Is there any hope for me?

Hi, I’m a new coder and just got to the Basic Algorithm Scripting section and I’m already frustrated. I can’t even complete a lesson without looking for answers on the internet. Eventually I just give in and find the solution online. I know I’ll never learn that way, but I don’t know what else to do. I just feel like I am never going to understand JS. Is it normal to feel like this? I know the algorithm section is designed to challenge you and teach you to think like a developer, but should I be able to complete these challenges without much help? I really want to be a Front End Developer, but now I feel like I should consider a different career. I don’t want to give up, but I’m on the edge of burning out. I feel like I don’t have what it takes. If there is anyone else who has experienced this could I please have some advice. Thanks.

Yes. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be well paid.

Try watching some videos on YouTube or doing some CodeAcademy challenges to review JavaScript. Take a look at the problems you’ve looked up the solutions to and make sure you understand why they work.

Maybe post some of your failed solutions to the problems here so we can see where you might be going wrong?

First of all, even if you look up the answer, you’re still learning. Maybe just take a quick look and then try to do it from scratch. And then come back and try to do it from scratch a week later. Keep doing that until you can. The important thing is that you learn the concept. Maybe do some research on some basic algorithms.

When you’re brand new, it’s hard to realize exactly how many pieces your brain has to juggle to get your code to work. You’re trying to conceptually think about the abstract logic of the algorithm, which can be hard, while also trying to think about how you would actually implement that idea using code, which is hard, and then you’re also probably going to make a lot of accidental syntax errors on top of that.

If you run into something you can’t get to work or you’re not understanding, hit pause and don’t proceed until you understand it. A lot of this programming stuff builds on top of itself and the further you go, the more the layers of abstraction keep piling up. If you’re struggling to understand something, chances are you’re just missing an understanding of some fundamental concept that the task requires. I sometimes catch myself struggling to learn some new topic, and then I have to back out piece by piece until I find the concept I didn’t understand that was creating a roadblock in my learning.

Figuring out what you don’t understand and figuring out how to learn it is a skill in itself, but if you keep going, you’ll get better at this.

Hang in there! We’ve all ben there! :slight_smile:

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I think most important questions are:
Do You enjoy programming?
Do you enjoy learning HOW things work?

If (yes || yes){
    if(Math.rand()+0.7 > 1)  return "You'll be fine";

}