When will it be enough?

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Hi all. Just a bit of rant and wonder. I’m on the third Freecodecamp course , libraries, right now redux still.

But I’m finding myself learning JS still , and feeling it’s not good enough what I’ve learned so far.
I off course did the course here, and watched and coded along with Caleb Curry’s 9 hour JS course (its on youtube), I’m coding exercises separately from that as well, and feel it’s not enough. From what I read I need to learn more advanced topics as well then (async coding etc) and I’m trying to learn redux as well (never mind bootstrap, sass, jquery etc that I’ve learned).
I 'm watching a react tutorial now on youtube , it’s probably ok, but I feel that when I finish that it won’t be near enough. Then I will have to watch a redux tutorial, still won’t be enough.
Even after I would finish the third course here at freecodecamp, I will feel it’s nowhere near enough.

I just want to learn the frontend development side as that’s everchanging enough as it is, so when will enough be enough ?
I can’t be the only one that feels this way ? I’m sure it’s very common :slight_smile:

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You are dealing with some impostor syndrome, friend. You are not alone in this. I am in the middle of a coding bootcamp and am reviewing here and still feel I don’t have CSS mastered enough to ever “get it”.

Try to keep in mind that in the working world, you will very rarely be asked to code entire large projects from scratch. If you are able to cobble together the projects and know enough to feel confident in doing them, then I would say you are good enough. It takes 10,000 hours to be a master. Nobody will ever be perfect. But you certainly sound like you are good enough at this moment for the work you are putting in. :+1:

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If you know Javascript, Node, React, HTML, CSS, and the very basics of SQL, you can build a dynamic website, pretty much anything.

If you know HTML and CSS you can build a static website.

As for async, etc, one day you’ll update your database, then print the database contents, and wonder why your update is not included when you printed. Then you’ll realize, oh wait, the print finished before the update finished, and then you’ll learn about async, callbacks, etc. That’s just experience.

Or you’ll use an npm module and the API they provide forces you to use a callback or something, boom you’ve seen how callbacks work in the real world.

It’s not ‘never enough’. Soon you’ll be at a point where you know enough to start building, and you have enough experience to learn and incorporate new tech quickly and easily. At that point not much is really new anymore, it’s all just some reiteration or extension of the same thing. The only truly ‘new’ you’ll see is, very rarely, a genuine breakthrough produced by a literal genius.

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If you mean when you can stop learning…the answer is never.

Things will keep changing and new stuff will keep getting pushed. You are basically stuck forever learning, but that is also part of the appeal it never truly grows stale. It’s also part of the struggle, so there is that as well.

Developers, just like software, are never done.

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Thanks, I need some encouraging words :slight_smile:

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I don’t mean , when I can stop learning. I know it’s an every changing field, but I meant more , from the subjects that I learned when I would feel "good enough " to start applying for entry level jobs. At this point, that feels ages away. I’m sure finishing the third module here won’t change that. That’s why my aim is ‘just front-end’ , as that will be enough to learn and keep learning :slight_smile:

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My aim is to just stick to front-end development. Then at least node.js and any database knowledge (SQL) is not required ?

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you will never feel good enough, but know that also interviewing is a skill to learn. The best time to start is now (the best time was in the past, the second best is now), practive searching for a job, submitting CV and asking for feedback for why they rejected you. (also this forum gives feedback on portfolio and CV)

that will also help you to know what are the most sought after skills in your target area

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Hi Agate,Immediately you start coding you become a code lover,you always want to code,you are determined to code,you can never finish coding because as time goes new languages will be coming,
You see I think the problem is that you are a bit tired,why not take a break by practicalizing what you have learned,build a website from what you have learned or make an app or anything you can use your skills for,it has happened to me before so I know how you feel,believe me by the time you are do this you will be happy.

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Thanks guys. I was doing too many things at the same time as well (youtube tutorials, kindle books, coding myself, course work here etc) Now I will just finish the course work here and then go back to focus on mainly js,react/redux first & then later pick up bootstrap,sass etc again.

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If your goal is to get a job with this stuff, then “enough” is what is listed in job descriptions and even then you can apply even if you only barely cover the requirements.

You might be worried about not getting the job, getting rejected, and “failing” your interview because you don’t know “enough”. That is a possibility, but you want it to happen.

The reason you want that to happen is so you can get to the interview and find out you don’t know X Y and Z is because then you know what you need to know to get closer.

Right now your just guessing, hoping, wondering, and questioning when your “ready”. The truth is your never ready until you are. The quickest and fastest way to find out how far you are from “ready” is you apply, get rejected and go find out why you got rejected. This doesn’t mean you failed, rather your just not there yet and can focus on the skills needed to get closer to ready. You can have this feeling on day 1 and day 1 thousand, its the feeling where you know there is more to know. You can take that feeling and try to learn all the things, but really you should take that feeling and learn what is being looked for. Its easy to fall into the trap of learning everything without focusing on your goals, and your next steps.

Keep learning, but keep looking into what you should learn, and start applying and get feedback on what skills you need to focus on.

“It always seems impossible until its done” - Nelson Mandela

Good luck!

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To +1 the fantastic things everyone else has said, I’ll add my 2 cents :wink:

Question: When will my studies be enough?
Answer: It depends on your goals.
Long answer: It sounds like you want an entry level job. There are multiple strategies you can take, and I’ve listed some below. I suggest you consider each, and try one or more of them that you think will work best for you.

Strategy 1 “Step by Step”: I encourage you to set concrete milestones for yourself. If you can build a to-do list app, can you build a Tetris clone? Probably. If you can build a Tretris clone, can you build a YouTube clone? Perhaps. If you can build a YouTube clone, can you get hired to work as a front end developer for a small startup that builds YouTube like applications? Maybe. The point here is to try and build up on your previous successes.

Strategy 2 “Have a Clear Vision”: An alternative to making milestones is to brainstorm different desired end-goals, such as, you can build your own personal project without help, or, you can get a job that pays X per year. This is more of a guiding purpose, or high level vision.

Strategy 3 “Start Working Now”: I encourage you to find projects to contribute to, and to start building your own. Internships and volunteer work may help you get your foot in the door, as well as networking with pro developers and studios.

At the end of the day, I think you’re better off setting SMART goals for yourself, and focusing on what really matters to you.

TLDR: Take the idea, “There’s no replacement for hands-on experience.” Sure, textbook (or online) learning is generally helpful when starting in a technical field (as should be any relevant training once you go pro, if you have any skill/knowledge gaps). That said, and I think it varies from person to person, project to project, and company to company, to answer the question, “Am I skilled enough yet?”

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Thanks for the replies guys. I really appreciate it. I’m planning to join some volunteer coding project after FCC , or here at FCC as I think they are connected to these type .org organizations :slight_smile:

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I feel you. I am in the same position. Hope you get through this phase and achieve what you want. And then probably i think there will be another tunnel haha :wink: Let’s not give up.

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