Mistakes I Made in My Software Development Journey
I come from a non-computer science background with my majors in biotechnology. I never had Computing as a subject in my school. I just knew about the basics of a computer i.e. how to play games and surf the Internet. When I entered my college, which was majorly focused on computer-related subjects, I explored computers and programming for the very first time and took a challenge that I have to learn computers as it is an important skill in today’s world.
1. Focused more on improving my typing speed.
When I first saw my friends do programming on their laptops they were superfast in typing and switching between different programs. That was so cool to me, it almost seemed like a superhuman power.
That fascination made me practice typing and for 6 months, I only did typing not knowing that had nothing to do with coding directly it surely increased my speed but I still had almost zero knowledge about computers.
Learning:- Speed is important but it comes naturally while coding no need to devote entire months to it.
2. Jumped multiple languages.
I started with C but didn’t like its syntax and the need of every time define new variables along with its datatype, then jumped to JavaScript for a few months not mastered it then moved to Python as I wanted to learn machine learning. Then jumped to C++ and by this time my heart said something is wrong as I was still unable to code in either of the languages, this process wasted my energy and 4-To 5 months.
So I picked up one language i.e. Python and decided to learn it completely. The syntax was like normal English and was not having unnecessary symbols only indentation mattered.
It took me 7–8 months to master Python from beginners to intermediate to advance level.
Learning:- Pick any one language and master it completely, the rest of the languages can be picked easily after that as only the syntax changes rest concepts remains entirely the same.
3. Focused more on Computer Fundamentals.
I devoted most of my pre-final year of undergraduate learning to Computer Fundamentals like Networking, OOPS, Operating Systems, Data Structures and Algorithm only and never focused on any type of Development. Although it helped me get the fundamentals clear Internships require you to have some development exposure maybe web development, app development, blockchain development, game development and likewise.
Also only learning DSA was mostly boring as it involved dedicated hours to practice problems on different platforms like code forces, CodeChef, hackerank and other such platforms.
Getting into development early shows the real idea of programming and some people like development more than solving competitive programming problems (including myself 😀)
Later in my final year, I started with Web Development and regret remains of not starting early.
Learning:- Start development early in your programming journey and focus on fundamentals as well, then choose which is best suited for you and then try excelling in that field.
4. Doing less Internships and Open source contribution.
As my major focus was on fundamentals and due to lack of proper guidance, I largely remained unaware of Open Source Communities and the importance to develop along with peers. Peer to Peer learning will take you a long way in your coding journey as you will learn more than your usual textbooks and videos.
Doing fewer Internships, as I was underconfident that why would people hire me I know nothing this “imposter syndrome” kept me away from applying to internships.
Learning:- Believe me no one knows enough it is always less, therefore apply to roles as early as possible and internships are there to improve your learning. Try contributing to Open source projects search for “good first issues” tags, remove the todo, change readme initially no contribution is small and join their discord, it will be your best school.
5. Tutorial Hell is for real.
With so many resources on the internet that it is overwhelming, it’s impossible to filter out systematic content and learn accordingly. I wasted unlimited precious time learning through YouTube videos and Documentation and Blogs but the problem is it lacks a proper structure to follow and you end up learning nothing.
Learning:- Initially in your career it is good to follow a good instructor course, it will give systematic learning and you will understand concepts clearly, after this practice enough and then you will be able to figure out these structures using official Documentation once you reach a good level.
I hope you will not commit these mistakes and will ride safely in this beautiful coding journey.
