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Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsI have come to a stand still, what should I do?
Hi guys! Recently I feel like I have arrived at a road block with my programming. I have been trying to focus on web development but in recent days I have stopped. I just don't know whether it is the right path for me at this moment in time. I know this question is very vague and the answers may vary widely but I just don't know what to do from this point onwards. I may feel this way as all of the websites I make are just test sites and none of them actually go online as I don't know anyone who needs a site right now. I also don't feel knowledgable enough to have a site go onto the internet for the world to see.
I was considering picking up Java as I have done bits of it in the past but I am really not sure at all!
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to reply and help me out I really appreciate it!
4 Answers
Samuel Webb
25,370 PointsIt sounds like you need some motivation. One of the main things I do when I need motivation is look at other peoples projects. There are some really interesting websites out there that motivate me every time I look at them. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a bunch of links to websites so I'll just say google "cool websites." You are bound to find something that will make you say, "I want to make something as cool as that!"
Also, you have to build websites to build your confidence in your abilities. Start out with a personal website. Make a site that talks about who you are and what you like. While building the site, you'll notice some areas you need work in. Show people your site, ask for feedback and listen to the responses you get. Web dev people are usually very honest about what you need to work on.
In terms of programming (you spoke of Java), again, look up some low level applications written in Java. I'm sure you can google it, look on GitHub or look on YouTube. Find a simple project to work on and once you've completed it, try to improve it (i.e. add functionality, easier to read code, etc.). Constantly do personal projects or side projects. Think of something you need and make something that can handle that task. It doesn't matter if there's already a program that can do it. There are calculators that someone else programmed and then there are calculators that you programmed yourself and can be customized in whatever way you see fit.
Roberto Díaz
1,802 PointsIf you have some control on java basics, why don't take the android track?
I'm doing it and it's great and what is more cool nowadays than a couple of apps in your portfolio?
Don't give up.
Explore new paths and keep growing!
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsI was considering doing the Android track actually and building my Java knowledge along the way.
That is very true. Thank you to the ideas Roberto! Best of luck with your track!
Sau Ting K
11,091 PointsI know what you mean. After finishing the Front End track and practicing some, I'm at a lost on what to do with my new-found skills. I think building a site for your hobbies can be a great motivator if you have a healthy passion for one, and love sharing/discussing it with your friends (now you can just bring it online to a wider audience!) Or ask your friends if they have any suggestions, or if they need help in building something to showcase THEIR passions?
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsIt's good to know I'm not the only one in the same situation. That is pretty much how I would also describe the problem that I am having. That does sound pretty cool but my main hobby to be honest is programming. I do like cycling and playing the guitar and etc but I don't feel I am knowledgable enough on them to create a whole website.
Samuel Webb
25,370 PointsYou mention that you're not knowledgable enough about certain things to make a website about them. That's not true. If you're not knowledgable enough about guitar to teach someone else how to play, you can make a blog about what its like to learn the guitar. Talk about things you've learned, things that help you learn, what equipment you use and why you like it, what equipment you want to use, and so on. Even if it doesn't get much traffic, it could be a good starting point and you could just continually build on it while doing other things.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsThat is a really good idea actually, thanks Samuel! I never thought of it like that.
I know this is unrelated to my main question but is it safe to just have all my source code on show when people right click and hit "view source". Whenever I visit a popular site like YouTube or Twitter you don't see the proper html like you would expect its just code that doesn't really make much sense to me.
Samuel Webb
25,370 PointsIt's completely fine. You can see all the code of all the big websites if you know what you're doing. Those sites are huge and they have a lot of different things going on. Right click and choose "Inspect Element" instead and that'll open up all the organized code for the website. On that note, you should learn how to use the developer tools in your browser of choice. I would suggest doing the Website Optimization Course here on Treehouse to learn about it. Here's the link: http://teamtreehouse.com/library/website-optimization ... That'll specifically teach you about the Chrome developer tools, but once you know the basics of that, you can pretty easily convert that knowledge to the other browsers.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsThanks for the tip! I always just clicked "View Source" and I have worked with the developer tools on my site to look at different things but I thought the best way to view a sites code would be using "View Source".
Thank you for linking the course!
Samuel Webb
25,370 PointsNo problem.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsLuke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsI do indeed need some motivation! I did try looking at some other projects on Github but a lot of the ones I found seemed very complicated in comparison to the level that I am working at currently. Alright, thank you for the tip, I will google it and take a look at some of them!
I have made countless amounts of personal sites in different designs and etc but I just never know what to put on it. When I look at other peoples sites they have mostly just links and images to their other work but I can't do that yet as I haven't made any other sites that I could link to.
Yeah, I mentioned Java because I have wrote some very simple applications in it before and I find it quite interesting. That's a good idea actually thanks for the tip! I have made a calculator before but I did use Netbeans in order to create the interface. It would be really cool to be able to code my own GUI instead.
Which path do you think I should take? In my time programming I have always had this problem! I seem to lose motivation with one language because I come to a road block and don't know how to further progress or what to do to keep me motivated.
Thank you so much for your response Samuel I much appreciate it!