My Journey to Becoming a Java Developer

Hello everyone, I’m Oleksandr!
I’m currently a third-year student at a university in Ukraine, but right now, I’m living in Zurich, Switzerland. I’m studying computer science, and my passion for programming started back in high school (around 9th grade). My first steps into the world of coding began with C++, and while I found it fascinating, I hit a roadblock when I encountered arrays. Unfortunately, I gave up on programming for a while after that.

The story doesn’t end there, though. I came back stronger, diving into HTML and CSS. But, once again, I didn’t stick with it long enough to see the bigger picture.

Fast forward to my first year at university, and I discovered Java — my specialization subject. I quickly became the top student in my group. However, when my university switched to online learning, it completely killed my motivation. I found myself playing games instead of studying, and when classes went back offline, I struggled to regain my rhythm.

But this time, I didn’t give up. I reignited my motivation and threw myself back into Java. I started building simple projects and even had some success along the way. But when summer break came, my motivation dropped again, and I lost focus.

Yet, I broke the cycle.

Now, I’m diving into new technologies like Spring Boot, Hibernate, Docker, and more. I’ve completed a few projects, including a social media website and a simple e-commerce site, and now I’m working on a budget tracker. I’m also planning to integrate AI features, which is both challenging and exciting!

Despite my progress, I’ve realized that I still have gaps in my understanding of Java basics and algorithms. So, I’ve decided to start from scratch — reviewing the fundamentals of Java while continuing to develop my projects. This blog will be my way of documenting the journey, sharing my successes, struggles, and everything in between.

What’s next?
In this blog, I’ll share my experiences, lessons learned, and the steps I take to fill in those gaps in my knowledge. I’ll also talk about the projects I’m working on and how I apply the things I learn. Hopefully, my journey will inspire others who are on a similar path!

I’d love for you to follow along as I continue this learning adventure. Feel free to share your thoughts, challenges, or advice — we can support each other on this journey!