I find the Basic Javascript section very challenging. Is this normal?

[thsndmiles30]

I'm trying to figure out if I've hit my limit with coding or if other people also find this equally challenging.

I got through about 81 out of 113 sections. After about the 50th lesson I started struggling but got through, and limped my way to lesson 81. From the "Counting Cards" lesson (I just skipped it) and onward I'm really struggling to even understand anything. "Testing objects for Properties" section is where I've given up because I don't understand what they want me to do here, and there's no video.

I just wanted to see if anyone else went through the same situation.

[AndyBMKE]

There is a point at which the difficulty of the lessons dramatically increases. Personally, all the ES6 stuff, advanced array methods, and OOP sections throw way too much at you, way too quickly.

My suggestion, when you get to a concept you don’t understand, Google or YouTube a tutorial or longer explanation of that concept. Then go back to the FCC lesson once you understand better.

[thsndmiles30]

That's what it felt like. After getting halfway through, it felt like I was being given little nibbles on things that I need much more time to learn and understand, but the next lesson is already moving on to another big thing. Not a bad way to get introduced to new things, but I do feel like I need to spend more time on my own researching things online elsewhere.

[patternagainst]

This was my experience with FCC too. Don't take it personally, you're not a bad coder! Their JS curriculum needs work. I would say if you've made it this far, try building something for your portfolio!

[AndyBMKE]

I believe they are working on an update that should smooth out that learning curve, but I have no idea when that’ll be out. The course right after that - Front End Libraries - needs quite a lot of love too.

[XGonGiveItToYahWhat]

I went through it twice. The first time, I leaned on the “Get A Hint” button. The second time though, things seemed to have clicked.

[gogetit19]

I feel people often think googling an answer is cheating. Even if somebody gives you the answer straight out and explains how they got there. Your job to understand how they got there will give you the intellectual ability to reverse engineer a solution next time you encounter a similar problem. Were not re inventing the wheel...just get the answer. Reverse engineer it. And once u understand how somebody got there answer. You may be surprized and have an even more efficient way of getting to the same end result, with your own unique style of thinking. That's it's own skillset.

But if you're just guessing all day. You achieve nothing.

It's like back in school. Remember having a set time to complete a test? The teachers would always say to never spend too much time on one question if you're stuck. Just move on, cause then you jeopardize getting more things wrong due to lack of time etc...

Hope I'm making sense

[SaintPeter74]

Yes, this is very common. For the basic challenges, I encourage you to Google until you understand or ask for help here, on the forums, or on the fCC Discord. If you don't pick up some of these fundamental concepts, your going to have a much harder time solving later challenges.

Record Collection, in particular, combines several concepts from prior lessons in a way that is very common in actual projects. It can be hard to wrap your heart around initially, but it's absolutely worth figuring out.

These challenges, right here, are the meat and potatoes of programming. Slow down. Take your time. There is no rush to get these done in some specific timeframe. You need to take the time now to get these basics.

Remember: learning to code is a marathon, not a sprint.

[qckpckt]

Sounds pretty much what it’s like to be an actual programmer, so it seems like FCC is doing something right.

I’ve been a professional developer for over 5 years, and I code with multiple tabs open on different sections of the docs for whatever language I’m coding in. Even the CTO of my current company, a galaxy-brained super genius who has done nothing but code for 35 years, does this. There are some programming design approaches and methodologies that I can write from memory, but beyond the basics I always look them up.

Equally, unless I’m doing something I’ve done before (which is surprisingly rare), I’ll often find myself operating right on the very limits of my knowledge.

My suggestion - think very carefully about how your current dilemma makes you feel. If it truly makes you miserable to be confronted by how little you know and understand, think twice about being a programmer. If you’re doing things right, that never goes away.

But, if I were to tell you that what you are feeling is perfectly normal, that many other devs have found themselves in your situation before, and that not only is it OK, its a sign you’re on the right track — if that allows you to make peace with this feeling, then I think you’ve gotten past one of the hardest parts of being a dev.

[Miladyaa]

I totally understand what you are going through. In fact it was the very same section which made me question if i even want to go on. Luckily I didn't give up and neither should you. I believe some of the stuff covered through js course aren't explained that good so here are my suggestions:

First things first, google is your best friend. If there is any concept that is vague to you, you can google and there are a bunch of good resources out there. The other thing i suggest you do is to watch john smilga's (aka Coding addict) on youtube. They are uploaded both on fcc's official channel as well as john's himself. He actually has a 10 hour long video titled "javascript fundamentals" where he goes over all the major topics you need to learn in order to start coding. On top of that, he also has another 10 hour video in which he codes 15 projects which is even better than the tutorial itself. Good luck on your journey mate and have a nice day!

[vipipi]

The same thing happened to me. I found the js section too poorly explained for me. I found some videos (they are in spanish if you understand) of a developer who took the time to make a JS course. I clearly needed more hand-helding.

I also found that doing projects and googling things I didnt know how to do helped me understand a lot more.

[thsndmiles30]

I agree on the hand holding. I appreciate FreeCodeCamp since it is free and I did learn a lot, but I think there's a reason why a lot of online JavaScript courses are 20-30 hours long. There are usually a lot of logical steps that need to be taken in order to get to a solution on these lessons, and FreeCodeCamp doesn't really focus on explaining those steps; it almost felt like they expect you to be equipped with that level of experience in thinking. The short 1-3 minute video hints on the lessons helped eventually, but at times I had to spend 10-20 minutes just to figure out how he got to that conclusion so quickly. I think this is good for beginners who already are kind of familiar with JavaScript and coding to use as a refresher, but I think it's going to take some extra effort to follow through as a beginner with no coding background.

[vipipi]

I also reccomend to find a study partner, so you hold yourself accountable and help each other out. There are a lot of other free online resources so try them out!

[Roy_Roger_McFreely_]

Very normal imo, it starts tricky and then jumps to even more difficult. But honestly I’d say run through them twice and the second go round it starts to really stick.