This career change started with wanting a space on the world wide web. As I researched on how to build a site, I found that all you need is HTML, CSS and some JavaScript. After taking a few online foundational courses, I developed my first website. It was horrible. The site did not come out as I expected, and the work was not what I anticipated. Throughout the experiment I abandoned ideas and techniques. The result was a non-responsive, messy design, that was not interesting at all.
As a solo learner, I had made a lot of wrong turns, got distracted and I avoid JavaScript simply because I did not understand the language enough from the few online courses I had taken. The first piece of advice I could give to anyone struggling, is to take a step back and do research on “how to learn”. There are several methods so be cautious of spending a huge amount of time. It has been a while since I have been in high school or even college classes, but I never did well with studying. Once I took this step back and found the method that helped me study better, I found my experience improved quickly.
The second piece of advice is to have a goal and plan out the steps. The specifics of the steps are not important at the beginning because you “don’t know what you don’t know yet”. The goal does not need to be complex. It should be fairly simple, the bare minimum. For example, I wanted a personal website, my goal was “Create a home page”. If this is not your cup of tea pick something else, anything else. The sky is the limit. The purpose of this first goal is to test your mindset and following it through.
Resource: Developer Roadmaps - This roadmap is not an ultimate source, but it is a great start. I found that it kept me on track. When you are taking courses online there might be suggestions on the topic but refer to the roadmap. The suggestion may be in the same area or even further down the map. This is where the roadmap has help keep me focused and maintain on a manageable learning path.
As I mentioned about my first site and how it was a disaster, it gave me the motivation to learn more. This first project was the trigger of frustration I needed to drive me towards more goals.
Bonus: A great habit to practice during your coding journey is to document. Document what you want to do, what techniques you have tried, mistakes, and of course reflect on your successes.
Suggested Podcast: This a good story about a beginner’s path: ThefreeCodeCamp Podcast Ep. 76: How to become a successful freelancer. Your goal may not to be a freelancer, but his journey is very relatable.