Is that enough to do exercises on freeCodeCamp to become a web-developer or not?

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Hello everyone! I’ve just started learning on freeCodeCamp and I’ve got a question:

Will doing only exercises on freeCodeCamp be enough to build my own responsive web-site and become a web-developer in the future?I am worry that I can forget the information from lessons before I start a real practice(it seems it’s called “building your own portfolio site” on the map). Should campers also do some extra activity or just follow the path on the map?

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I’ve just started learning to code as well. I am going to approach learning coding this way: finish the projects on FCC and try some of the projects on other online camps. I figure that even though it will take more time, finishing other projects will give me much-needed confidence and will help me learn the language better.

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@Nikita - i have been on codecamp and at excercise #282 , right now, i can say with full confidence that if one does not take the easy way out and peep at the solutions, the way the people at FCC have designed this, if you complete the Front End Certification, you will be a very good developer …

This might seem tough in between but its the best course online and that too for FREE with a great community …

So please stick it out and complete it no matter how long it takes as you will come out good in end …

Regards

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I think you need to look at other learning resources like W3schools as part of your study.

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I believe you have to do more than simply what is on FCC. FCC provides a roadmap, but you still have to find your own way and that includes learning about things that are related but not necessarily on the map. You can get by with learning just the bare minimum to get you through the exercises and projects, but it won’t make you a good developer. I say: follow your interests and see what you like about programming. Some people like the desing part, others the coding part, others want to develop great API’s. It doesn’t matter, but keep going deeper into the matter. Just keep learning by doing.

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This is my feeling for sure. Not that I know what I’m talking about yet. I just did the first 107 parts today in 5 hours and definitely know that when I come up the to the first projects (3 challenges away!) I’m going to have to revisit a lot of the previous challenges.

Nikita:
Just go back to the lessons you did before if you forget and it’ll refresh you, I expect to do the same but breeze through them muttering “Oh yeah, I remember” repeatedly.

50 hours are given for the projects for a reason. I think anyway.

Also don’t expect to remember everything. My friend works front end development for some big retailers and she has to google stuff from time to time because she forgot it.

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forkerino is right, FCC gives us a roadmap and our task is to research a lot, in order to develop autonomy, which is a great quality for a developer.

You will totally be able to build your own responsive web-site quite soon after you begin FCC! As for finding employment as a webdev, you can have a look at the success stories share in the forums.

Extra-activities : so far I have bought a book on javascript to review and learn code;
I also built a few extra-curriculum projects, just to master things I needed for curriculum projects (and to simply have fun too.)
I also learnt to use github and to send my projects to github through git on the terminal.
I log my progress on twitter with the #100daysofCode challenge, which I recommend: great community, when you’re having difficulty, there’ll alsways be someone ready to help.

Have fun!!!

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I feel like this is overstating it.

The Front End Course will help build foundational skills, and, most importantly, teach you how to figure things out and learn independently. And, of course, people DO get employed after finishing the Front End Certificate.

BUT, and I think this is a big BUT, the Front End Certificate does not teach you enough to by itself to make you a “Good Developer.” It prepares you to continue working to become one, but you won’t be there yet. I say this having completed all 3 Certs, having done non-profit work, and now being employed as a Web Developer. FreeCodeCamp made my career transition possible, but it’s probably only been about half of what I’ve learned in the last year and half. There is a lot more to learn besides what FreeCodeCamp covers (although I believe the new curriculum rewrite will help with this to some extent).

Some stuff that FreeCodeCamp didn’t teach me that I rely on every day in my job:

  • Version Control (it’s a lot more complicated that just git commit -am over and over)
  • Testing Driven Development
  • Communicating with Users (You do learn this doing the non-profit work, if you continue that far)
  • Accessibility (It comes up a little in FCC and there’s a lot more in the new curriculum, but this is a HUGE topic that you could spend months learning, and I have)
  • Design Patterns (I don’t necessarily mean the Gang of Four book’s list, but rather the general practice of building applications with a sensible structure that avoids common problems).
  • Managing application state (most of the projects are small enough that you can get finish them without really learning about this)
  • Data modeling (you get a little practice with this in the Back End Certificate, but you’re kind of on your own as far as learning to do it well; you could get through the Back End projects without properly learning this; I did and am still struggling with it).

FCC is a great foundational program, and I would not be where I am without it, but there is a lot more to being a “good developer” than what is in FCC’s curriculum.

However, I would agree that if you can complete FCC’s curriculum, you can learn this other stuff too. Just don’t forget that it’s there, and that eventually you will need to learn some/most of it. Development is a very large field, and you will never reach the finish line for learning how to do it. There is no finish line.

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This is everything! Those who think otherwise are in big trouble.

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@tjscollins - I agree with you , i also say that if one gets involved in a great community driven place like FCC, one gets really interested in programming , as there are many to solve your problems and even help you out …

I have been asking for help on so many occasions and i get the best possible guidance and answer …

I worked in a company once for a short time before changing city, and i do agree with the points you mention, but if one remains engaged and interested no one can stop us learning new things …

And i do maintain that at this point of time i find FCC the best online community with great people like you :), who take time and guide others…

So i suggest people to stick with FCC , as this is your best bet if you feel lost and cannot decide where to start from …

Thanks

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If you do every single challenge and project from FCC curriculum, I think that it’s enough to consider yourself a junior developer. :slight_smile:

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Thank you for your answer)

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do they give projects at the end for practice at end or just teach?

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Short answer: No, not even close

Doing the exercises, challenges, and projects on here will not set you apart from any other entry level developer. There is a big chunk of what FreeCodeCamp cannot teach you and that is experience. And that only can be garnered by:

  1. Building projects that solve a problem
  2. Doing paid work
  3. Working on complex projects that require you to work on a team and successfully completing it

FCC can give you the tools and how you can go about fixing the problem. However, it’s up to you to apply your learnings.

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