A Beginning
Starting to face a difficult hurdle in my tech journey.
I feel absolutely no motivation when the clock strikes nine in the morning. Sitting down to code feels like an endless battle inside my own head. What I'm trying to say is that being a student learning to develop software in 2026 feels like a good way to land oneself in an alligator's jaws. Everyone I see around me seems to be ahead of the game, keeping up with assignments, participating in hackathons, earning certifications and showcasing impressive projects on their LinkedIn profiles. 😒
And the job market? It does a fat lot to help. If anything, it pushes you further into an endless spiral of self-doubt.
I wish there were an easier route, you know? Something like a mechanical push-and-go switch implanted in my head that would make me accomplish every task on my to-do list without all the internal resistance.
Programming makes me want to abandon ship, hop onto a boat and sail away to some faraway land.
Heck, I'm already well past most of my assignment deadlines.
My CGPA isn't looking any better, either. It doesn't help when some of the professors in the second year and beyond offer little guidance on what to study or how to prepare for mid-semester exams. The whole experience can make you want to throw in the towel and pursue an entirely different line of work. Heck, sometimes even a small roadside business sounds appealing—something that could, at the very least, put food on the table. Though, to be fair, no livelihood comes without its own struggles.
And let's not forget the judgmental and indifferent attitude of the college crowd you're stuck with for the next three years as a second-year student. That certainly doesn't make things any easier.
Not Hanging It Up
Even so, despite all these setbacks, I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. I still want to put my nose to the grindstone, work on projects worth showcasing on my CV, and see where this journey takes me.
Anyway, I've always been a little too self-conscious about sharing my progress on a professional platform like LinkedIn. So, instead, I've decided to document my beginner's journey and share my updates here.
I'm hoping that having a place to check in regularly will give me the accountability I seem to be missing right now. Not every update will necessarily be about a breakthrough or some impressive achievement. Sometimes, it might just be about figuring out something that confused me for days, getting a little more consistent, or simply showing up when I don't feel like it.
So, I'll be posting here regularly, at least until I start gaining some momentum.
Thanks for reading!
Top comments (1)
"Everyone I see around me seems to be ahead of the game." That feeling is so common in CS, and it's almost never the full picture. Your brain has a filter called the RAS that decides what you notice. When you're already doubting yourself, it goes hunting for proof. So it shows you everyone's hackathon wins and certificates and hides their missed deadlines and bad weeks, because those never get posted.
Posting here for accountability is a smart workaround, and honestly it's the same muscle you're nervous about using on LinkedIn, just in a lower stakes room. That's how it opens up. Small reps somewhere that feels safer first, then move up. Figuring out the thing that confused you for days counts as a real update, so share those. You can do the same offline too. Give a classmate a genuine compliment. How it lands doesn't matter. Doing it is the win.