… gave me the advice to complete Brad Traversy course on udemy “React Front to Back”
I haven’t done that course, but I’ve watched some Traversy videos and liked them a lot.
the problem is that i’m totally overwhelmed on the second
Yeah, that can happen.
using vs code
A very popular free code editor, I use it all the time. If you haven’t used a powerful code editor before, it might be a little confusing. I’m sure you can find some youtube videos to get you started. It’s not that complicated, so I think you’ll get it if you put in a little bit of time.
all the npm installs
Yeah, that confused me at first. The Node Package Manager (npm) just copies libraries that you’re going to need into a folder called node_modules so your code can have access to it to import it. It’s a little weird, but it will gradually make sense.
files and everything
I’m not sure what you mean here. Yeah, modern apps are usually built with bundlers that allow you to break your app into different files - and that do some other things.
to the back end server and authentications
Yeah, that confused me for a bit too. Doing servers - I didn’t really understand that until I built a few. I learned the basics of that through the FCC section on microservices. Authentication is a little further than that, I just learned that through doing it.
I don’t even grasp what I don’t know, I feel like i’m trying to take a too big of a step.
Yeah, we all know that feeling. Maybe spend a little time researching the basics. Read some articles and watch some videos. But also accept that you can’t learn everything perfectly and there will be times where you have to say, “OK, I don’t really understand what is happening here, but I’m trying to learn that other thing so I’m just going to take this on faith for now and come back to it later.” And some things took more than one pass for me to really understand.
But yeah, some of those tutorials assume to much knowledge and use (imho) too much complexity. Just
should I continue freeCodeCamp sections?
I’m a fan of that. Not to only do FCC, but I like using that as a framework. Learn that, then do things like Traversy. Maybe if you get stuck on FCC, do a side quest on something else. Traversy also has some free videos on YT.
What’s the real expectation of me getting a job?
My opinion is that if someone learns FCC (or something similar) and then spends time (6 months to 2 years - it depends on a lot of factors and I’m just pulling these numbers out of my butt) just building increasingly complicated apps and learning new things, and builds a good portfolio, gets a good resume, gets good a interviews, and aggressively applies for the right jobs… I think the prospects are pretty good. That’s what got me my job. #ymmv
What do I need to know?
The things that you’re learning. The things that Traversy is talking about, the things that FCC is talking about. Don’t think that there is some perfect path. You don’t know what you will end up doing so it is impossible to focus on what you will specifically need. But the more you learn, the easier it gets to learn more complicated things - so there is almost nothing that could be a complete waste of time.
I work a lot better with objectives.
Well, finishing things like FCC or the Traversy course - yeah, that is a good goal. And then after that, after you’ve gotten the basics down, set a goal of building some apps. They don’t have to be “great ideas” - well built apps are what impress hirers.
My advice is always to learn and build things. Keep doing that. When that gets boring, switch it up and build things and learn.