When is it time to call it quits?

I’m going to be going through a bootcamp and have a similar concern (maybe looking prematurely into the future) but I think I will rectify it by overworking and providing a production of at least 10+ projects (I will work on these projects on the side). To be blunt, bootcamps only have you work minimally on a few projects to showcase and I feel that just isn’t enough. Continue to contributte to open source projects, work on mini projects (for example: I’ve decided to work on landing pages and I might work on quite a few of them), begin to freelance and show some of that work (with their permission, of course!), etc! Good luck! Which bootcamp did you go to?

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It’s not on Github, but happy to answer questions about it.

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First, if coding is something that you enjoy, take a break from the applications, and get back to enjoying it. As michaelsndr said, you’ll likely have to add a zero to the end of that 35. It took more than that with a college degree :slight_smile:

Next, since you have trouble with HackerRank and so I presume algorithms - pick up code wars. I prefer it. Start with the easy ones (rank 5-8 challenges) and set a goal to complete one or two per day until you get to 100. Work at them. Don’t search for the answers. Break down the problem into pieces, and physically type the pieces into your text editor as comments. Understanding the problem is the key to solving it. Once you figure out how to break the problems down, you will have a much easier time solving them.

I go through this too, and am going through it. I’ve found I have to take a step back and focus on one area at a time. For me, if I’m trying to work through something new and complex, like an algorithm, I can only spend 2-3 hours a day on it. I’ll take the rest of the time to pick problems that are a bit challenging, but I know how to solve, so I reinforce what I’ve already learned. Remember that you only have a finite of learning ability each day when it comes to hard problems. Give yourself permission to take a break once in a while.

That being said I think @hafizT247 had some great advice. Do you want to focus on FE or BE? If backend, I really like Teach yourself CS. The recommendations are very in-depth, and I’m starting to really feel like I understand how these programming parts come together. The algorithm lectures are great.

Anyway, just my $0.02. Best of luck.

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There’s only one time to ever call it quits and that’s when you’re dead.

If you think two years of investing yourself is a long time, it isn’t! That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have been successful in two years (in someone else’s view of the word), but it isn’t a long time. I’ve sank almost 25 years into this off and on if my whole story were laid out.

You sound like you need a break. You also need to drill down to the basics. Figure out what you actually need to know. The job hunt is horrible. It can mess your head up. It will make you think you need skills: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, …, z when in reality you need f, z, and a.

All you need is a competent base that shows an employer you can learn the rest. It is a fight at times, I know this. Keep fighting.

First, drill down small, real small.

What job are we going for? If it is front end, focus on those foundational skills.

If it is back-end, focus on those foundations…

Then, build small projects and feature them on a portfolio. Add this portfolio link to your resume and also add direct links to five of your best projects.

You need to drill down on what you’re practicing/working on. Just like a musician. I spent many a night playing scales over and over but I wasn’t really making music. Dig? Make music. Build stuff, don’t just do exercises.

Hope this helps and doesn’t sound mean. I’m just excited for you. Don’t quit! Reassess what you were doing before!

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definitely do not quit now. you’ve already invested too much into it.

i stumbled into my coding job from digital marketing. literally, i thought i was applying for a job copying and pasting tracking pixels to a page for SEO reasons, and was surprised when they said ‘time for the technical interview’ during the interview.

i knew how loops worked from a simple coding course on like codeacademy from a few days before, and already knew basic css from message boards.

anyway, i failed the interview but they liked how i was willing to ‘conceptualize’ solutions, and the fact that i was willing to learn since i knew what loops and basic data structures were (strings, arrays,etc etc).

i got the job, and have been working in maketing tech for the past couple of years. this simple fluke chance allowed me to get into product, analytics, front end development, and so many other things.

no point in giving up now. something good will eventually happen. it has to, unless you somehow run out of time.

tl;dr:
i accidentally applied for a coding job without knowing it, and lucked into the job. just keep going and you’ll eventually find something.

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