How that looks like in reality?

Community Careers, Journeys, and Stories
1

Hi,

Full stack student here. Also, I finished software engineering bootcamp which tought me Python.

I’ve finished the React part on codecademy and decided to do a small project to see what I know etc. I started following a yt tutorial on youtube showing how to do a Todo app. And I’m thinking without this I wouldn’t be able to do an app like this all by myself, The guy from video, obviously experienced, recited the code like a poem, did all the code without even googling.

I know roughly the concepts in React, but when it comes to connecting all the dots and making is useable and whole, I can’t do it. I think I could to this apps with lots of research and ChatGPT, Stockoverflow etc. Is it okay? Or being a junior developer, I should know more. It’s a simple project and makes me wonder weather I’m studying like I should, maybe I should study more, revise more or maybe I can’t think like a programmer.

Tell me what you think. Thank you.

2

I think it’s always important to realize that the code people choose to share is never the first draft. It’s the sanitized, optimized, polished, presentable version. The unpolished version that you see when you first start banging on something yourself; that’s long gone.

For a live video presentation? If I had a project concept I’d probably be several drafts in before I thought about pressing record.

Coding can look effortless when you’ve done the same thing a few times. You can look like a hero when a student asks you about the problem they’ve been suffering with for an hour and you fix it with a glance. Less heroic if you admit you’d struggled days on something similar, previously.

Experience, not some kind of esoteric genius, makes good (maybe even impressive) programmers.

2 Likes
3

Thank you for your answer. I guess, I just needed reassurance that it takes time.
Sometimes I’m not sure what my level of understanding of how to implement new things and knowledge should be after learning new concepts.

4

I hear the phrase iterative process thrown around a lot between programmers. And I think it’s a good word for a healthy workflow.

The iterative process is kind of like a while-loop:

  • you start with no work done
  • you improve in little amounts at a time
  • if you just zoom in, one iteration (improvement) can almost seem like nothing
  • but zooming out you’ve done a lot.

Everyone is a work-in-progress with their knowledge, but I think having that iterative mentality is pretty useful to keep up good morale and also work towards bigger things.

3 Likes