It's been about 3 months since I've started

So far it’s been around 3 months since I’ve started learning web development, with some prior programming experience from a certificate program I did a few years back. While I’m pretty happy with what I’m doing and enjoying it a lot, in all honesty I personally feel like I’ve somehow managed to waste a lot of time. Perhaps I should have achieved more during this time. When I initially started, I had expected to at least have a small portfolio in 3 months, but all I have to show for are the tribute page and the portfolio project from FCC.

I first started with a Udemy course. I found out about FCC halfway through the course, so I was doing both for a short while, then wasn’t feeling really good and for quite some time didn’t make much progress. After that I found out about @P1xt’s guides, so decided to follow one of them step by step and never skip anything. I’ve been doing so for the past few weeks, and currently I’m doing the edX CS50 course.

I’m not as satisfied as I had expected with my progress, but at least I feel I’m understanding the material well and so far have a strong basis to build on.

There’s no particular reason for this thread. I just haven’t posted here in a while and was just scrolling around the forum when I thought about this. Just thought I’d share it. What do you think? What’s your progress so far?

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I understand why you feel like that.

I started in the fall last year and got up to the advanced projects, then realized I didn’t even know how to code locally and use git (which are the basic tools developers use). Currently working on that.

I think this sort of things happens to FCC’ers often, where they start FCC then go back and relearn some parts more in depth.

Part of the game is learning how to temper your expectations and always being proud that you’re better today than you were yesterday. The results will come.

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Just keep going!some times go fast…some times go slow…but keep going! Building basic block is very important!You will find it will take a lot of time but later on when you will be moving to advanced stuffs,it will be a lot and lot easier and you will be moving like a charm! Have patience,…Keep learning …keep going!

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It’s important to focus your energies in the right places. I don’t think you should combine too many resources at the same time; this will drain you and you won’t accomplish much (speaking from experience). I wouldn’t waste much time reading books or taking courses if I were you, I toiled in the same manner for a long time before I realised it wasn’t giving me much value.

My advice for you is to build stuff. Just work through the FCC curriculum, build all the projects there and then some more. Create a Github account and litter it with small projects. Seriously! That positive feeling you get from completing projects is underrated. It’s what will keep you motivated and push you to keep improving.

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I’m also around 3 months in. Just finished going through Basic Javascript and have just started dipping into Object Oriented Programming. Although I’m enjoying this part of the curriculum so far, I also feel the fear of getting ahead of myself too quickly and simply doing the challenges for the sake of progression. After building my tribute and portfolio pages, I still don’t feel super confident in my HTML/CSS. Right now I’m going through a phase where in order to make the most out of FCC’s progression, I need to go back and reiterate the basics in my head. I’m also looking for other learning resources at the moment to brush up on the very basics of JS, the stuff you learn before diving into object programming (correct syntax writing, how to write functions with nested conditionals). But I feel worried I’m not giving as much to my HTML and CSS as I should.

TL;DR - 3 months in, learning JS but still need more time on HTML/CSS.

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@ellereeeee Yeah exactly. I’m definitely getting better day by day. :slight_smile:

@Faizahmadfaiz That’s what I’ve been thinking too. By having a strong understanding of the basics, the more advanced stuff would be easier later.

@ayoisaiah I don’t combine many resources at the same time anymore. I did for a while, before deciding to stick exclusively to the guide I’ve mentioned. The books I’m reading and the courses I’m taking are a part of the guide, I wouldn’t like to skip any step from the guide, so I’m going through it one step at a time. While it’s true I’m not building anything while reading those books and taking those courses, I’ve noticed the knowledge they give you is valuable. For example, thanks to CS50, I’m now always thinking on how to write my code as best and as efficiently as possible while coding. There are a ton of projects in the guide as well, so I’ll be getting to those before long.

@pochhhhh Glad you’re enjoying it. As for HTML/CSS, there’s a really great website that might help you strengthen your knowledge. Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll link it here.

Great! I’m glad you’re making progress and learning a lot. Just try to apply the knowledge gained as often as you can! [quote=“AmirF27, post:6, topic:87439”]
I’m now always thinking on how to write my code as best and as efficiently as possible while coding
[/quote]
Writing good code and following “best practices” is good but don’t get hung up on that. You’ll (naturally) get better with time and practice.

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Hi @P1xt! :smiley: Thank you for your reply and kind word, and sorry for the late reply. I’m really happy with the progress, and I’m now certain that even though this is taking longer than I had wished, the guide is actually making me a much better developer. I’m now near the end of CS50 (Week 8 currently), and I’ve learned a lot of stuff that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I’ve noticed that it helped me immensely in learning new languages (talking about the transition from C to Python in the course itself), and it urges you to not only write code, but to write efficient and clean code. I’m sure JavaScript would be much easier to learn properly now!

You’re right. I should stop placing time based expectations. I’m enjoying the journey itself a lot and this is what matters. I mean a few months ago I was pretty much lost, I didn’t really have any direction, but thanks to your guide, I now do and it’s a constant motivation to keep moving forward. And, as a final note, nothing is worth it more than the moment you do push through the hard part and figure out something. You know, those “aha” moments. :slight_smile:

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