When learning how to code, the most common route for learning usually falls under any of these; watching videos, reading documentation or articles, and word of mouth. Using any of the learning methods above, means we have to follow the tutor step by step till we understand what they are trying to say. Even when we decide to build projects, we still go online, find a project that someone else has built and rebuild it using a tutorial. Now here’s the issue; how do you know if you are actually learning or just following along? Can you build the project without following the tutorial verbatim?

When starting as a developer, I fell into the “tutorial hell” which led to imposter syndrome and made me stay off programming for a while. I found my way back to programming by following the trail I will share below.

This article explains how developers can leave tutorial hell, think of ideas, and build projects from scratch without following a tutorial verbatim. I will share a few steps to help developers stuck in a similar situation transition from tutorial videos, reading, etc., to build actual projects and get the experience needed to boost confidence. This method of learning has proven to make developers better. Well, it made me a better developer. This article will help newbies transition from watching tutorial videos or reading to building actual projects and getting the experience needed to boost confidence.

Here’s a breakdown of this article;

• How to think of project ideas
• Implementing the projects
• The art of capitalizing on deals from others
• Participating in Internships, Advents, and Challenges.
• Finding a mentor and helping them build “live” projects.
• Apply for jobs.

Searching for Ideas and Building it:

To escape the environment of constantly recreating projects from tutorial videos, we must set our minds to be open and as forward-thinking as possible. For example, when starting with CURD (Create, Update, Read, and Delete), we often build a “Todo list” as our first project. It is great, but to move things forward, we can add more features to our Todo list, which wasn’t explained in the tutorial video. It is possible to move a step forward in getting a free API and creating a different application altogether. I started watching tutorial videos, I tried as much as I could to get ideas as often as possible, which led me to build projects like Alphabet counter, which I later improved to Alphabet highlighter and number format . Although it was difficult at some point because I was doing it on my own, I learned a few things about DOM manipulation and many others. I think of little things to build that would make me understand more and get my hands dirty.

Capitalizing on ideas from other people:

When drawing from our well of ideas, sooner or later, we may run dry, and it could lead to going back to videos. To combat this in the best possible manner is to capitalize on ideas from other people. To capitalize on ideas is to search for interesting designs and build them or talk to fellow developers and see how you can search for ideas. Better still, discussing with non-developers can also work wonders. It is often said that the best ideas for solving a problem come from conversations with non-developers. I found a design on Twitter that I recreated on this Mercedes site in my quest to prove myself. It was not easy because it was miles away from what I did daily, but I was determined, and I got help in bringing the design to life.

Participating in internships, Advents, and challenges:

Sometimes participating in internships, remote, or not can help you move to the next phase of the developer career. In internships, meeting diverse people, contributing to a codebase, and working with a team is the norm. It helps in boosting communication skills and understanding people's code faster than usual. I attended HNG 6.0 and a little of 7.0 last year, and it has built me to work under pressure and see other programming styles other than mine.

Advents are another way of building yourself other than just your ideas. I did the Scrimba’s 24 days of JavaScriptmas last year, and trust me, it was one good ride. It open me up to a lot of things in the JavaScript world. Code Challenges are also a good way and can replace Advents since Advents do not come regularly. I love the Scrimba platform, and it has helped me a lot, so I also participate in the Scrimba weekly challenge.

Finding a mentor and helping them build “live” projects:

Getting a mentor can not be overemphasized, a mentor is like an Elder in the African culture that stands tall and when you are on their back, you can see further than you could ever have imagined. At first, we would want mentors like Wes Bos or Dan Abramov , but I believe we know what will happen. Get a mentor that is easily accessible to you and can help out as much as possible. Mine has helped me a lot, and in doing so, It has exposed me to projects he worked on to contribute as much as I can. I am happy to have contributed to projects He works which in turn gives me more confidence and experience. Although the codebase could be advanced, I get to familiarize myself with it and do my little part.

Applying for jobs:

Applying for jobs can also be an excellent way to test yourself. It doesn’t mean you must get it. Job applications can serve as a way to test your strength and capacity. I recently got to know this as I applied for Buycoins frontend developer role. I was pretty confident but got the news late and could not finish the first task on time. Still, I got to play around with GraphQL and ended up building my Github repo tab . It was another journey for me, and I loved it. I also got hold of someone’s interview question and rebuilt it here.

In all, I have found ways to upgrade my skills and show work. This has helped me in the past few months, and I believe it can help you too. I think there are more ways to get off the tutorial hell and become an experienced developer, but this is my starter pack. Godspeed…

Take-Home Motivation:

In everything you do, put your all into it. Be it work, business, learning, or relationships. Grind hard, and if you fail, if you fall, take it in, learn from it, cry, but don’t sit back there for long because the world moves on. So, dust yourself up and try again...