Today is just the beginning

So today marks the beginning of my journey teaching myself to code. I’m excited and slightly apprehensive as I don’t want to fail. I have the opportunity to devote 6-8hrs a day 5 days a week (maybe more maybe less) to learn as much as I possibly can over the next 6 months.
With all the crappy situations 2020 rained down, I really could use something positive right about now. Post up some positive vibes, anything that will keep me motivated.

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You can do this! :slight_smile:

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With that amount of time, you can learn a lot. Just set goals and keep working. If you’re using the FCC curriculum, just keep moving forward on that - don’t worry about perfection, just keep moving forward. Have a path, any path. If it’s not FCC find another one. After you’ve gotten the coursework down, just keep learning new libraries for your tech stack and building projects.

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Thanks Kevin, I am starting with FCC curriculum first. Im not sure where I will go from there, but Im sure doorways will open along the way. Im sure you will see another post from me in the future regarding tech stacks and projects. I figure, I cant decide what I would like or enjoy doing until I try it So just starting somewhere.

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I am starting with FCC curriculum first. Im not sure where I will go from there

Well (ignoring the Python stuff) FCC gives you the basis of a MERN stack. Once you get that done, I’d want to build on that. Like you learn Redux, so it would be nice to learn Redux Saga. There are a lot of support libraries for React like React Router, component libraries, etc. Learning some basic React Native can be cool. Other than that, just build things and you will find needs and then find libraries to fill them.

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Welcome! This is a great place, and it sounds like you have a lot of time to devote to learning. That’s wonderful!

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Thanks @CynLynn! I am very impressed by this community here at FCC. Very active and have been nothing but positive and encouraging.

@kevinSmith, not going to lie, React intimidates me. I’m sure it will make more since once I have a better grasp of some of the basics.

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Yeah, it is weird and it takes a different way of thinking, but I think that is true of Angular or Vue too. But things like that are the way of the future. There isn’t much future for HTML, CSS, and vanilla JS alone. But yeah, get the fundamentals and ease into it. It’s weird at first but once you get the hang of it it makes a lot of sense and is quite powerful.

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I’m doing the same good luck :+1:

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Hi @cwiley02!

Congrats on starting your journey on becoming a developer.

I started almost 7 months ago.

Here are some helpful tips for you to make this a positive experience of learning.

The reality is you are going to fail a lot and that is totally fine.

That is part of the learning process.

You are brand new to this. You are going to make millions of mistakes.

If everything was perfect and smooth sailing than everyone would be developers. But that is not the case.

Look at failure as a way to learn something new. Not as a negative thing.

My main advice here is to not jump around to whole lot of different sources.
Pick a main source and stick with that. When you have questions on a topic than you can consult other supplementary material.

Hope that helps!

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There is really great advice from others here above. I’ll just add, that sometimes it helps to find other developer peers (both those learning and those experienced) to lean on, so check your area for freeCodeCamp local study groups (or similar types of meetups if you can’t find one of those).

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I was actually just questioning that exact thought yesterday. If I should study multiple topics at once (kinda how you would in college; take multiple classes). I never thought that was a very good way of learning though. I feel if you really want to learn something well, its to just dive in and envelop yourself with the content.

I know for myself, when I went to college for Nursing, it was very much that way. You could only take 2 classes but they were 4hrs long with 6-8hr Clinicals twice a week. It was a lot of information but if you surrounded yourself with it you don’t just commit it to memory you actually learn it.

I probably should of elaborated on what I meant by ‘Fail’. I know I will fail at certain tasks or projects with coding, but where I dont want to fail is this journey. I have a lot riding on me to succeed. I made a post (in case you wanted some back story) awhile back talking about the challenges I have had to face over my career. I have a wonderful family who have been supportive of me and I just want to give them the life they deserve. (sounds cheesy when I read it aloud, lol)

Im horrible about asking for help. Somewhere along the way I was convinced that asking for help was the ‘Easy Way Out’, rather than doing it the ‘Right Way’ aka ‘The Hard Way’. Ridiculous I know, but when Im in the thick of it all, its a habit hard to shake.

I will absolutely check out the local groups. I didnt even know they existed or to even look for them, so thank you for that.

After all the valuable advice, I want to make sure not to delve into the multiple sources and drown in the educational courses. If you find some hurdles or difficulties and feel a lack of enthusiasm, just take a short break and come back, keep going.

You may find difficulties that can be simplified by searching Google and finding a suitable solution, you will not need another source. It is enough to look for a simple point or part that you could not overcome, find a suitable explanation, and follow the progress.

How I Escaped Tutorial Purgatory – and How You Can, Too :point_down: :point_down:

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Yeah, but hanging with your peers is more than just getting help. It’s also social - coding can be isolating if you aren’t careful. It’s also career networking. It’s a chance to swap stories and hear about the things with which they struggle. Sometimes you’ll mention a problem and someone will have a solution and sometimes you will be the one with the solution.

I really gained a lot from meetups. Some were purely technical where we took turns lecturing on topics and building projects together. Some were testing each other on algorithm challenges and doing mock interviews. Some were just hanging out, drinking beer, and swapping war stories. I can’t imagine not having done them. And now that I miss them while we’re in the apocolypse.

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:point_up: 100% this! :point_up:

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@YaserHamame01, Ill definitely check that out. Thank you. Google is most certainly my friend. How I taught myself scripting over the years. Lets be honest here, I probably copy and pasted half of the scripts I used in the past. So ‘taught myself’ is a stretch, lol.

@kevinSmith & @robertgroves Your right, I could benefit from it socially. Surrounding myself with a positive group would be great. The family is great for support but they wont understand the struggle as a fellow coder would (beating their heads against the keyboard for hours on end). Have the comradery from a group is something I could great appreciate right about now.

Hope my comment wasn’t taken as what I can get from peers. Depressingly, I said it from the stand point of ‘trying not to negatively effect those around me’. Blame it on the depression, its just were the mind goes first, lol. I get more enjoyment from helping others than I do from solving my own problems.

Yeah, that’s a big part of it, just being able to talk to people that “get it”.

I would also add to what I said before that part of it is just being around like minded people and hearing their ideas and bouncing ideas off of each other and talking things out. It is very helpful and uplifting.

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Hi cwiley02, I am going through a similar experience. I have not worked since last March (I am in the entertainment industry) and I just started learning code three weeks ago. I wished I had started back in March, but little I knew back then that 2020 was going to be this bad. I’ve been dedicating an average of four hours a day and I’ve got a pretty good understanding of HTML and CSS. The most important thing I’ve learned so far is to start writing lines of code as soon as possible, even if just snippets of what you’ve learned that day. I also agree with some of the comments about not jumping around/trying to learn different languages at the same time. Learn the basics first (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), take your time to understand all the concepts, and build a solid foundation. I really hope to be able to find a job as a Web Developer or start as a freelancer in approximately 6 months. Wishing you and everyone else here all the best!

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Hey there man, cool to see other people starting their coding journey around the same time! I just started yesterday, and am very determined but also like you, don’t want to fail. 2020 was a crazy year but I learned a lot about myself, and the world, and this feels like my calling. We just have to give it our all, we got this bro!

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In your situation, I would seriously consider a boot camp, especially one that only makes you pay if you get a coding job. Coding all day on your own can be isolating, frustrating, and mentally exhausting. Having a group of people to offer support would be a benefit, even if it was online only.

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