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5 Mistakes I Made My First Year Learning to Code

Ceora Ford on March 23, 2020

I want to start off by saying that I hope everyone is doing well despite this current health crisis. I've been a bit anxious myself so I'm trying ...
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Bree Lentz

I found out about this post through listening to the podcast where you were interviewed on Code Newbie, your interview and this post is all very relatable. I really appreciate it, sometimes you feel like people are learning with no issues and this makes you realize wow there are others in the same boat as me:) thank you for that and you also suggested the course/progress tracker and I am going to give that a shot I think that would be very helpful for me.

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Anna Nettles

I’m here from your interview with CodeNewbie and just wanted to thank you for sharing your story and your tips for learning to code. I really related to the “trying to learn too many languages at once” and “hoarding resources” and calling it productive. 😆 I needed to hear this.

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Ceora Ford

Thanks so much for listening to the episode! Honestly, this is still something I deal with 😅

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Eyituoyo Donald Okegbe

My whole situation right now. What you just outlined was also my whole of last year but this year I've made a goal to only focus on two, one for front end and the other for back end which is react and node Js. Although I'm currently leaning more towards the backend because I finally got to realize I have a knack for logic compared to design and also front end can be so overwhelming sometimes with all the constant changes that comes with it.

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Ceora Ford

I can say that jumping around so much made me realize the same thing. So I’m also focusing on backend with Python👍🏾 I hope everything goes well for you!

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Eyituoyo Donald Okegbe • Edited

I wish the same for you as well.

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Kyle Johnson

I love your first mistake. Everybody makes that because they feel they need to do that to get a job. Recruiters man, you gotta love them.

I tell my students all the time... LEARN 1 LANGUAGE WELL and the rest will be easy to pick up because they are all basically the same

5 is definitely a mistake. Some will argue Stackoverflow is the best thing that ever happen to software development. Copying solutions off the internet and not understanding what you are copying does not teach you how to code. Sometimes I wish we could shut off the internet and go back to learning from books.

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Ceora Ford

Yeah. I totally agree. Feel free to share this with some of your students 🤗🤗

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Don Alfons Nisnoni

Well... Someone post saves me from your number 1 mistake. He said, "You don't need to know all programming language to make you a better coder, Just focus on problem-solving & algorithms. It is better to master just one field but you master this well, rather than mastering a lot but only a part."

Well... I just learn other things when I have free-time & when I need it (Work)

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Tori Crawford

I felt like this the first 6 months of my coding journey, which is why I eventually ended up at a bootcamp. There was SO much to learn out there and everything was shiny and attractive. It was difficult to rein myself in and I felt I needed structure. I do, however, wish I could have had the self-discipline to go the self-taught route because I could have saved a ton of money.

Keep on trucking along Ceora! You seem to be doing amazing despite the 5 mistakes you listed above! Just keep in mind to do your best at not repeating your mistakes! It's how we get better. 😊

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Ceora Ford

I think this happens to a lot of people who choose the self-taught route. I partially wrote this for those people. But I also wrote this for myself so that I can also avoid repeating my mistakes. Thank you so much for the encouragement!

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creativemacmac

Your Journey sounds like mine... So glad that i am not the only one🤗❤️

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Brandi Sanders

I really enjoyed this post! And thought 4 was pretty funny because I have Parks and Recreation on in the background

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Ceora Ford

Thank you Brandi! Parks and Recreation is one of my favorite shows so I had to mention it 😂

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Victor Macarios

I wanna thank you for this post.
I've been doing the same mistakes but I never realized it.
Your words helped me to open my eyes e to regain my focus.
Thank you.

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Ceora Ford

I'm so glad you found this useful! Thanks for reading!

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joskim

It's like you have outline all my current situation..thnxs for giving me a way to redesign my approach

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Ceora Ford

Of course! That’s exactly what this is for. Glad it helped 😊