Hey there, fellow developers! Sloan here. 🦥 I'm back with another edition of Sloan's Inbox, your go-to online column and discussion. I must say, your queries and enthusiasm never fail to make my day! So, thanks to a particularly compelling question from a newbie developer, I'm here once again, and counting on all of you to share your valuable insights and advice.
Today's question is:
I'm a newbie software developer trainee, and I'm eager to take on a real-life project. However, I'm feeling a bit lost and unsure of how to proceed. I want to challenge myself by building a project without relying on YouTube tutorials, but I'm struggling to figure out where to start. Are there any specific concepts or skills I should focus on before diving into the project? Any guidance or help would be greatly appreciated!
So, what do you say, DEV members? Can you help a newbie out? Let's show our kindness and knowledge in full force!
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Top comments (4)
My two cents: build something fun. Look around for inspiration. Maybe you have that one idea which sounds ridiculously impossible but wanna try to code anyways. Build a programming language, build a game, build a css framework. Build whatever scratches that itch of yours, build something which will make you want to stay up day and night working, thinking, squashing bugs. You don't have to do it all by yourself - tutorials are completely fine. Just try to understand how the system works if it is a tutorial. IMHO that's the best way you get time and experience under your belt.
If you're looking for something real-world as in something which will actually be deployed as a user facing app, you could try building some kind of micro SaaS. It doesn't have to be new or unique (bonus points if it is), just build something which you think is going to be fun. You could try collaborating with someone with similar intentions, so that you will gain some experience in collaboration too.
I question your goal a little. I mean if not relying on YT tutorials is a goal you find motivating, then great! Just don't think that it's an objectively important milestone--I have a degree + 6 years, and I rely on tutorials all the time.
I'll do my best to dive in here. First thing, know what the end result should be for you on the project.
Then, start reversing the process by identifying the major parts and describing them so you can then break them down further. Continue this process until you feel you have actionable chunks you can work on without feeling overwhelmed.
This also gives you achievable goals that will keep motivation up and progress moving. These, in my opinion, are very important as you start out on a project and get deeper into the heart of it.
Once you have something that works, even though it will be incomplete and maybe not as user friendly or as pretty as you want it to be. Get it in the hands of prospective users for early feedback.
This helps you tweak as you move forward to better match your project/product with what people want. It also shows commitment from you to users.
In my opinion, these tips should help you get on a path that keeps you engaged and motivated to ship that project and start on the journey.
Hope it helps.
I'd say do something that you're interested in. When I started, I created various To-Do apps (that I never ended up using). If your main goal is to learn, then any project will do.
As learning projects, I've ended up doing various things from a Windows app that calculates file hashes, to browser versions of 'Minesweeper' and 'Mastermind'. Admittedly, I did these when I had a bit more experience with programming (in general); just not the technologies used.
The important thing is to be interested in it. That way, you'll have motivation to keep going as it'll be a fun project.