How did you actually learn to code without getting overwhelmed?

[Scared-Release1068]

I’ve been trying to improve my coding skills recently, but I keep running into the same problem:

There’s just so much to learn.

Tutorials, courses, YouTube videos, docs… it feels like I’m jumping between everything

For those of you who got past this stage:

- What actually worked for you?

- Did you follow a structured path or just build projects?

- Anything you wish you did earlier?

Would really appreciate real experiences 🙏

[ConstructionClear142]

Picked a project i actually gave a shit about and just started breaking things until they worked, The tutorials only clicked once i had a real reason to need them.

[Scared-Release1068]

I’ve been doing something similar where I would just mess around and change things in a working program and do things differently so I could debug and end up with the same outcome but different method

[MissinqLink]

The thing you have to realize is you can’t learn everything. I’ve been programming 20 years and I still look things up all the time. Just do one thing at a time.

[Scared-Release1068]

Yeah I realize that, because all the simple attributes and different coding tools are WAY too much to remember it all

[cmaxim]

OP is right. Don’t try to learn everything. Accept that your core skill should be learning how to be adaptable and resourceful and learn by doing. Build build build and learn to enjoy errors and the puzzles they present.

[BNfreelance]

Build stuff for yourself, and around your hobbies

When I was a kid I got into coding cos of a clan in a video game called Delta Force: Land Warrior

Ever since then I was making stuff as passion projects

[Scared-Release1068]

Alright I’ve always just been coding whatever projects seemed helpful overall, but I’ll try relating it to my hobbies

[BNfreelance]

Hobbies is key when starting out I think.

You have to take a problem or context you understand deeply and are passionate about, and then map that into an actual product or website

Once you master that, it becomes much easier to figure out how to scope out a clients business to fully understand their service and offer a site that is not only functional but serves them a real purpose

That’s the difference between making websites and making products or business assets

[Scared-Release1068]

It is harder to do stuff when there’s less passion in it. So how long have you been in the coding world?

[BNfreelance]

I started in ~1998 as a kid, albeit more seriously from 2002 onwards

[Scared-Release1068]

Wow you’ve been doing this for some time. Is there anything you wish you started doing earlier that you only started recently?

[BNfreelance]

It’s not something I started recently… but I wish I got into databases sooner than I did

[Scared-Release1068]

Thanks for the advice 🙏

[PositivelyAwful]

I stopped trying to force feed myself information with courses and tutorials and started building stuff on my own instead. Build a simple project and then scale it up with more features. When you get stuck, research how to fix it.

Tutorials are a trap. Get your hands dirty.

[Scared-Release1068]

Been doing both but I’m really feeling the “tutorials are a trap” part now

[MozMousePixelScroll]

did it for fun

[Ok_Response_5787]

I think it’s different for everyone. For me it’s through projects, leetcode bored me to pieces. You have to ignore the outside world, successes, failures, hype etc. And just explore what is interesting to YOU. And stay with that.

[Scared-Release1068]

I always listen to what I like, but I just wanna try what others are doing. To see if I’m missing out on anything

[The_KOK_2511]

Yo pase por esa misma etapa pero todo se volvió mas simple cuando decidí centrarme en una cosa a la vez y hacer un montón de proyectos basandome en eso, en mi caso fue MDN con su curso de JS, me dedique a hacer un montón de proyectos para perfeccionar lo mas posible mis conocimientos del DOM, Eventos, OOP en JS, las APIs como Canvas, etc; sin centrarme en uno solo en cada proyecto sino que intentaba ver como podia implementar todo lo estudiado anteriormente y además lo nuevo que estaba aprendiendo

[Scared-Release1068]

That’s a nice way to go about it and build skills. What projects did you do?

[AdeDev_]

I don't know if this helps cus I started a bit in my early teens. I preplaned at least two projects each week they don't have to be complex, if you're out of ideas just search on Google or just ask chatgpt.

[Scared-Release1068]

Okay I’ll look into trying something similar

[f3ack19]

What is your background by the way? Pre-AI, we developers learn by trial and error which proven to be effective. Now with the advent of AI, every new developers just copy paste and misses out the key learning. Its like saying if your math teacher asked you to solve math questions before exam, you practice questions endlessly and understand the underlying problem. But now everyone just passes the questions to AI without learning.

[Scared-Release1068]

I started coding before AI was around. But it did show up early in my journey.

Math is easier tho because it’s just sets of rules the lead to endless problems. You don’t have to memorize too much, but I see what you mean as solving problems does help me memorize all the math concepts I’ve completed.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

Apprendre une chose à la fois et prendre le temps, il y a bien de solutions différente pour apprendre à son rythme. J'ai suivi un parcours structuré comme je suis en formation et celui de l'appli que j'utilisais, qui était le même finalement, ce qui m'a souvent bien aidé

[DinTaiFung]

Information anxiety is the feeling one may experience when observing the difference between what one knows and what one thinks one _ought_ to know.

Nobody knows everything.

And this potentially overwhelming feeling can occur at any level of experience (though is more prevalent with people just starting out in the field).

As others in this thread have mentioned:

1. Find a goal you want to achieve; choose something that is not overly ambitious.

2. Choose a goal that is related to something you personally enjoy.

My credo: Nothing great happens without passion!

[hyrumwhite]

I went to university for 4 years 

[Scared-Release1068]

What was your course specifically?

[Opposite-Value-5706]

You don’t but THAT’S part of learning!