I’m about to get a hint for the second exercise IN A ROW! I feel very defeated but wanted to see if there is a better way to approach the problem? I’m worried if I continue like this that I won’t really learn the concept, at the same time a suggested approach was not to get hung up on one thing and continue forward momentum - that eventually everything will click.
I am looking up solutions on different resources without trying to find a verbatim answer, but being a COMPLETE newb to coding, I’m sure there is a HUGE knowledge gap (I’m coming from the healthcare industry and middle-aged). I’ve never coded in my life and trying to switch careers to something I find interesting/exciting.
For the record, I’m still really excited, just wanted to see if there is another approach I should be utilizing while working through challenges that I’m having trouble on? I’ve also reviewed the lessons preceding the current exercises to make sure I didn’t miss something.
BTW, I’m on exercise 91 of the Basic Javascript - which makes this more embarrassing to post - and my only prior experience in coding is completing the first certificate on FCC here.
I guess something else to ask - is it okay to post my current non-working solution and see if someone is able to see where my logic is not working? I don’t want to clog the forum since I know I’d be posting frequently, unless this is okay?
Unfortunately, this is probably a lot more common than we like to admit to ourselves.
Rather than looking up solutions or hints, I would recommend googling the ideas and the specific syntax/methods, etc. This is 100% OK and something professional developers do all the time. You can also hit the Get Help -> Ask for Help button, post what you have and say, “This is what I have and it’s not working. [explanation of how it is not working and what you don’t understand] I don’t want the answer, but can someone point me in the right direction?”.
I guess something else to ask - is it okay to post my current non-working solution and see
Yes, like I said, the Get Help -> Ask for Help button will do that for you. That is 100% why that is there.
And don’t get frustrated. Coding is hard. And that’s a good thing - if it were easy, high school drop outs would learn it in 3 weeks, the market would be flooded and it would pay minimum wage. Find this difficult and confusing is 100% normal.
And the lessons slowly get harder as you go. And FCC is not comprehensive - it does not cover every possible issue and does not repeat itself. That is a good thing - a lot of being a good developer is being a good detective and researcher. Again, google is a developers best friend.
I don’t want to clog the forum since I know I’d be posting frequently, unless this is okay?
That is not an issue. If you are doing sincere posts, then it is OK. It doesn’t just benefit you - other campers can read the answers and learn and new campers can answer if they know the answer - which helps them develop.
Yes, definitely search the forum first. This is a good habit, like a professional dev checking Stack Overflow - maybe someone has already asked this question.
Also, sometimes just in trying to put the problem into words, you find a solution.
its not required to “come on your own” with a solution to a problem, to acquire the right to say you understand it, or you learned it. Sometimes its better to look into the spoiler for the complete solution, as long as you are able to learn the logic behind it and use it on your own for future challenges.
So? I’ve used this a lot when I was stuck. That’s the point of the hints or downright solutions.
I tried, I failed, I needed help and I am to impatient+insecure to ask basic questions (which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do, it’s just my own flaw).
So I look at the help. Maybe get the solution or at least some meaningful insight. That’s the point of their existence, so why should I or you feel bad for using it?
And it’s not like this would somehow cheat ourselfs. The point is learning, staring at a problem I cannot solve, doesn’t help me learn. Maybe I could find a workaround, come up with the solution myself, have a euraka-moment in two days. Or maybe I get the solution, work through to understand what it does, why it works and why I didn’t come up with it myself, play a bit around to fully grasp it. It’s much more motivating, I am still learning and in fact learning more and faster, because I didn’t spend several days banging my head against a wall.
Finally, it’s not like this would be outlandish in the world of programming. Folks invented amazing algorithms to solve problems which we just memorize, we don’t re-invent sorting algorithms all the time or algorithms to find loops in linked-lists. If you run into a problem, you most likely won’t post on forums, but find posts from people who did it before including and posts sharing 1-5 code-snippets as solutions.