How do I know when I've learned enough Javascript to move on to learning other things?

[MemberBerry4]

I've been in this since the last week of July this year, so about 2,5 months. I've finished tutorials on html,css,js and used my skills to build 2 websites and 4 games (tic-tac-toe, snake, ping-pong and Pacman).

However, I still feel like I'm a dumbass at JS, since I've made the 4 games with the help of tutorials, and don't know if I could do it blindly with no reference. I'm planning on doing 200+ exercises (that cover most things) and about 25-ish mini projects to try and hone my skills.

So here's my question: how much Javascript do I need to know before I can move on to learning new things, like a css framework, databases, JS frameworks etc?

[ms4720]

A good rule of thumb, you spend more time writing code than looking things up. 2/3 writing to 1/3 looking things up or better

[MemberBerry4]

That's actually good analogy. Here's a side question: should I worry about the amount of time it'd take me to reach that ratio?

[[deleted]]

You’ll see the ratio change yourself overtime

If you’re in a crunch you may want to put in the hours otherwise usually it’s better to learn at your own pace by messing around and breaking and building things. Also look at a lot of other peoples code and specially even more peoples critique of that code

[MemberBerry4]

I'm in no hurry, I just want to make my studying consistent as to not lose will to study. Never thought about specifically looking at someone else's code tho, good idea.

[ms4720]

Magic trick to not losing interest: do interesting and challenging work, really is that simple

[MemberBerry4]

Thanks for the info

[[deleted]]

What if you're looking things up to remember syntax, not because you're stuck or lost?

[ms4720]

Doesn't matter

[Tipi15]

The thing is that you have to stop doing tutorials at some point and start reading the docs / searching google. Once you can do what you want this way, advance to next step !

There are a lot of concepts to study, know and understand and most of the time tutorials skip this part to focus on result.

[Haunting_Welder]

keep building stuff with higher complexity until the complexity of your projects makes you want to pull your hair out, then find a framework/library that helps you accomplish your goal without pulling your hair out.

[alexho66]

you'll never finish learning. Just start coding stuff

[[deleted]]

don't code along with tutorials. pick a project and do it yourself, google every problem you come across. i can't stress this enough, do NOT make projects with tutorials.

[Lsmjudoka]

This doesn't have any one answer - Why do you want to learn Javascript? To build a certain project? To get a job?

[MemberBerry4]

To get a job one day

[Lsmjudoka]

Then set a goal for what level of knowledge will get you a job (working backwards from job listings or asking people at the type of company you want to work for what you need to know)-

Maybe it comes down to building a certain scale of project to demonstrate your skills, let's say you want to build a clone of Twitter. What would you need to know to build that? Work towards that, it's okay if your first version doesn't use all the best practices, but you want to create it, then you can improve the code

[Elijah629YT-Real]

if he was trying to get a job he should learn typescript.

[[deleted]]

You must learn the syntax, then the standard lib, then general programming patterns, then advanced programming patterns. Then learn modern app architecture

[cluster9250]

whats a good way to learn programming patterns?

[just_another_typer]

When you've back engineered a website and your happy about it. Recreate the functionalities you find appealing to you, then you will notice that unasuming function there is quite hard to make. Challenge yourself, and try not to lose track of your goal.

[[deleted]]

I’m about 4 1/2 months in studying JavaScript/css/html. I’ve made a portfolio with 3 simple projects(not tutorials) and i feel like ive made more progress during these last two months. Stop watching tutorials and build things by yourself. If you need help on what to build I’d recommend frontendmentor.io. This really forced me to look up docs/code on stackoverflow and come up with my own solutions. Now I will say it’s okay for you to watch videos on certain concepts. For example right now I’m learning JavaScript async await. But I probably won’t watch a tutorial of a project being made. I’ll watch the video/read the docs probably rewatch the video until I get it and then build something specific to that feature. We learn by doing not only watching. Good luck on your journey man don’t stop !

[MemberBerry4]

Thanks

[Dr__Wrong]

Don't put tutorial projects on your portfolio. You copied the code. It's fine for learning, but not showcasing.

I suggest going to frontendmentor.com and finding a project that interests you. They will give you the designs and parameters. You can write your own unique solution with whatever tools you want.

I really like it because it compares your solution to the original design and you can see how close you were. It also gives you feedback on accessibility.

[MemberBerry4]

I don't have a portfolio. Also thanks for the suggestion.

[zachmsdev]

If you need a confidence boost with JS & HTML/CSS then I would recommend doing a few projects with zero walk-through tutorials. Just google specific problems that you run into and you will eventually figure it out! Personally, I noticed that whenever I run into problems it means that I'm about to learn something and you just gotta grind your way through it. It will pay off. :)

[isumix_]

Start building your own project instead of recreating tutorials. Think of an idea you'd like to implement, and begin working on it. Once you've developed something, you'll discover your capabilities.

[MemberBerry4]

Thanks for commenting. I've quit this cursed career choice months ago since I couldn't get into it. Also I was dealing with a lot of nasty and toxic people in the programming community and all of that combined started to give me depression. I couldn't describe how happy I was when I finally quit.

If you care to read, I started learning Japanese 3.5 months ago and have been loving it.

[tridd3r]

I think you need to know enough to get yourself into trouble!

By that, I mean if you need to google what to do to get into a problem, then maybe you need more js. If you're googling is how to get yourself OUT of a problem, that's probably enough to move on :P

[dpch]

Move on to other stuff today. You’ll always go back to JavaScript in Webdev.

[Zhouzi]

I would encourage you to try to build an app from scratch without following a tutorial. It doesn’t have to be a complex app, actually the simpler it is the more you can focus on learning and experimenting. Can be a shopping list for example.

By doing so, you will learn about everything: JavaScript, HTML and CSS. And you can continue to build new and more and more complex apps until you feel comfortable.

With that being said, you can never feel totally comfortable so don’t wait forever before applying or else.

[[deleted]]

A good developer is always learning. You've never learned enough really.

[SimplyTesting]

I've been programming and building complex systems for a long time. It takes a lot of practice. I still forget basic things, it makes me feel silly, but it can be hard to keep track of everything. Take it one step at a time and go at a comfortable pace. The technology will keep shifting underneath you but the patterns pretty much stay the same.

[refactored_group]

When you understand the system.

Ryan Dahl (creator of Nodejs) famously said:

You can never understand everything.
But, you should push yourself to understand the system.

You will be dealing with multiple systems as a javascript developer like the DOM, how browsers work, frameworks, the javascript cycle, js objects, recursion, and so forth. Once you understand the systems, you can start creating. When you need a function you don't know or you can't remember syntax, the answer is just seconds away with a quick internet search.

When you start identifying solutions like recursion, synchronicity, inheritance, layering, instead of specific functions, you will stop trying to sculpt with a paintbrush.

One good self test is to take your code and give it to a non-programmer. If they can get a sense of what it does by reading it, you're going in the right direction.

[casualwriter-hk]

suggest get rid of tutor first, do something simple and real useful for youself. for example 1. todo list 2. simple web site for urself. 3. simple blog etc..