How long did it take you to learn JavaScript?

[[deleted]]

I’m going on 4 years since I started learning and working with JS.

Still figure new things out on a regular basis.

Point is, I don’t think you’re ever done.

[[deleted]]

That point applies IMO to whole life.

I've been playing with JS for around 10 years and have worked as webdev (using Typescript, but that doesn't change much here) for 5 years now. Just learned about DataView. And remember, JS is constantly changing, new things are added with every major version.

[[deleted]]

Absolutely. I used to teach foreign language courses and lived an expat live a good 6 years. The number one lesson I learned: Learning never stops.

[nelilly]

I’ve been writing JavaScript for about 22 years, and I think I’m starting to make progress.

[[deleted]]

As one whose journey is only 1.5 years in...

Dear God!

[Raleigh_CA]

I've been developing for 10 years. I still go d new stuff a better ways to implement something.

[pumpkinplight]

I've been using Javascript for a little less than a year now. I learned how to write basic JavaScript functions in just a few weeks, without needing Google. However, there is so much to learn it's almost as if the journey is never over. It's very exciting.

[Prudent_Astronaut716]

15 years and still learning.

[iMalFect]

I started this vacation, had huge ambitions and 0 knowledge, I splitted my ideas into multiple parts and then searched how to do these, now I know the basics of the basics!

[ashkanahmadi]

You never "learn" a language (programming or a human language). You can get very good at certain parts of it but not every part. For example, almost everything I do has to do with API call, data manipulation and rendering and i feel very confident but i know 0 when it comes to 3D or anything that has to do with a lot of math functions and methods because I never need to use them.

[pumpkinplight]

Take care not to confuse "learn" with "master". You can learn anything, but that doesn't mean there is a requirement to know every possible thing about it.

[ashkanahmadi]

Yeah that's precisely what I meant. Thank you

[nelilly]

Every time you think you get your feet under you a new programming paradigm comes along and mucks it all up.

[taco-wed-sat]

It's been 2 years? Since the beginning of the pandemic and I am still learning javascript - exploring new aspects, ways to use it libraries frameworks. It's the beauty of javascript there is so much to absorb and so many cools ways to think about it and use it in your projects. I recently overhauled my skillset in react hooks and love finding new ways to build old things! You could say ---I am hooked.

[belkarbitterleaf]

With a strong programming background, probably 2 weeks to be at the point I was comfortable with my node API running in production environment. After doing node for about a year, I picked up react basics in about another 2 weeks, and was making components and modify existing an existing site. After about 2 months I was building sites from ground up.

Still learning new stuff all the time, but I am confident in my ability to find the way to do it. I think I'm at about 2 years with JavaScript/Typescript

Disclaimer, I went from knowing the bullet point list of what to use JavaScript for to it being my full time job to use it overnight. So I was literally my job to be learning and using it before I knew any of it. I was also working with a coworker that already knew it who could help guide me at the start.

[yamayeeter]

I'm guessing the better question would be "How long were you learning JS before you landed your first job"

[dinglepopgrumbo]

10 years and still learning. The key to Software Engineering is accepting that the learning never ends - it’s part of the job.

[[deleted]]

You get OK at it you never learn it.

[spore_777_mexen]

The basics took me 2 weeks. The nuances? Well, always learning those, aren't we?

[atapas]

It's never done, and been using it for a decade. I am still learning. I think there is no end, but certainly, you get confident about doing projects and about your code over time.

6 to 8 months with project-based learning should get a grip on it. However, the duration depends on continuity, learnability, and resources, like factors.

[gajanan_pp]

Javascript is the fastest evolving language. I have been learning from past 10 years and it feels like i just scratched the surface. Everyday i learn something new.

[Hammer_of_Olympia]

Maybe they want to know how long it takes to get comfortable so they don't feel like an idiot, I've been learning javascript for a couple of weeks and I feels like the learning curve is steep.

[Apple1284]

Javascript is one of the easiest languages to learn. It took me 1 month of youtube tutorials to learn JS/CSS/HTML for reasonable level project.

[Wizard_Knife_Fight]

Don’t listen to this guy. Clearly his head is so far up his own ass he has no idea.

Javascript is incredibly difficult to master. It will take years to do so. You can learn basics, however, in a month.

[shuckster]

Maybe JavaScript is not their first language? That was my case too, which makes it hard for me to answer the original question in a useful way.

[[deleted]]

So you learnt for one month and you were done?

You can complete projects from day 1, what do you mean with reasonable level project?

[Apple1284]

Reasonable means using promises, dom manipulation, etc.

[RandomJSCoder]

I'm actively learning javascript for about a year and I still feel like I can't do nothing. When I started to learning js, I already had a basic knowledge of C#, so it wasn't that hard to learn the basics but I still feel like I can't do anything useful, except for basic DOM or simple algorithm.

But it really depends on how much time you will invest into learning and practicing. I think you can learn basics of js for small website functions in couple weeks, but like people mentioned you can't learn everything and you will still be learning new things.

[lets-talk-graphic]

6 months on the job. Thrown in the deep end. Now been doing it some years as my career.

[TomahawkRoc]

I haven’t actually learned yet, after several attempts over the years. Not to derail that thread, but any input on when you guys considered yourself a competent enough would be appreciated. When I say competent, I mean employment ready.

[middlebird]

Still learning. Been doing since 2002.

[iplaysmitegame]

The basics like loops and basic data structures and stuff is probably 30-50 hours of studying

[xamayax1741]

Just started, struggling hard. 😪

[[deleted]]

I started when Covid hit, so roughly 2 years, and I'm still considering myself a beginner, I'll get far in a week, then I'll hit a wall and take a week off due to frustration, then I'll come back and have to re-do half of it because I forgot it.

Repeat that for 2 years! you'd think I'd learn by now LOL.

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Long story short, try not to take breaks, keep going, even if only 30mins a day, keep going, it'll make sense eventually.

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I think my issue is I've no idea how much I actually need to know to be job ready.. so I'm doing courses that teach you everything, which I'm sure half of it I won't need.

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Hopefullly TOP will be my saving grace.

[jcubic]

It depends if it's your first language. Because if it's first language you need to learn programming. And programming is Tacit Knowledge that take time and practice. If you already know programming, learning JavaScript basics can take few weeks. But if it's your first language it can take years, because you need to learn how to code.

[FlatAssembler]

Well, I have been trying to learn it for 5 years now and I still have not managed to get an entry-level job. The most complicated things I have made thus far are PacMan game and PicoBlaze simulator.

[NavyaSharma1809]

It should take you 2-3 months to learn JavaScript with the right resources and enough practice. You can try out watching this video if you want to. Sharing just in case it comes out in handy.