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Discussion on: How I Discovered ‘Pre-Tutorial Hell’ and How You Can Avoid It

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joro550 profile image
Mark Davies

These are great pieces of advice, I especially like "Know your Goal" - programming is all about solving problems and it's easy to get yourself into a state where it's easier to keep watching videos reading blogs instead of actually solving problems.

There is so much to learn in the space - my philosophy has always been "learn enough to solve your current problem", there will always be things that you'll do incorrectly or non-perfectly, just remember that software is by definition soft - it can be changed. Once you've learned a better way of doing something go back into your code and allow yourself to be critical of your mistakes.

Constant learning is good, but don't let it hold you back from solving your problem!!

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kokeny97 profile image
Cahue Kokeny

Having personal projects in this line of work is essential. You are probably going to learn way more.

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joro550 profile image
Mark Davies

I personally don't think it is essential to have a personal project, especially when working as a developer you spend a lot of time programming and whilst it can be fun you really have to know when to take breaks from it, because it can become almost addictive.

For me if I want to learn something I spin up a project and just hammer away until I think I know the concept. Sometimes things that you are learning don't necessarily fit into what your doing, but it's good to have a reference in your mind.

One thing I dislike about the industry is the expectation that developers need to be developing as if it's their only interest. Learn to love other things, i for one think it's okay just to do this as a 9-5 stable job and not have any major interest outside of work. I'm personally not one of those people I actually do development outside of work but it shouldn't be an expectation.