Not sure if I will ever make the cut and unable to asses my progress

Hello campers,

I am grateful to FCC and the community for making it possible to keep going thus far. However, over 3 months and 128 challenges later I am not sure if I am making adequate progress and whether i’ll ever be able to transition to front-end/full-stack development as a career.

My background: 32 years old, married and have a 10-month old daughter. Engineering in Biotech where I dabbled in C, C#, Java and DBMS more than a decade ago. Worked as a copy editor, content writer and currently an Instruction designer.

Reasons for starting:

  1. In my current team there was a need for someone who can pick up web development, to create stuff focused on e-learning.

  2. I’ve always wanted to move into something at the core of technology with something tangible to showcase my skills

3)Seeking to get out of the 9-5 rut and do something on my own. At the very least go free-lancing.

  1. Build an open source learning technology product (have the idea).

What I am doing right now?

  1. Using FCC as my primary study resource.
  2. Supplemented by LinkedIn learning. w3schools and random google search
  3. Also, trying to read some books, attempted Eloquent Javascript but decided to park it for now as I don’t feel ready to grasp it apart from the first few pages.

Questions or challenges

  1. I am completing challenges but not able to make out how they will come together towards the end.Is there something else I need to do while completing the challenges? I try to pay attention to the rest of the code in the challenge. But, when I look at the code of other websites created by friends I find that I am unable to develop a conceptual framework of what I need to do if the I got the request to create that same website.

Do fellow campers make notes, if yes. any recommended ways of going about making notes? I tried practicing by writing snippets of code using pen-paper but found it more productive to just code on the editor and see the output.

  1. Though FCC challenges are self-paced, is there a suggested pace to keep the incremental learning healthy? I intend to spend 30-45 mins and complete what I can everyday (intend to be more consistent going forward).

3)Apart from Chingu are there any other collaborative coding forums where I can build real projects even as a beginner? Does FCC also offer such opportunities for beginners? How can I contribute to open source projects with FCC?

4)How can I set a timeline to be job ready as a front-end developer?

1 Like

I’m not sure i have the answers to your questions. I’m working on a similar project at work and I’m also married with a kid. So I know it really constrains your time and options. Here are some thoughts on your questions:

  1. I think it just takes time to understand the code in others’ web sites. The more experience you get, the easier it becomes. You said you finished 128 challenges. How far along is that? Have you completed some projects yet? Did you ask for any feedback on them?

1.5. I don’t take a lot of notes (except in a classroom). I wish I did and I try but I usually don’t write much down.

  1. I know a bit about learning and on average, 45-60 minutes can be the sweet spot for a practice session. This is an average time frame. Your results may vary. A lot of performance experts (e.g. Angela Duckworth, Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness) are talking about “Deliberate Practice”. One idea around this is that learning comes from certain qualities of practice, not just quantity.

  2. I don’t know where to find this- I’m new to FCC and many of these other places.

  3. I don’t know about timeline either. This is probably one of those things that “depends on you”. Personally, I feel like I am almost ready for a full-stack or back-end job after two years of night classes and a year of self-study.

I’d be interested to hear about your learning technology idea. Send me a PM if you want to discuss.

1 Like

Thanks Dan for sharing your inputs. From what you say I am on the right track just need to buckle up and focus.

128 exercises from the start so still some distance away from the projects. Surely will seek feedback once I get there.

However, over 3 months and 128 challenges later I am not sure if I am making adequate progress and whether i’ll ever be able to transition to front-end/full-stack development as a career.

Three months is nothing. It took me 6 months to finish (and even that was pretty fast) and it took a while before things really started to click. That is normal.

My background: 32 years old, married and have a 10-month old daughter.

I started at 48. I am married but don’t have a child. It took two years, but now I’m a professional developer. YMMV.

Engineering in Biotech where I dabbled in C, C#, Java and DBMS more than a decade ago. Worked as a copy editor, content writer and currently an Instruction designer.

I studied a little Electrical Engineering but was a music major and worked as a professional jazz guitarist for decades. I also dabbled in a few languages here and there.

  1. Using FCC as my primary study resource.
  2. Supplemented by LinkedIn learning. w3schools and random google search
  3. Also, trying to read some books, attempted Eloquent Javascript but decided to park it for now as I don’t feel ready to grasp it apart from the first few pages.

Yeah, I used FCC as a framing device for my learning. I used it as a the main path with occasional side quests if I needed to understand something better. I used MDN as a reference and did a lot of learning by coding along with youtube videos and checking stack overflow.

  1. I am completing challenges but not able to make out how they will come together towards the end.

It’s really hard to tell where you are in the challenges. Sorry, I don’t know where 128 challenges lands you. But I will say that the “OK, I did it but am still not sure where it fits in the big picture” feeling is very normal. Just keep learning.

And don’t be surprised if you don’t remember everything the first time. I’m learning Spanish and try to practice it with my fluent wife. Last night I was trying to text here that we were having thunder and lightning. The words for that are “truenos y relámpagos”. Did I remember it perfectly? No. I have probably looked that up 5 times over the last year. The first few times I had no idea. Then it starts to stick a little better. This time, I kind of knew it but had to look it up to confirm the spelling. If I keep using it, eventually it will be automatic. That’s how learning a language is. Learning a language isn’t like learning the rules for Monopoly, where there are a small, finite number of discrete, easily definable rules. With web dev, it huge number of facts, theoretical concepts, inter-relationships, and principles. And it keeps changing. No one can learn it all. Just keep getting better, learn the ideas, and learn how to find the information when you need it.

But, when I look at the code of other websites created by friends I find that I am unable to develop a conceptual framework of what I need to do if the I got the request to create that same website.

Completely normal for someone at your stage.

Do fellow campers make notes, if yes. any recommended ways of going about making notes?

I’m sure a lot do. Again, I was never going for memorization, but was focused on understanding the concepts. One thing I did do was keep a notepad nearby and I would make a not of anything that I wanted to learn more deeply. What did they mean by “memoization”? What what that “new” keyword I just got told to use? What is the “DNS”? There were things I didn’t want to get distracted by, but wanted to learn later. I also kept a list of terms I thought I should know. But if writing down code helps you, then do it.

I tried practicing by writing snippets of code using pen-paper but found it more productive to just code on the editor and see the output.

Makes sense. I will say that being able to write down code on a white board will be helpful in interviews. But it can be weird, especially when you’re learning.

  1. Though FCC challenges are self-paced, is there a suggested pace to keep the incremental learning healthy? I intend to spend 30-45 mins and complete what I can everyday (intend to be more consistent going forward).

There is no “recommended” pace. Just do what you can, when you can. Trying to set a minimum, like 30 mins a day - yes, that is a good idea.

3)Apart from Chingu are there any other collaborative coding forums where I can build real projects even as a beginner? Does FCC also offer such opportunities for beginners? How can I contribute to open source projects with FCC?

FCC is open source. You can contribute there.

But personally, unless you find something really, really basic, I would not even consider open-source until you have finished the JavaScript section, and probably the FE Libraries and DV sections.

4)How can I set a timeline to be job ready as a front-end developer?

There is no timeline. Some people get a job in a few months. It took me two years. Some people it may take five years. Don’t focus on things you can’t control. Focus on learning and getting better. When you get hired will depend on many things, including the state of the job market, where you live, what you’ve learned, what you’ve built, how convincing your portfolio is, how convincing your resume is, what connections you have, how well you interview, and luck.

It is hard to get that first job. There are a lot of jobs but you have to find one that overlaps your skills enough for them to take a chance. It is difficult. But that’s why it pays well - not everyone has the stamina to do this.

A while back I put my thoughts down about getting a job, here.

2 Likes

@kevinSmith thanks for sharing your views. It’s reassuring to know. Will keep at it. With 128 challenges I am at the accessibility part of the CSS.

Yeah, there were definitely a lot of things that confused me at that point. Don’t sweat it. Just learn. You’ll forget a lot of it, but each time it will stick a little better. And remember that no one knows it all. A big part of being a web dev is knowing what can be done and knowing how to find it when you need to look it up. You still have a long way to go. And even after you get through the JavaScript section, you’re still going to be a little confused because FCC’s way of putting everything into tiny, independent lessons mean that you never truly build a web site. But you will learn all the building blocks and will be able to put them in place pretty easily. At that point you can probably also find a code-along video to show you the basics of building a web page and then you’ll have a lot of a-ha moments as everything falls into place. Or you could do it now, to get a taste.

1 Like

Thanks Kevin. Will keep at it and share more progress.

This is great. You don’t have to quit your job to do web development. You’re already getting paid, doing something you’re interested in, getting paid while learning.

  1. I’ve always wanted to move into something at the core of technology with something tangible to showcase my skills
    3.Seeking to get out of the 9-5 rut and do something on my own. At the very least go free-lancing.

Following tutorials and completing challenges is good. But that could feel a bit disjointed, you end up asking yourself “ok, how do I apply these? What’s a practical use case for this?”

I suggest you start a side project, something that interest you.

At this point, all you know is html and css, so run with that. Flesh out all the webpages of your "dream project’, your startup business, or your dream open source project.

Just mock up the different pages, (i.e. using fake data, simulated data/screens, static pages, etc)

Later on, when you learn javascript, backend scripting, databases, then you can start filling-in the missing functionality of your project. i.e. make it work for real, work on it section by section.

You may be surprised how much you still need to learn getting all the static pages of your dream project working… CSS is like chess. The rules are simple, but to make a complicated webpage, that works reliably across different browsers, mobile devices, etc… takes practice and experience. You’d learn a lot about CSS, cross-browser operability, media queries, using CSS frameworks, etc. if you’re working on a real project.

  1. I am completing challenges but not able to make out how they will come together towards the end.

Start building your personal dream project/site. You’d learn and retain more when you encounter challenges/problems that relate to your own project.