DEV Community: Mari Ullom

A Little Closer to Becoming a Full-Stack Developer (or Bald, Probably Bald...)

Mari Ullom — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:12:05 +0000

Documenting My Journey From Waitress to Full Stack Web Developer:

Update 2

When I first decided to post about my journey a couple of weeks ago, I fully intended to update that journey daily, or at least every couple of days. Somehow or another a couple of weeks have come and gone, and I am just now updating my devjournal (sigh) definitely was not my intention. I am awful. [Can you tell I have commitment issues??]

Honestly I was so busy finishing up my summer semester of my computer programming degree, when I wrote my first post it was a couple of days before final exams. I'm still not sure how I managed that. Since my classes ended I have spent everyday coding at least one different website. I have coded landing pages, interactive websites, product pages, e-commerce pages, and abandoned probably 17 portfolio projects. I started out originally wanting to create my portfolio, then create different mockup websites, applications, random projects to add to my portfolio. News flash It did not happen that way. What really ended up happening was:

Browse the web, github, codepen, dribble, for inspiration. [I've never made a portfolio before.]
Find a few I really liked, decided I wanted my portfolio to follow the same general concept.
Code 95% of my portfolio, and HATE it.
Trash that portfolio, find a new direction.
After trashing 5 different portfolio designs for the day, I'd finally move on to a random project.
I'd create some random made up business, create a user story, draw up sitemap, and wireframe, make a website/page I was super happy with.
Feel super confident I could now made said portfolio into something I was at least half satisfied with.
So I'd go back to the drawing board.
1. Scour the web for ideas.
2. Find a bunch I was happy with.
3. Only this time, I'd end up with 7 different Chrome browsers open, each one having so many tabs you can't even see when you opened another one.
4. Get angry because now of course I can't find anything.
5. I've ended up so far off my original task, I would then be watching random cat videos, and before I knew it 4 hours have come and gone and I have accomplished absolutely nothing.

Moral of this part of the story, I haven't made it any further in my journey to full stack web dev.

<At this point I am not even sure if I would be considered a Website Developer. Does making codepen and vs code projects that I publish to github solely for myself classify me as a "webdev?">

Someone please answer these questions for me.

Why is it that I can come up with a concept for literally anyone else other than myself? I am able to create random business websites for people that do not exist, but my page started being hosted about 2 weeks ago and it still isn't even live.
Is anyone else's computer files in shambles? I have made a conscience effort to keep all of my files fairly organized but somehow they ended up in shambles.
How do you organize your files? How do you maintain said files?
Does anyone have information they'd like to share on apache, PHP, and TypeScript in general?
Do you feel like helping out a newbie??
If you are a freelancer, do you have to really niche down to the types of websites you want to focus on creating?

I know I need to get the ball rolling as soon as possible, because I want to start freelancing, but that is most certainly not going to happen without getting my website going.

Has anyone heard people in WebDev talk about tutorial hell?

I suppose coding in general people get stuck there. I'm stuck in something similar, but different. I know I want to freelance, I know I want to develop and design websites/webpages. I know the things I need to do in order to achieve those things, but I start then jump around so much, I waste hours upon hours doing things that I guess could be productive if they were finished, just to realize at the end of the day I haven't even gotten halfway through step 1.

I need a mentor, a teacher, or maybe and authoritarian?

I've have looked at multiple different internships, and freelance jobs, where people are asking for really simple builds/designs. I know I could easily do them, maybe even better than what they originally envisioned. I know I would enjoy the work I am doing, and it would also help business owners, or companies. Win-Win situation right? You can't get there though if you don't take the first step. In this particular case that would have to be a portfolio right?

Why can't I finish the most basic task??

If anyone has any advice, wisdom, or guidance anything would be appreciated. If anyone has spare time and would like to help me brainstorm and come up with a plan to help me stop this extremely counterproductive habit I have somehow started within the past couple of weeks, I would be forever grateful.

If you took the time out of your day to read my rant that really had no particular point, and probably was the total opposite of what you expected then you are my hero.

Documenting My Journey From Waitress to Full Stack Web Developer

Mari Ullom — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:41:38 +0000

Hello World! (sick of seeing that one yet?)
I have always shown interest in coding, and creating things online, but since my college semester started this year I dove in head first.

TL;DR I'm taking C#, Python, SQL, creating websites with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. I was testing Coding Editors, ended up with so many of them, can't work them all. Everyone said Python is SUpeR eAsY. I DON'T LIKE IT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. I CAN DO IT, AND CREATE SCRIPTS. I JUST DON'TTTTTT GET IT. I can't figure out which text editor I want to use, I'm all over the place, frustrated, angry at the world. Need dev and webdev friends, or just acquaintances. **HELPPPPP

What text editor do you use? Which would you recommend and why?
Are you a Website Developer? What projects would you recommend for a new portfolio from scratch? *If you were freelancing for clients, would you use code or would you use a website builder to create it?
Want a new friend? I need new friends with similar interests in Tech in general.
You will NOT learn anything by just reading information on programming. You have to DO projects to grasp it. So why are there not more FREE walkthroughs for projects?
Python is NOT the easiest language, I picked up intermediate C# well before I knew how to write a beginner Python code on my own. Don't listen to the people that say Python is the easiest coding language. They are lying.

So I'd like to start out by saying, journaling, documenting, and recording has always been a way for me to destress, and process things. Normally I would create a bullet journal entry from scratch, but since I spend 18 out of 24 hours this seemed to be a more realistic approach.

I started tinkering with coding 2 years ago. I would create a customized page, automation, or random calculator here and there. I would be fascinated by creating a website, designing a website, data analytics, python, c#, and before you know it I had over 50+ abandoned repositories on my github. I would start with full intention of self-teaching ONE thing then end up so overwhelmed with so many chrome tabs open they were no longer all in my viewport. Does this happen to anyone else? (Any suggestions on a way to organize my chaotic tabs)

I made the decision I was fed up working in the Food/Beverage - Customer Service industry and wanted to do something I really enjoyed. I figured a lot of it out on my own, taught myself some really cool things, but wanted to go back to school to earn a degree. So I did just that. I started out as a Business Management major, but ended up settling in Computer Programming, Coding Technology, Data Analytics, and minoring and Business Management.

I just finished up my last lab in my Responsive Web Design class and decided I needed to write to destress. That is what led me here. This post is probably more scatter brained than I am. I wanted to pursue a job working as a Virtual Assistant. When I was researching the process I realized really quickly that 90% of the information online is someone posting on their blog, trying to sell you their course, teaching you the same thing that the next person is selling. It is a beat around the bush type structure and it really doesn't prepare you to work in the VA field AT ALL. Around the same time I started my certification for my Responsive Web Design class I'm required to take for school. I was really happy about that, because *I had already taught myself HTML, CSS, and knew some JavaScript so it was an easy credit for me. Taking that course really reminded me how much I loved WebDev.

I was looking online at UpWork and other freelance pages, and the things people are selling in the WebDev, Content Creation, Design categories are all things I taught myself to do years ago. So that made me think MARI what the heck are you doing??? You could be doing that, why aren't you? Well, I don't have a portfolio. So okay, make a portfolio then? Well I have so many different projects I think would be cool to put, I can't start on one. I start designing one, end up making another, then another, then another and before you know it, I'm online posting to dev.to instead of creating a portfolio.

Honestly I'm not sure why I posted this, but I really wanted to keep the documentation for myself, as well as if anyone happens upon it, decides to read and wants to offer advice, a laugh, or whatever then amazing. I would love that.