I Called Myself a Tech Guy Without Building Anything!

Suraj Kumar — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 17:32:38 +0000

Ever happened to you? You know things, but you can’t code on your own.

Do you know why this happens to you? The real reason is that you never try to code things by yourself. That is the main difference between you and your friends, or whoever you are comparing yourself with.

Most of the time, you spend your time watching tutorials rather than building something. Even if you follow the exact tutorial, you are most likely to learn nothing unless you try to build that thing by yourself.

For example, on the internet you can find a lot of tutorials on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or React. You watch them, and you start thinking that now you know the language. But the reality is, when you actually start building something, you realize there is still a lot to learn.

And this feeling is true — because nobody can be perfect at one thing. We learn things as we go.

A real developer is always able to break and make things. Even if they don’t know anything about a topic, they will research it and make sure they reach a level where they can build something with it.

I experienced this myself when I was learning Git from YouTube. I watched a lot of tutorials, but with time I realized that most of them were not effective for me. They mostly teach the basics, but advanced things like cherrypicking, merging branches, and managing conflicts are things you learn only when you work on real projects with other people.

That’s when you start researching on your own and come across concepts like cherrypicking and new commands that nobody teaches in tutorials.

In the tech space, most things are learned by reading documentation, because every tool keeps evolving. Every tutorial becomes outdated one day.

So the best option is to try to learn by yourself and read documentation. That is how you transform from a “techy guy” into a real developer.

I Dreamed of Being a Software Engineer at 8 — Still Figuring It Out at 21

Suraj Kumar — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:29:34 +0000

When I was very young, around 8 years old, I already knew what I wanted to become. At that age, when most people don’t know what they want to do in life, I was thinking about becoming a software engineer.

I remember one day telling my grandma that I wanted to be a software developer and earn millions like Bill Gates.

But even after knowing from the start what I wanted to become, now at the age of 21 and a half, I’m just a normal guy studying BCA and working as a lawyer’s clerk. I’m not even close to the goal I once dreamed of.

I feel like I have most of the things required to become a developer, but till now I never seriously looked into HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or even some C++ concepts. The main problem is that I procrastinate a lot, and till date, I have never been consistent.

Now I want to change things and take control of my life.

In my friend circle, I’m known as the techy guy, but they don’t know the reality. I’m good at finding things, modifying applications or software, but that doesn’t mean I’m an expert, I’m not.

Till now, I haven’t even made a single calculator application by myself. So how can I call myself a developer?

But today, on 8th January 2026, I decided to change things and take matters into my own hands. I know it might be too late, but after all this, I now want to become a top developer, someone who first becomes a proper engineer and later a tech founder.

I hope you guys will join me on this journey, and one day, you and I together will prove to the world who we are and what we are going to be.

DEV Community: Suraj Kumar

I Called Myself a Tech Guy Without Building Anything!

I Dreamed of Being a Software Engineer at 8 — Still Figuring It Out at 21