4 Tips To Succeed As A Self Taught Developer

Summary

This 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

00:00

😀 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.

05:00

🤔 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.

10:00

🚀 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.

Keywords

💡JavaScript

JavaScript is a high-level, interpreted programming language commonly used for enhancing web pages with interactive elements. In the video's context, it represents the initial excitement of web development as the speaker mentions creating a button that says 'hello world' and building applications. The script illustrates the learning curve when transitioning from simple tasks to more complex projects like an 'off system'.

💡CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, a language used for describing the presentation of a document written in HTML or XML. The video mentions CSS as a tool that transformed a basic button into a 'rainbow,' highlighting its role in styling web elements and contributing to the visual aspect of web development.

💡Developer

A developer is a person who designs, codes, and maintains applications or systems. The script uses the term to describe the speaker's progression from beginner to feeling like 'the best developer,' illustrating the emotional journey of learning and the challenges faced when tackling more complex projects.

💡Tutorials

Tutorials are instructional sets of information used to teach specific skills or tasks. In the script, the speaker mentions following six tutorials to create applications, emphasizing the importance of learning from structured educational content in the early stages of development.

💡Hump

In the video's narrative, 'the hump' refers to a challenging phase in the learning process where progress seems to stall, causing frustration and the feeling of being stuck. It's a metaphor for the learning plateau that many encounter, which the video aims to help viewers overcome.

💡Practice

Practice is the act of performing or engaging in an activity repeatedly to improve one's skill. The video suggests that while practicing more is a common recommendation for overcoming challenges, it's not always the most effective advice when one is feeling discouraged or stuck.

💡Project

A project in the context of the video refers to a specific task or goal, such as building a to-do list application or a weather app. The speaker discusses the process of starting new projects to reinvigorate the learning process and overcome the feeling of being stuck.

💡Concepts

Concepts are fundamental ideas or principles in a field of knowledge. The script talks about learning different concepts in JavaScript, such as promises, and how getting stuck on one concept can lead to frustration. It suggests learning other concepts or even a new programming language to gain a fresh perspective.

💡Roadmap

A roadmap in the video represents a structured guide or plan for learning a specific skill set, such as web development. The speaker mentions the importance of having a roadmap to ensure that one learns in the correct order and covers all necessary topics.

💡Overwhelm

To be overwhelmed means to be excessively burdened or confused by a large amount of information or tasks. The video warns against the risk of consuming too much content without applying it, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed and demotivated.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion. The video advises against rushing the learning process to avoid burnout, emphasizing the importance of a steady and sustainable pace in learning to program.

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