When I started coding, certain buzzwords would immediately make me feel like I was miles away from being a "real developer."
Turns out... most of them were way less scary than I thought.
Here’s my list of things that sounded super advanced but turned out to be surprisingly simple (and fun!):
1. Debouncing and Throttling
What I Thought:
"Omg, this must involve hardcore math and wizard-level timing."
Reality:
Debouncing = Wait until the user stops typing/clicking before you react.
Throttling = Limit how often something happens.
Example in plain English:
"Don't call the API every keystroke. Wait for 500ms of no typing. Then call."
That's it. ✨
2. useMemo and useCallback in React
What I Thought:
"Only senior engineers understand hooks like these."
Reality:
They just remember things (so React doesn’t redo heavy calculations or recreate functions unnecessarily).
🔹 useMemo = remember the result of a calculation
🔹 useCallback = remember the function itself
No magic, just memory-saving helpers.
3. Docker
What I Thought:
"You need to be a DevOps pro to even touch Docker."
Reality:
Docker is just:
"Hey, let’s bundle my app with everything it needs (Node, Python, whatever)"
"So it runs the same everywhere without 'it works on my machine' drama."
Literally one simple Dockerfile can get you started.
4. CI/CD Pipelines
What I Thought:
"Sounds like a factory assembly line for robots!"
Reality:
It’s just automating boring stuff:
Run tests ✅
Build the project 📦
Deploy to server 🚀
You already do those manually. CI/CD = "Let the machine handle it."
5. Environment Variables
What I Thought:
"Where do they live? How do I talk to them? Do I need secret codes?"
Reality:
They're just key-value pairs you don't want hardcoded into your app.
Example:
API_URL=https://api.example.com
SECRET_KEY=mysecret123
They live in a .env file and your code reads them when needed. That’s it.
🌟 Final Thoughts
The more you code, the more you realize:
Fancy terms ≠ Hard concepts
They usually just package simple ideas in scary-sounding names.
If something sounds overwhelming — don't sweat it.
Crack it open, play with it, and you’ll probably say the same thing I did:
"Wait... that's it?!"
💬 Over to You!
What's something you once thought was "advanced" but turned out to be pretty simple?
Share it in the comments — let’s normalize learning without fear. 🚀
Top comments (6)
Totally agree!
One more that used to scare me:
Hyperparameter Tuning
What it sounded like:
What it actually is:
Just adjusting settings (like learning rate, number of trees, etc.) to make a model perform better.
Basically, tweaking values until things work nicely.
I even made a simple document to understand it better:
👉 Hyperparameter Tuning (PDF)
Haha yesss! 🔮 "Hyperparameter Tuning" definitely sounds like you need a PhD in wizardry 😄
But it's really just:
"Try a few different settings. See what works. Repeat."
Thanks for sharing the doc — super helpful! 🙌
Love how we're all slowly unmasking these "scary" terms together
recognising a number and making it into a token from code in Lexical analysis (compiler design)
Absolutely! That’s a classic one from compiler design 🔍
Thanks for bringing that one up — definitely belongs on the “sounds scary, actually simple” list! 😄
I grabbed a couple terms, thanks!
By the way, I'm preparing to take job in foreign country and I collect IT-terms and word in my IT Dictionary!
That’s awesome, Bauyrzhan! 🙌
Creating your own IT Dictionary is such a smart move — it not only helps with job prep but also makes learning way more personal and effective.
Glad some of these terms made it into your list! Wishing you the best for your job hunt abroad — you've got this! 💪🌍✨