Introduction to the Series

#javascript #javascript30 #wesbos #webdev

Before heading into the first blog post, allow me to share a little bit about my experience as a web developer and why I took the JavaScript30 course.

Background

In 2014, I got my first contract as a WordPress developer. Two years later, I was working 70 hours a week as a freelance web developer while keeping a 25-hour-per-week part-time job. I couldn’t hang with the 95 hour weeks, so I quit the job and became a full-time freelance developer. For the next four years, I got by. I was just good enough to get contracts and make a little money from them. Early this year (2020), I landed a GREAT contract, the best one ever. Two months later, I lost that contract because my JavaScript skills weren’t at the level needed by the client.

Failure is a Strong Motivator

The loss of that contract made me question if I should even continue being a web developer. After a week or so, I decided to solve the problem. Over the following weeks, I leaned on my Coding Coach mentor Robert Mion to help me find a way forward that would help me fill in the gaps in my knowledge and skills. Along the way, I discovered Wes Bos’ JavaScript30 course and signed up for it. It was free and, what’s the worst that can happen -- I discover the course isn’t what I need and I find another one?

As it turns out, the JavaScript30 course was a perfect fit. What follows are a series of posts, one per lesson, where I share what the lesson was about and what I learned from it.

Turns out that I learned a lot more than just JavaScript. I’ll share those details as I write each blog post.

My Approach

Since I already have six years of experience as a web developer, I am approaching each lesson with a ‘let’s see if I can do this on my own first’ approach. In some cases, I was pretty close to Wes’ code. Other times, I couldn’t have been more lost if I had wandered into a strange land without a compass, precisely my experience with the first lesson.

So, let’s dive into the Javascript30 Drum Kit lesson and find out how I got lost so fast!

Introducing Qodo Gen 1.0: Transform Your Workflow with Agentic AI

Rather than just generating snippets, our agents understand your entire project context, can make decisions, use tools, and carry out tasks autonomously.

Read full post →

Top comments (5)

Habdul Hazeez • May 18 '20

Pardon me if I am wrong. The following is an excerpt from your post (emphasis mine):

In 2014, I got my first contract as a WordPress developer. Two years later, I was working 70 hours a week as a freelance web developer while keeping a 25-hour-per-week part-time job. I couldn’t hang with the 95 hour weeks, so I quit the job and became a full-time freelance developer. For the next six years, I got by. Early this year (2020)

2014 + (Two years) + (six years) = 2022.

Did I miss something?