4 Tips To Succeed As A Self Taught Developer
Summary
TLDRThis video script from 'Web Dev Simplified' by Kyle offers practical advice for overcoming the common 'hump' in programming. It suggests trying different but related tasks, starting new projects to reignite passion, balancing content consumption with actual coding practice, and learning from other languages. The key takeaway is that programming is a slow process, and success comes to those who persist, not rush, to the finish line.
Takeaways
- 😃 The initial excitement of learning to code can quickly lead to a feeling of empowerment as beginners create simple projects like buttons and to-do lists.
- 🌈 CSS can transform simple HTML elements into visually appealing components, as demonstrated by turning a button into a rainbow.
- 🚀 Overconfidence can lead to ambitious goals like creating a Facebook clone, which might be unrealistic for new developers.
- 🤯 The 'hump' is a common struggle for learners where they feel stuck and overwhelmed by the amount they still need to learn.
- 💡 To overcome the hump, trying something different but related can provide a fresh perspective and reignite motivation.
- 🔄 Switching between different sections of a project or starting a new, smaller project can help in learning and applying new skills.
- 🛑 Taking a break from a frustrating project and returning to it later with a refreshed mindset can make previously difficult tasks seem easier.
- 🔄 Learning new concepts in a different programming language can provide insights that may help in understanding previously challenging concepts in the original language.
- 📚 It's important to balance consuming educational content with actual coding practice to avoid feeling overwhelmed and to ensure skill development.
- 🤔 Recognizing the gap between what you know and what you think you need to know is crucial for effective learning and avoiding demotivation.
- 🏁 Understanding that learning to program is a slow and gradual process can help in setting realistic expectations and avoiding burnout.
Q & A
What is the common path people follow when learning to program according to the script?
-The common path involves initial excitement and a feeling of power as they start building things, followed by hitting a 'hump' where they feel stuck and overwhelmed by the amount they have to learn, which often leads to giving up on programming or their project.
What does the script refer to as the 'hump' in programming?
-The 'hump' refers to a challenging phase in learning programming where individuals feel stuck and unable to progress to the next level, leading to a sense of discouragement and possibly quitting.
What is the first piece of advice given in the script to overcome the 'hump'?
-The first advice is to try something different but related, such as working on a different section of the same project or starting a new, smaller, and achievable project to regain motivation and learn in different ways.
Why is it suggested to start a new project when feeling stuck?
-Starting a new project can help reinvigorate the mind, provide fresh motivation, and facilitate learning in new ways, which can later be applied back to the original project with more skills and a better understanding.
What is the potential benefit of returning to an old project after completing a new one?
-After completing a new project, one may have gained new skills and knowledge, which can make the previously challenging aspects of the old project seem easier, and thus, more manageable.
What does the script suggest doing if learning a specific concept in JavaScript is difficult?
-The script suggests learning other concepts in JavaScript or even learning a completely different programming language to gain new perspectives and knowledge that might make the initially difficult concept easier to understand later on.
Why is it important to balance the amount of content consumed while learning to program?
-Balancing content consumption is crucial to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too much information and to ensure that enough time is spent practicing coding rather than just passively watching tutorials.
What is the potential downside of consuming too much educational content without practicing?
-Consuming too much content without practicing can lead to a false sense of progress, where one feels like they are learning a lot but in reality, they are not implementing the skills they are supposed to be learning, resulting in slow progress and demotivation.
What is the script's perspective on the pace of learning programming?
-The script emphasizes that learning programming is a slow process that varies for each individual, and it's not a race. It's more important to eventually reach the finish line, even if it takes longer than others.
What resource is offered in the script to help learners get over the 'hump' in programming?
-The script offers a completely free web development roadmap and recommends checking out various courses on CSS, React, JavaScript, Next, and TypeScript, all of which are linked in the description.
What is the final advice given in the script regarding overcoming the learning hump in programming?
-The final advice is to realize that programming is a difficult, slow, and time-consuming process, and it's okay to take time to learn. The key is to avoid burnout, continue learning at a sustainable pace, and eventually reach the finish line.
Outlines
😀 Overcoming the Learning Hump in Programming
The first paragraph introduces the common excitement and subsequent challenges faced by beginners in programming. It discusses the initial burst of creativity and the inevitable 'hump' where progress stalls, leading to frustration and the temptation to quit. The speaker, Kyle from 'Web Dev Simplified', offers to provide tips and strategies to overcome this hurdle in programming or any other field. The key message is to try something different but related when stuck, suggesting that working on a different part of the same project or starting a new, smaller project can help regain motivation and perspective.
🤔 Balancing Exploration with Focused Learning
The second paragraph delves into the importance of balancing the breadth and depth of learning. It emphasizes the need to avoid getting stuck in a loop of endless tutorials and information consumption without applying the knowledge through practice. The speaker suggests that too much information can be overwhelming and counterproductive, advising learners to spend more time coding and less time watching tutorials. He also highlights the importance of recognizing what one does not know and using resources like road maps and courses to guide the learning process effectively. The paragraph concludes with the recommendation to maintain a balance between learning new concepts and practicing them through building projects.
🚀 Embracing the Journey of Slow Progress
The final paragraph addresses the misconception that learning to program or building a project should be a quick process. It encourages learners to accept that programming is inherently a slow and gradual journey, and that comparing oneself to others who may appear to progress faster can be misleading. The speaker dispels the myth of instant success often portrayed on social media and emphasizes the importance of perseverance and patience. The paragraph concludes with a call to action, encouraging viewers to utilize the speaker's free web development roadmap and courses to aid in their learning journey, reinforcing the idea that success is achieved by reaching the finish line, not by the speed of the journey.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡JavaScript
💡CSS
💡Developer
💡Tutorials
💡Hump
💡Practice
💡Project
💡Concepts
💡Roadmap
💡Overwhelm
💡Burnout
Highlights
JavaScript's initial excitement and the creation of interactive elements like buttons.
CSS introduction leading to visual enhancements like rainbow buttons.
The rapid learning curve with building applications like to-do lists and weather apps.
The common struggle of hitting a learning 'hump' in programming.
Kyle from Web Dev Simplified offering advice on overcoming learning obstacles.
The concept of trying something different but related when stuck on a project.
The suggestion to switch projects to regain motivation and avoid burnout.
The importance of creating smaller, achievable projects to build confidence.
Returning to a previously challenging project with newfound skills and perspective.
Learning new concepts in programming languages to overcome specific difficulties.
The value of learning a completely new programming language to broaden understanding.
The danger of information overload and the need for focused learning.
Balancing content consumption with practical coding practice for effective learning.
The reality of programming as a slow and gradual learning process.
The importance of patience and perseverance in the learning journey.
The myth of quick success in programming and the need for realistic expectations.
Web Dev Simplified's free resources like the web development roadmap for structured learning.
Encouragement to utilize Web Dev Simplified's courses for comprehensive learning.
Transcripts
JavaScript is so cool I just created a
button and when I click on it it says
hello world Sally just introduced me to
CSS and it is amazing I turned my button
into a rainbow I'm pretty sure I'm the
best developer there ever was I created
a to-do list application and a weather
app and I only had to follow six
tutorials to get it done I think I'm
going to create Facebook
next I have been spending a month trying
to build this off system and it's just
not working and now this web dev
simplified guys trying to tell me I need
to learn react and next I can't even
learn JavaScript why is everybody so
much better than me at programming I
can't build any projects I can't learn
anything I'm just I'm done I quit that
right there is pretty much the most
common path people go through when
they're learning to program they get
really excited at the beginning they
start to feel super powerful because
they're building so many things and then
they start to hit what I like to call
the hump where they're just not able to
get over that next step and they feel
like they're constantly stuck so much to
learn and they're behind everyone and a
lot of people get to this point and they
completely give up they either give up
on programming entirely or they give up
on the project that they're building and
in this video I want to teach you how
you can get over that hump whether it's
building a project learning to program
or even something unrelated to coding
entirely this video is going to give you
tips and tricks that'll help you get
over that hump and make sure that you're
actually a successful developer that
doesn't quit at
all welcome back to web dev simplified
my name is Kyle and my job is to
simplify the web for you so you can
start building your dream project sooner
and by far the most common advice you're
going to get for how to get over a hump
for anything is just practice more try
harder do more try more and that's
obviously going to work if you just put
in 10 times the effort eventually you're
going to get over the hump but this
isn't really the best advice because if
you're struggling to get over that hump
you're probably pretty discouraged you
just don't feel like going on because
you feel like it's hopeless or worthless
you're not making any progress so just
trying harder at the same thing that
you're struggling with isn't always the
best solution yes if you put in the time
and effort you probably will get over
that hump but putting in that time and
effort is difficult and is what leads to
most people quitting so instead the
first piece of advice I want to give you
actually may sound counterintuitive but
is to try something different but
related so let's say that you're stuck
trying to build a particular project
maybe in the example I gave at the
beginning of the video you're trying to
implement an off system it's just not
working and you're really struggling
with it one thing that you can try doing
is on the exact same Project work on
something else if your Project's big
enough there's probably three or four
different sections you can work on at
the same time so switch from working on
the off section to working on maybe
something else that you can do on the
mean times like maybe an email system or
something like that whatever it is it
doesn't matter but something in the same
project but that's slightly different
than the thing you're currently working
on this gives you a fresh thing to look
at which will help reinvigorate you make
you more motivated because it's
something new and fresh but this isn't
always a great solution because maybe
you're just tired of the project in
general or maybe your project isn't big
enough to try something new in this the
same project so in that vein just create
a brand new project about something else
that interests you it's okay to just
quit a project that you're really
struggling with and go on to something
else even if it means you never get back
to that original project because the
important thing is you want to continue
to be programming and learning and if
starting a new project gets you doing
that that's the most important thing now
ideally the goal of this new project is
not to quit your old project entirely
it's just to reinvigorate your mind and
to help you learn in different ways so
now on this new project maybe make it
something smaller and obtainable that
you can do in a couple days maybe a week
or a month depending on how long you
want to spend and then once you finish
that new project go back to the old
project and hopefully at this point you
have more skills more knowledge and
you're more passionate and more
motivated than you were before so you
can hopefully get over the hump that you
were stuck at before maybe you're going
to go back to that old project and
realize when you get to it wow this is
so easy with all the stuff that I've
learned before one of the things that I
always tell students in my courses if
they get stuck building a particular
project I say just stop don't worry
about continuing on it if you're really
stuck on it and you're struggling with
it just skip it build a a few more
projects later on in the course and then
come back a week or a month later and
rebuild that original project and you're
going to notice when you go back to that
old project it's going to seem so much
easier than it was at the time and maybe
you're just over your head and past your
skill level trying to build that project
so jumping ahead doing some other
projects and then coming back is the
best way to solve that problem and it
really makes you feel super strong and
powerful because you look at that
project that really intimidated you
before and now it's an absolute Breeze
this also works for non projects as well
let's say You're really struggling with
learning specific Concepts inside of
JavaScript well one thing you can do is
try to learn other Concepts in
JavaScript so if you're really stuck on
promises and it's just not making sense
to you instead of continuing to try to
bash your head against it continually
trying to learn it even though it's not
working you know just go ahead and learn
something else in JavaScript it doesn't
matter what it is just learn something
else that's more exciting more
interesting and maybe more at your
current skill level that's going to
reinvigorate you make you more motivated
and then a week two weeks a month later
come back and look at promises again and
maybe at this point you're skill level
has improved your understanding of the
language is better and you're going to
look at promises and boom it's just
going to click for you out of nowhere
and even if when you come back to it it
doesn't click it'll probably be easier
and even if it's not you'll hopefully
refresh your motivation so now you're
100% motivated to look into it while
before you were super demotivated and
kind of similar to the project if you're
really just demotivated and bummed out
on JavaScript in particular go ahead and
try to learn something entirely
different learn a brand new programming
language instead of focusing on
JavaScript you may think the skills
aren't transferable but really learning
any programming language helps you with
all programming languages so go ahead
and learn rust or PHP or C it really
doesn't matter just find a language that
you think is interesting and spend some
time trying to learn that language after
you're done doing that and you kind of
you know like I've learned enough about
this language I feel really good about
it come back to whatever you're
struggling with in JavaScript or
whatever it is and now you dive into it
with a new technology in mind you have
new thoughts in your brain you have new
knowledge and maybe this New Concept is
going to be much easier to learn same
thing you could go learn some more CSS
take like a month break doing CSS come
back to JavaScript and you have a new
set of eyes that help you actually parse
this problem now the next two points I
want to talk about are both somewhat
related because they deal with looking
up information online and the first one
I want to talk about is that you don't
know what you don't know and essentially
all I'm saying by this is that you can't
know something if you don't know what to
look for in the first place for example
how do you know what to learn in
JavaScript if you don't know anything at
all about JavaScript this is why I think
it's really important that if you're
learning anything at all whether it's
JavaScript CSS learning an instrument it
doesn't matter what it is try to look up
tutorials guides road maps different
things that can try to help guide you in
the correct paast to learning this
particular skill this is why I think
courses or road maps are a really great
way to actually learn a particular skill
because not only are you getting the
information you need but more
importantly you're getting a road map
that's making sure that you're learning
exactly what you need to learn in the
correct order if you want a completely
free road map that covers everything you
need to learn about web development I
have a full front end backend and full
stack web Dev guide road map that you
can get in the description it's
completely free I'll link it down there
for you and if you want more of a
step-by-step guide on how to actually
learn particular Technologies I have
courses on CSS react JavaScript next
typescript and so on I'll link all of my
courses in the description down below
for you so you can pick and choose the
ones that actually work for your
particular place and where your
learning's at this path of actually
using these tools for learning though
can actually be a quite slippery slope
if you dive too deep if you only stick
with like road maps and courses and a
couple videos here and there to learn
particular ular topics you're probably
doing great but if you start going down
the rabbit hole of just watching video
after video after video on YouTube
different tutorials opinion pieces and
things like that you're going to get
sucked into a rabbit hole of too much
information so on one end you have too
little information and you don't know
what you don't know but when you get too
much information you become overwhelmed
so my third tip is to actually back off
and spend less time consuming content if
you find yourself watching tutorial
after tutorial after tutorial and
educational video and opinionated videos
all the time and you're not actually
spending time building projects and
using these skills in your own actual
code you're probably consuming too much
content and not actually implementing
things enough the key to getting better
is to practice and the only way to
practice is to actually sit down and
write code so if you want to make sure
you get better at writing code you don't
need to watch people doing tutorials on
how to code you need to sit down and
actually write code yourself it's fine
to watch tutorials when you get stuck or
to look up certain Concepts you're
unsure of but if you're just finding
yourself watching tutorial after
tutorial after tutorial like hours a day
you're most likely watching too much and
not actually implementing the skills
that you're supposed to be learning this
is probably the most demoralizing thing
because you may think I'm spending 3 4
hours a day on programming but in
reality you're spending 3 hours watching
videos and only 30 minutes coding so
you're spending a ton of time but you're
really only getting a small amount of
practice each day so your progress is
quite slow and at the same time the
things that you know that you don't know
for example you're learning all these
things but you don't truly know them
that is becoming larger and larger so
your skills are staying small while the
things that you think you need to know
is growing which really demotivates you
because you feel like you should know
all these things because you've heard
about them but you haven't spent the
time to actually learn them so really
try to balance the amount of content you
consume to make sure that it's enough
that you're actually learning new things
and keeping Pace with what you want to
learn but not too much where you're
overwhelming yourself and essentially
cutting away the time you should be
spending practicing now the final tip
that I have is by far the most important
and that is to realize that learning to
program building a project those are
incredibly difficult slow and timec
consuming things that take a lot of time
to make progress in you may see post on
Twitter and YouTube that seems like
people are really fast and they're
learning this thing in like one month
and getting a job immediately as a
programmer but this is not realistic in
those particular situations they maybe
had prior learning experience they had
more time to dedicate than you or maybe
they're just straight up lying to you
about this it's very obvious that's the
internet not everything is true so
really just realize it's a slow process
and it does doesn't matter how long it
takes you as long as you actually get to
that Finish Line taking a year two 3
years to learn programming is completely
normal and that's how most people spend
their time learning to program so when
you're looking at other people on
Twitter Instagram YouTube wherever it is
and you're seeing that their skill level
is maybe higher than yours just realize
they probably put in years or even
decades to get to the point where they
are and eventually if you put in that
same level of work and effort you will
be where they are or even Beyond where
they are it's just important to know
that it's a slow process and it's okay
to take time getting there it's not a
race the important thing is that you get
to the Finish Line cuz if you go too
fast and burn out and quit you never
actually made it to the finish line so
you failed while the person that took
twice as long as you they made it to the
finish line and actually succeeded and
are working as a full-time web developer
so if you're really ready to get over
the hump I highly recommend downloading
my completely free webdev road map it's
linked down in the description below or
checking out any of my courses again
I'll link all of them in the description
down below they cover everything that
you need to learn as a web developer so
it doesn't matter where you are on your
Learning Journey at least one of my
courses or the webd road map are going
to be really helpful for you with that
said thank you very much for watching
and have a good day
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