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Discussion on: I keep feeling demotivated when I realize how deficient my knowledge is.

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Orian de Wit • Edited

I think specialization is key. It's easy to get lost in all the available tech stacks and variations. Pick one topic, and focus on it for a while.

You should also realize that you're "only 21" — you've got a very good base set of fullstack skills, and there's plenty of time to sharpen your skills further.

Try to determine what you'd like to focus on: Do you like backend or frontend better? If you like backend, learn about frameworks like Symfony and Laravel, or NodeJS if you like JavaScript better than PHP. If frontend is your thing, make one website using React.

I personally don't believe there are senior fullstack devs: fullstack is the foundation for webdevelopment, from there you can explore where your true passion lies. Eventually, you'll find yourself gravitating towards a certain discipline. For me, I started floating from backends more towards databases and infrastructure in my early 30s, and I'm still not completely sure I know what my job description truly should be.

Don't change your whole repertoire all at once, and don't change it all too often, you'll get overwhelmed — swap one key technology in your current skill set, and focus just on that single part for a few weeks.

Just tell yourself: "December is going to be NodeJS month!" (for example), and focus on tutorials, portfolio apps, fully mastering the documentation, etc — while keeping the rest of your stack identical.