I still get by with my coding skills, how to master coding?

I still get by with my coding skills. my first taste in coding was when I was 18 focused on Photoshop in making buttons mostly and change colors on websites without really writing code much but working already with code on pre-existing websites

at that time I saw it as a creative experiment but that’s it but I did not see it as a career path or me at all, I was not very interested in that but I did not do make any real career choice either at the time

I was very confused and did not know what I really wanted to become that lasted up to now on and off (I will be 31 in a month)

Then a few years ago I started learning how to work, edit and update a wordpress website that already had a paid template installed

I learnt to get by with it but to this day I am still not confident in working in Wordpress, still having to put the latest backup if something breaks the site

I have not really worked with PHP as with so many plugins there is no need to know PHP

I started studying coding from the real beginning via freeCodeCamp since the start of May 2022 for about 4 months (last 2 months of no coding ) I completed the HTML and CSS Certification and about the JavaScript Certification I am at the Basic Algorithm Scripting at 4 out of 16 lessons

I am almost there to my studying goal that is getting the Front End Development Certification (goal is to get a job as React Developer)

I still get by with my coding skills(covering Wordpress, HTML and CSS and JavaScript)
I struggle to remember coding, there is so much to study, how can I remember that?
I have a lot of confusion in my head about coding and its rules not very clear sometimes

I watched so many youtube videos that said you could get a web dev job in 1 or 3 months or learn JavaScript in 1 month. I can see now it was a lie, not realistic at all but I believed that when I started studying code in May

I want to join some Meetups of other web devs around me, I pretty much code every day trying to not waste any more time but I am so drained and I need to go outside

Also getting a web dev job via networking is the way to go. I knew a guy I knew years ago that suggested me if I wanted to get a job at the company he worked for and he did other tech things not web dev something i did not like and understand

I still have not figured out how to learn coding properly in ways that sink in my brain. If I don’t code every week the concepts start fading away, is it normal?

Studying code is not like studying any other subject, I realized that

I am stuck, I want to live up to my potential

I want to get a job as React Developer in December 2022

I don’t know what “master” means. To learn all there is to learn? That is not possible, and it keeps growing. Don’t worry about “master”. This is not a video game where you unlock achievements so you can level up and unlock new skills. Just learn. Learn and build things. Learn what you need for whatever you are working on are are curious about.

I watched so many youtube videos that said you could get a web dev job in 1 or 3 months or learn JavaScript in 1 month. I can see now it was a lie, not realistic at all but I believed that when I started studying code in May

Yeah, it’s nonsense. But if I make a youtube video “How to make $10k a month without even trying - all you need is old, discarded soy sauce packets!” … people will watch it and it will make ad revenue. That is all this is.

I still have not figured out how to learn coding properly in ways that sink in my brain. If I don’t code every week the concepts start fading away, is it normal?

Sure, to an extent. I always say that google is a developers best friend. The point is to learn what is possible and google the details. No one can remember all of it.

Studying code is not like studying any other subject, I realized that

I don’t know, I’d say it is like music. You mostly learn music by doing it. Sure, sometimes at university (I was a music major), you spent time in classroom analyzing stuff, but most of the learning was in a practice room, going over stuff.

I think coding is like that. Learn you lessons (like in FCC) and build things. Learn new things and then find an excuse to build with them, and also try to build something that forces you to learn something new, face a new challenge.

And go easy on yourself - this is hard stuff.

I want to get a job as React Developer in December 2022

That may be tough. In the next 5 weeks?

You said this:

I completed the HTML and CSS Certification and about the JavaScript Certification I am at the Basic Algorithm Scripting at 4 out of 16 lessons

So you haven’t even started the libraries? I don’t understand - do you already know React? Do you have a portfolio with React projects? If we could see that, that would help.

If I understand your level, I think you still need some work before you are ready for a React job. Me, I finished FCC (back when it was just 6 certs, all MERN stack) and then spent a little more than a year building and learning before I got a job. I don’t know, it might take you less time, or it might take you more time. But getting the first job is very difficult. I think that December 2023 might be a more realistic goal. That would be definitely possible, but not a sure thing.

Just keep at it. For anyone with at least reasonable intelligence and aptitude, if you keep working at it, it will almost certainly happen. It just never seems to happen as quickly as we hope.

1 Like

I understand what you mean, but I’ve always hated when people say, “job ready” in relation to coding. There isn’t some checklist and then you’re ready to go. Again, to me that is video game thinking - what do I need to level up?

I like to think of it as a continuum. When you start, your odds of getting hired in the next month is almost 0. After 15 years of professional coding and massive experience and great references and 2 popular open source projects and a respected coding blog… your odds are closer to 100%. Everything else is on that continuum. Every thing you learn, every thing you build, every algorithm you add to your skillset, every PR you make on an open source project, every bit you polish your resume, your portfolio site, your interviewing skills … Those all increase those odds just a little. The point isn’t to cross some threshold where suddenly you’re “hireable” - the point is to keep increasing the odds and keep trying until the law or averages catches up.

2 Likes

since I have started in May I have been mostly coding at least 4 days a week, with the last 2 months of no coding at all. I also had some moments where I needed a mental break because I was studying non-stop everyday and did not code for a week as I could not accomplish much of concrete

for example when studying JS I did not remember much of HTML and CSS even the simple how to link CSS file to website or the code to make the website responsive by default

I wonder, is this normal for web devs?

I want to live up to my full potential, to become the web dev I need

I am going right now over all the HTML, CSS studied and then I will do the JS part too that I am at 3/4 of it

I want to clarify every coding piece studied so far

Yeah, I had to take a break when I was powering through FCC, too.

for example when studying JS I did not remember much of HTML and CSS even the simple how to link CSS file to website or the code to make the website responsive by default

I wonder, is this normal for web devs?

100%. You’re learning a language, remember? (Or actually, a few.) Did you even study a language in high school? College? You don’t remember every single lesson, perfectly, the first time. It takes time an repetition. Don’t worry about it. You remember more than you think you do. And you can google the rest. Yes, you will have to relearn a few things, but keep moving forward. That way, when you end up using justify-content, it will be in a real context and it will “stick” better.

Look, I’ve been a professional developer for 5 years now. I still have trouble remembering which CSS property is “justify-content” and which is “align-items”. I still can’t remember which is which between slice and splice - I have to look them up every time, to remember which mutates. Just this week, I couldn’t remember which prototype method returns true if any of the callback iterations are truthy. I kept thinking it was called “any”. I had to look it up on MDN - it was “some”. That’s OK, that is what google is for. Knowing how to code and memorizing every little detail are two different things. I’m paid because I know how to code. Maybe there is some “coder trivia show” where memorizing on the details will make you money. Until then, I’ll just use google.

1 Like

I find really useful cheatsheets that have unicorns/dogs for example to understand css flexbox on

also by funny images like this one to get the difference between head and body tags :joy:

did you do leetcode?
is it to get ready for coding interviews, right?
if so, how did you find it?

leetcode is a site to test you on algorithms. Of the algorithms sites out there, I think it is one of the better ones. It is helpful to get ready for interviews: it helps you practice algorithms and it helps you practice coding in an unfamiliar IDE. I recommend even practicing talking while you are doing it, explaining what you are doing - that is a good thing to do in interviews. Also, once you solve one, don’t forget to look at see how other solved them (remembering that some people show off a bit too much and their solutions sometimes sacrifice readability for being “cool”).

And it’s not just for getting ready for interviews. I try to do an algorithm or two a week just to keep that part of my coder brain active. But also remember that it is only one part of coding and not always the most important part - just easy to test and “judge”.

1 Like

cool, I will check it out :woman_technologist:

This topic was automatically closed 182 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.