Stuck in Tutorial Purgatory?

[AleksandrHovhannisyan]

[amaben2020]

Thanks for the advice. I found myself in tutorial purgatory but I'm gradually escaping it. I dived into React but discovered that I had a weak foundation in JavaScript. I downloaded a free tutorial from Maximilian Schwarzmuller and I'm killing it now. Just built a calculator myself from scratch and my confidence has really been boosted. Tutorial purgatory is terrible and scary.

[weav797]

I'd like to respond to a statement I found rather interesting in your article. "Start from scratch on your own environment and give the problem your best, most creative attempt."

The statement I quoted? Therein lies the issue with my case. I don't have a lot of ideas that I want to see built. You know, when I read a lot of articles online asking for advice on tutorial hell, they'll say "just build projects." I've talked with other learning devs online about my frustration, and none of it helps. They'll throw me these vague scenarios about "just try to imagine a problem that can be solved with an app." Well so far, that has bore no fruit whatsoever. Any idea I had there was an app that was already doing it and doing it much more efficiently than a newbie dev could have done. Then they'll say, "Well if the solution already exists, why not build on that feature and make it better?" I'll use a blog website as an example.

I tried to start a project on a blog website, but I quickly ran out of ideas as I had no idea how to make it resemble anything like a blog. I tried looking at other blogs to get inspiration, and I just wasn't feeling any of the designs. So I asked people online, and I think I read someone tell me that I should try putting a calculator on the website. I asked myself, why in the world should there be a calculator on a blog site? Well it'll be different, right? Sure. It'll be different, but that makes no sense to have a calculator. I mean if you're gonna take the time to build a project, should there not be a purpose/business problem your code is trying to solve?

Anyway, I'm just frustrated because I have no idea what to build as a newbie. I've tried reading other people's ideas like "Student grade application, Product inventory, etc." They all seem boring to me. And yes. I even heard of combining interests to make it fun. Yep. I've heard that online as well, but for the life of me, my interests of mountain biking, guns, video games, heavy metal? I can't seem to find a problem that can be solved by an app. I really don't have an imagination regarding projects and I wish I had some help or guidance or something. I can be creative when it comes to problem-solving, but I lack imagination for ideas to get started. I've been struggling with this for 4 years now. 50% of that time has been me not touching any code for 2 years because I got so frustrated towards the end.

I really want to be a developer. I'm in the IT world right now working in app support just below the developers. I just don't know how to build projects. I don't mean to lash out at anyone if that's what you're feeling from this comment, Aleksandr. My apologies. I'm just frustrated the the issue has been going on for so long.

[AleksandrHovhannisyan]

Hi @weav797,

Thanks for reaching out. I can actually relate to these struggles... In particular:

I've tried reading other people's ideas like "Student grade application, Product inventory, etc." They all seem boring to me.

I agree—these apps are boring. Don't even get me started on the todo-list apps :) They're good for getting your feet wet with new tech, but they usually don't expose you to much beyond beginner-level concepts.

Don't get discouraged by thinking you need to be churning out tons of good apps in a short period of time to demonstrate your skills as a developer. Some devs who claim to be doing this are just going after the low-hanging fruit and inflating the value of their work.

Anyway, you mentioned a few of your interests. If you can't think of an app to make that involves those, I would recommend working on a personal website (unless you already have one) that showcases your experience/personality/whatever.

I know that probably doesn't help you much, but it's true. Make something that you care about.

[weav797]

Hi @weav797, Thanks for reaching out. I can actually relate to these struggles... In particular: I've tried reading other people's ideas like "Student grade application, Product inventory, etc." They all seem boring to me. I agree—these apps are boring. Don't even get me started on the todo-list apps :) They're good for getting your feet wet with new tech, but they usually don't expose you to much beyond beginner-level concepts. Don't get discouraged by thinking you need to be churning out tons of good apps in a short period of time to demonstrate your skills as a developer. Some devs who claim to be doing this are just going after the low-hanging fruit and inflating the value of their work. Anyway, you mentioned a few of your interests. If you can't think of an app to make that involves those, I would recommend working on a personal website (unless you already have one) that showcases your experience/personality/whatever. I know that probably doesn't help you much, but it's true. Make something that you care about.

I appreciate the response, Alexsandr. I know I'm not alone, but it definitely is nice for someone to relate to the struggles. If I had any ideas right now, I probably wouldn't waste time reaching out to people online and get to work. Maybe it's just that I need to pick a random project and just get to work because employers want to see proof of work/proof that you code. That's the goal for me is to get a job. I'm not part of the rest of those subreddit programmer communities that eat and sleep and breath code forever. :) I'll say this though: I like coding a lot more than the other jobs I've had in the past. I've been lucky in my current role where I get to work with good people working on meaningful goals. Maybe it's just that simple for me. Find something meaningful. I'll definitely write about that once I've found it lol