Both. A strong foundation needs to be built before you can start to problem solve. But you need to be careful when building this foundation. Too many people get stuck in tutorial hell all in the name of learning the fundamentals. I think as soon as you understand how something works start building with it immediately. Once you have the fundamentals you can learn the rest as you go. It's scary I know. But you can never know everything. The more you delay building and problem solving because you want to know this and that, the more it will hurt you. I think that's also what causes imposter syndrome sometimes. As a dev you look at yourself and realize you started coding a long time ago but don't have anything tangible to show for it. Sure you know this language and that language, and maybe you've built a couple of Todo lists. But that's not enough. Confidence comes with experience. Give yourself proof that you can do this as early on as possible so that you are confident in your capabilities.
In summary, learn the absolutely important fundamentals first and see what you can build next.
I hope this is a useful addition to the discussion. Thank you.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
Both. A strong foundation needs to be built before you can start to problem solve. But you need to be careful when building this foundation. Too many people get stuck in tutorial hell all in the name of learning the fundamentals. I think as soon as you understand how something works start building with it immediately. Once you have the fundamentals you can learn the rest as you go. It's scary I know. But you can never know everything. The more you delay building and problem solving because you want to know this and that, the more it will hurt you. I think that's also what causes imposter syndrome sometimes. As a dev you look at yourself and realize you started coding a long time ago but don't have anything tangible to show for it. Sure you know this language and that language, and maybe you've built a couple of Todo lists. But that's not enough. Confidence comes with experience. Give yourself proof that you can do this as early on as possible so that you are confident in your capabilities.
In summary, learn the absolutely important fundamentals first and see what you can build next.
I hope this is a useful addition to the discussion. Thank you.