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What I am currently doing as a code newbie and possibly you should do too

Suborna on January 05, 2020

Originally published here A little about myself As mentioned before in my previous blog posts, I am a code newbie with just over 2 mont...
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Jordy Lee

Good work. Here's my 2 cents:

  • Immersion theory. At this stage, a lot of what you don't know are "unknown unknowns". So outside (or in between) your other commitments, try and always be looking at or reading about code, as this will help the unknowns surface faster and help your brain with pattern recognition of common practices and syntax for your language/framework/etc.
  • Applying for jobs: This is the one point, with all due respect, I disagree with. I've also been told it's good to apply for jobs early, which I agree with, but imo, 2 months is far too early. The amount of time spent applying and dealing with rejections would be better spent coding. And even if you got a job somewhere, it probably won't end well. Being a developer is already stressful enough, so imagine how much pressure you'd feel if you started a dev job not even being familiar/comfortable with the role you were hired for. It could end badly which would hinder your future motivation

Take that with a grain of salt, love what you're doing otherwise :)

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Suborna

Hey Jordan, Your comment gave me a different insight to how I currently look at things so thank you. I have always read these type of tweets on twitter "15 years as a developer and I still don't know what I am doing" from experienced developers and that made me think, may be I can have a job too where I don't know what I am doing but can learn through the process of a full-time/part-time/internship. Being a developer is definitely stressful enough but shouldn't we get out of our comfort zone earlier rather than later or at least try?

2 months is definitely way too short to apply to any jobs I totally agree. But there are people out there who has a full-time job not even relating to programming. Wouldn't it be better to get a job early even if you are uncomfortable so that you don't have to separately manage time to learn programming?

And also no one would hire me with 2 months of experience even I know that but by the time I do I will possibly have 8-12 months of experience and I already know the process of applying. I know earlier on what set of skills companies want, what I can improve as a developer from now on, what particular things I need to focus on other than coding to do better in an organisation and so on. That is the scenario I actually visualised in my head.

All this aside, freelancing might be the most easiest route to start with as a new developer.

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Paul D. Paradis

This is great. I have been programming for about two years, but I consider myself to be a complete newbie. Ironically enough, I decided to start blogging about my experiences learning to code when I joined this site, which was about two weeks ago. I will be pushing my first post out soon, and I have received renewed inspiration from reading this. Thanks very much for taking the time to write this. The whole article gave me a lot to think about. Cheers.

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Suborna

wow I really enjoyed reading your comment. Comments like this actually inspire me to write more! Thank you and I look forward to reading your post :D

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Justin Cooksey

Interesting to read, and I'm taking a look at 100DaysOfCode now, while I'm on holidays. With the intetion to start when i get back home.
I usually struggle to find time, with a busy job, to learn. So the procrastination comments suit me as well.
Not looming to change jobs, at least not for a while, as I work in IT and do get to use coding more and more in the work I do, but was very interested I the comments that potential employers had read your blog, or dev.to posts.

Always good to read posts like this. Not everyone is looking for just the I've done this for decades comments.

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Suborna

I have seen the same pattern too. All the programmers are experienced and they write blogs about how they have come this far and what they did as a beginner but beginners like us rarely write posts about what they are learning and how they are approaching towards becoming a developer. I am glad you found my post useful :) Hoping to see you on my newsfeed for 100daysofcode :D

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Safin Ghoghabori

Hmm really this is insight full. I love it. I am currently learning new languages but cant choose one.

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Suborna

I am glad you found it useful. What language are you learning atm?

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Safin Ghoghabori

Actually i just completed php/laravel.

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Suborna

that's great! 😊

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Safin Ghoghabori • Edited

Mam currently i am studying BCA so learned many languages also. But now i want to learn complete frontend development and backend development, so give me the best suggestion. I.e.the best free tutorial also.

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Katie Nelson • Edited

Great post Suborna! Procrastination is one of the things I do best! After reading this post, I’ll try to push it down as something I do less often.

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Suborna

haha yeah! Procrastination is something we all do best!

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Mikey Stengel

Great post. I'm honored to be in your post and so glad to be part of your learning journey. 🙏😊

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Suborna

hehe I am really glad you contacted me ❤️ Couldn't do this challenge without you!

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Dennis Mwendwa Musembi

This is great work. Am also newbie. Finish learning HTML CSS. now learning JavaScript almost done. About the alone part. You learn new concept and the practice what you have learned. Sometimes it doesn't give the results you expect and you didn't seem to figure out the problem. Sometimes it's take long (half hour to one) before you find the mistake. It can be draining some times.

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Shashika

Great post.Its very helpful.

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Suborna

thank you :)

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Michaela Hunter

Helpful post! It’s encouraging to see where people are at different coding stages. I also think we get so much advice it’s hard to see what’s worth doing—and seeing someone else doing it is encouraging. I hope you continue to post on your journey!!🤗