Need Advice for structuring my learning

Hey all,
So I’ve been teaching myself to code for almost a year. I’ve been doing courses on udemy, from strictly javascript tutorials to more general bootcamp type like Colt steele’s beginner and advanced web dev courses along with another course: “Code with node” that focuses on building an app with nodejs. I’m also currently doing the javascript section here on FCC and I plan on doing the majority of courses here.

So with all that being said, i feel like i have a decent understanding of html,css,js,and nodejs. However, I also feel like I lack structure and I’m all over the place with my learning, I still need to finish a portfolio, 3 of my own apps and finish a couple courses. I just don’t know what is most important to have “done” at this point. Any advice on how to best pursue getting a dev job would be greatly appreciated, I am definitely more than willing to put in the necessary hours. And if you need me to clarify anything I would be happy to do so. Thanks!

The great thing about FCC is that a lot of camper wrote up the learning experience up to the point where they got a job, right here on this very topic. Many of them had a structured approach, so you can try mirroring one of them.

I myself struggled with structuring my own learning prior to attending a coding bootcamp. I was not able to hold myself accountable without a certain environment. The reality is that it is achievable without the bootcamp environment, but you need to be a displined individual that is willing to hold yourself accountable.

I can provide you my coding bootcamp experience as a reference structure. This was a Java oriented regiment.

Week 1 : review basic programming concepts. This includes Object Oriented principles, data structures, control structures, error and exception handling, common algorithms and program design pattern.

Week 2: SQL. RDBMS basics, Server set up, AWS RDS set up, SQL syntax, Database design principle, writing complex query.

Week 3: HTML, CSS, Vanilla JavaScript. A more basic and simplified version of FCC curriculum. First full stack project details assigned.

Week 4: JavaScript concepts, Angular Framework, and Java Database Connectivity. Agile methodology.

Week 5: Middleware and backend concepts, Java Servlets, Tomcat servers, Model View Controller pattern. First project due utilizing the technologies covered. New project announced, 4 people team.

Week 6: AWS and DevOps. Jenkins, Docker, Docker Swarm, AWS ELB, AWS S3, AWS EC2 and AWS VPC.

Week 7: Java Frameworks. Hibernate ORM and Spring Framework. Project 2 due utilizing new technology covered and developed with CDCI and deployed on AWS. Project 3 announced, 10 people team.

Week 8 : Spring boot, microservice architecture and concepts. REST and SOAP concepts. Cloud Native concepts. Security concept.

Week 9 : Project 3 due, migrated monolith application to microservice architecture. Business presentation on features implemented. Resume and Interview preparation. Comprehensive interview and quiz on the entire curriculum.

It is a vast amount of topics covered in a relative short time with 3 different project that utilize and demonstrate proficiency in technology and concepts. 6 to 10 hours of coding and studying daily. Meeting weekly goal and passing reviews.

That’s the structure of the bootcamp I attended, but other bootcamps probably have similar structure just different technology and timeframe. You can derive your own using this as a template.

There are plenty of alteratives out there as well. You can find P1xT job ready guide and follow along. You can find the Udacity Nanodegree curriculum and try to complete those projects with or without taking the lesson if you want. You can find a job posting you are interested in, and tailor your learning to the job description.

Ultimately, all the structure in the world won’t do you any good if there isn’t accountability and a stick to it attitude, so find a way to keep yourself on track.

I found during bootcamp that working with other people was a good way to keep myself in line. Knowing the stake is greater than myself was a strong motivating factor. Having competitive peers to hold each other accountable was important as well. Setting achievable goals and short deadlines also helped keep me focused.

Hopefully this was helpful and good luck to you.

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Awesome, thank you @psychometry. I will definitely try to impliment the curriculum you posted with the technologies i’m interested in. I will also look into those other ones for sure. I really appreciate it, I definitely want to hold myself accountable and progress rather than aimlessly floating around. This was definitely helpful, thanks again!

Id say now is a good time to “test your skills”, all of them and them some. If you plan on being a full stack developer (since you learned node, and front-end tech) then why not try to build a full stack web-app to see what you know and don’t know?

If you just learned node to be more well rounded, but plan on being a front-end only dev, then focus on that and learn a little more on the backend just to get things “going” front your front-end.

You definitely can continue with what you have to finish something you started, But, from what I understand it sounds like your not sure what you need to learn, and doing something you would be doing in a web developer dev job is a great way to find out what you don’t know and verify what you do know.

Goodluck :smiley: