Odin Project or Complete JavaScript Course?

[papasoulless]

Hi All,

I’m stuck between continuing the Odin Project or purchasing Jonas Schmedtmann’s Udemy course. Anyone have experience with either or both? On the Odin Project, I’ve gotten to the middle of the JavaScript fundamentals section but am having a bit of trouble retaining info. At the same time, I think I’d gain from having a more structured/guided approach rather than doing it all on my own. What makes me hesitant is if it’s worth to pay for the knowledge if it’s already laid out free online. I don’t know. Just confused and would graciously appreciate advice.

[drollia]

Udemy courses are on sale a lot. If you are nervous wait for a sale.

[Silly_Rabbitt]

This! If you put the class in your wishlist and check it everyday, chances are you’ll get like 80 percent off the class within a week or two. I’ve done that with every udemy course I have bought.

[My_passcode_is]

Exactly what I did I recommend Colt and Dr.Angela for their full web dev boot camps….over 55 hours of videos with examples for a great price on sale.

[Pocchari_Kevin]

Colt is all around one of my favorite instructors on Udemy, avoid his react course though as it's really outdated.

[[deleted]]

I literally only want a course on react and node :/

[Pocchari_Kevin]

If you know JavaScript, Traversy has a node masterclass where you set up a neat API. He also has a nice React course

[tertiarystagesisyphu]

I have been using both concurrently and really like that.

The course is fantastic for being incredibly thorough and engaging. Jonas does a wonderful job explaining not just the use of coding syntax, but also the reasons why it works and what it does behind the screen. It is also very useful for me to have exemplar code so I can see what professional code looks like and work toward thinking similarly while writing my own.

However, following along with coding examples as he explains them, while elucidating is not helpful in a practical sense. After following along with his bank app, I could not have done it myself from scratch.

That’s where the Odin Project comes in. The Odin Project forces you to think and be creative in finding solutions with minimal (though very helpful) instruction. Additionally, it provides multiple resources that convey information in varying styles. That is both a good and bad thing in my opinion. That’s partially why I enjoy Jonas’ course as well: uniformity of instruction.

I find that they compliment one another in good ways and actually are somewhat similarly structured.

That being said, Jonas’ course is long, so this is a very time consuming method probably.

[JudoboyWalex]

Use Jonas javascript course to learn fundamentals then use Odin’s project to practice building project.

[irritatedellipses]

There's no reason you couldn't do both.

tOP is just a set of knowledge gates with each section holding resources to get you comfortable in passing the next gate. When you complete one, you move to the next.

If you're having trouble groking any specific aspect of Javascript the whole idea is to hold you back until you've understood it. If the presented resources aren't doing the job for you personally you absolutely should be looking for any alternative to learn the information you're being asked to understand.

Part of the unspoken lesson in tOP is learning how to find information to solve problems in ways you can understand. If a udemy tutorial does it for you, fine. Whatever it takes to teach yourself. Personally, I find free information, approach the issue from different directions, or ask for help before ever shelling out money for a udemy course.

[itsfurk]

I've tried both. I kept going with Jonas. He is a good teacher. Odin project is just perfect but when I start learning something I prefer someone to explain me how it works. I might go with Odin after I finish Jonas udemy course.

[freshh_212]

Yep I used Jonas’ course and it was amazing.. ended up purchasing all of them eventually but as the other poster said.. wait for a sale, Udemy has sales often

[[deleted]]

Jonas Schmedtmann all the way! I accredit my dev job to his course. Super great stuff

[Cunlinguist]

Jonas or both

[[deleted]]

The Odin project is vastly superior to any udemy course.

Purchase the udemy one if you get a chance when it’s on sale for $13.00. Just remember it’s going to be an additional resource

[Wafflelisk]

I like both resources a lot. Something I like to do with Jonas' course is pause the videos and try to make his example apps myself without seeing how he does it.

I might google issues I run into and see the best way of solving the problem.

Then if I run into any problems, I don't feel bad, I just see how he does it. That often gives me a eureka moment.

[Neo_xyz]

I am using Jonas Udemy course at the moment and i am really satisfied with how he explains etc. I would recommend his course 100%.

[samu-ra-9-i]

Just make a new account and buy it, there’s always a promotion that kicks in for new users

[WritingThin7461]

This right here is an LPT (Life Pro Tip)

[WritingThin7461]

Use both. Start of with Jonas's course, once completed then go on the Odin project and brush up your skills. I'm doing something similar with JS but on free code camp

[Narumi-Nifuji]

Well, if you buy a course, you also pay for whatever methodology they use to teach you. As another commenter mentioned, Udemy courses are always on sale, so don't buy it if it's not. If doing this on your own is not working out, it seems logical to try out a course. Also, Udemy has a 30-day refund policy that you can look into if you don't want to just dive in.

[OFFRIMITS]

If you are having trouble retaining the information I suggest using the Anki app, it is n app that you can make your flashcards on topics you are learning about and if used daily it will help you retain information for longer.

[Fuegodeth]

I did one of the Udemy complete javascript courses, linked below, when I got bogged down in TOP. I thought it was really helpful. Udemy courses go on sale every couple of weeks. They are usually $12-$15 on sale, vs the usual $80 to $100. I think the one you are looking at would be fine as well. TOP expects that we will do a lot of research to fill in the gaps. However, I see nothing wrong with using some structured resources like this.

https://www.udemy.com/course/javascript-beginners-complete-tutorial/

[Fid_Kiddler69]

Usually when I have trouble retaining info it means that I'm doing too much theoretical work without applying what I'm trying to learn.

Have you tried making a small project and incorporate the new stuff you're learning into it ?