me to build:
1st Project : Auction House (using only HTML, CSS, JS)
2nd Project: Code generator site that will have a form on the left side and on the right side it will display the code we want to copy to clipboard or download. Similar layout to FreeCodeCamp in terms of visual. (also using only HTML, CSS, JS)
It sounds complicated but they told me to press on as that’s the only way to learn. I’d have to google everything and probably copy paste a lot of code if I’m to build that. That’s what gets me.
I’m going through with this JavaScript FCC learning but no project in sight yet.
Motivation to learn is there but I feel useless going through this course with nothing to build yet.
Is this a good way to approach this?
Should I do stuff on my own this complex?
How and when did you guys do your first JS project and did you write everything from scratch?
Roughly speaking, HTML and CSS control what a website looks like, but JavaScript controls what a website does. You need a programming language to manage dynamic behavour.
Before you get to those projects, I’d work your way up to the freeCodeCamp JavaScript projects in the certification you are currently in and the next one. Those will get you close to being able to do the two projects you mentioned.
You really don’t want to Google and copy-paste large portions of code if you want to learn programming. Even if you do DevOps, you’ll need to know how problem solve with code.
I’d instead focus on continuing to learn the fundamentals of programming. You should ask questions here on the forum when you get stuck rather than copying solutions. Coding is about breaking down problems and writing answers as a logical process computers can follow, and copy-pasting doesn’t teach you how to do that.
Those projects sound pretty ambitious. How about start working on the projects listed at the end of the fCC course? You should be able to do them without copying anyone else’s code.
But then some of the JS sections are so poorly described that I loose so much time trying different things, googling and eventually even if I get past it, I know I’ll forget it.
For example, Create Strings using Template Literals
So far one of the worst exercises. Shows you how to use it and then throws such a complicated task that can barely be compared to an example.
Are you guys using any other resources or courses?
I feel like FCC is good for a start but so much information left out and some things barely explained.
This is a good first step.
It is important to understand that you will be learning a lot of new concepts throughout the entire javascript course.
When you are first starting out, just aim for a basic understanding.
It is totally fine if everything doesn’t make 100% sense.
That is because you are in the very beginning.
You are just learning the basic tools.
You haven’t gotten to the point of seeing it applied to actual projects yet.
This is a popular course for beginners on how to use the basics in 30 simple projects.
That should help you understand how the pieces fit together.
If you were further along in your javascript studies then I would agree with this.
Build projects on your own really is the best way to learn.
I think they are giving you that advice because they don’t want you to be trapped in tutorial hell where you just leap from tutorial to tutorial and not growing.
I understand where they are coming from.
However,
You just started learning javascript.
You just learned about arrays, functions, es6, objects, etc.
Get a handle on the basics first and start building small projects before tackling the ones you mentioned.
I spent a couple of months building small apps (10-15 lines of javascript) and learning the fundamentals before I build my first website.
The more you understand the fundamentals then the easier it will be to build projects.
Just focus on learning the basics well and start small with the projects.
If you are interested in other resources, here are a few to consider.
It is important to remember that most people struggle to learn their first programming language.
It is a whole other way of thinking.
You will just have to be patient and take it one day at a time.
I can relate to that. I too have done the IT Support and am getting bored of it. But don’t necessarily want to develop software professionally.
I think your friends are just trying to help, but ultimately it is up to you and what you want to do and what are your goals for yourself.
I’ve tried other sites and tutorials. One thing I like about FCC is it doesn’t hand-hold or spoon feed you in the challenges. Sometimes you do have to look things up elsewhere. I think that is how it is in the “real world” too. That’s how it is in the IT Support and other roles I’ve worked in such as Enterprise Storage Systems, etc. You get a week or so of training (if you’re lucky) and then into the job you go, reading docs, knowledge bases, asking questions of more senior co-workers, etc. They can help guide you but aren’t going to do the job for you. And rightly so.
In a job you may or may not have a “forum” to ask colleagues questions, you’ll have to figure it out on your own and google stuff, read docs, etc. I’ve worked in some places where it was toxic and not supportive at all.
A lot of the learning here is learning how to learn on your own effectively, although with some support from this great community (I am new here too). That is what I like about FCC.
