Among those learning to code, I've observed two dangerous trends.
The first is something I call the "infinite tutorial loop." The aspiring programmer goes from tutorial to tutorial, never breaking out and building something independently. I've seen cases where someone has been coding for less than a year and they are, frankly, more skilled and more knowledgeable than someone who has been doing it for five. This isn't because they're more intelligent or putting in more time - it's because they've been pushing themselves out of their comfort zone, stretching themselves, and building applications and picking up new skills along the way. Meanwhile, the other person has been spending their time going through 75 introductory React courses on Udemy. One has an upward trajectory; the other is stuck in a loop.
The second is simple: the individual does everything related to coding that doesn't involve writing code. They attend every meetup. They share relevant content on LinkedIn daily. They're subscribed to every programming subreddit. But they're never actually creating anything. Zero green squares on GitHub.
If you want to become a programmer, start coding. Think of something you'd like to build and get to work!
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