What constitues knowing JavaScript

What constitues “knowing” Javascript in terms of a entry level (junior dev) job? I am (obviously) working towards a web dev job and I’m comfortable in HTML and CSS, though I’m sure I still have a lot to learn there. I am working through the first JavaScript Certificiate. At what point could I say that I can “do JavaScript” if that’s a requirement of a job?

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To be glib, if you have to ask , you’re probably not there. :wink:

I think you’d want to be able to get through the FCC JS section. Maybe the algorithms aren’t super, super important for “knowing JS”, but they also can’t hurt. There is also a difference between “knowing JS” and “knowing how to use JS”. You can learn all the keywords and whatnot and still not grasp core programming ideas that you need.

So, I’d want to get through the FCC JS section. I think with that you’d have a good grasp on the basics of JS. I might also suggest occasionally grabbing a JS book and skimming it, seeing if there are any holes that need filling.

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But yeah, the "Am I there yet? " mentality is going to be there for a long time. Every time you think you see the crest of the mountain, you’re just going to realize that there is still more mountain beyond that. This is completely normal.

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Hi @Voyageur!

If you want to dive deeper into javascript you could try Eloquent Javascript and You don’t know JS.

I know I’m not there :stuck_out_tongue:

I guess I’m looking for some idea of when a beginner could honestly say to a HR person: “I do meet the requirement for ‘knowing JS’ that you have put forward.” Something that poped into my head. I know about impostor syndrom, but from what JS(really most languages) are so big you aren’t going to "know " the entire thing, and you can always get better at using what you know, so I was curious as to what level of JS knowledge/skill employers expect/deserve, and how to tell if I am there(in the future).

Oh and btw looks like @kevinSmith did give me a pretty good estimate asfa getting the through FCC’s entire JS section. Can’t wait to work my way to the JS projects, cuz that’s what really helps me learn.

By JS section are you just referring to the Algorithms and Data Structures section? Or is there more of the FCC that you’re talking about. Obviously I’ll keeping working through no matter what.

I mean, I know it’s good to have goals and milestones and all, but it is just really a sliding scale with many dimensions. Worry more about making steady progress. jwilkins.oboe mentions some good books - but don’t let the YDKJS series scare you off - it gets into some deep stuff.

Personally, I don’t think of JS as a “big” language compared to others, but that’s subjective.

As far as employers, they will test your knowledge - either verbally, with a coding challenge, or both. That’s another reason why doing algorithms are good - they prepare you for coding challenges - a lot of them are just straight algorithm tests.

Yes I was referring to the JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures section. That would give you a good foundation. After that, I’d want to build some stuff with JS. Some of those can be the projects that FCC has but I also think it’s good to come up with your own ideas and see if you can do them.

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