Practice - The Key Factor in Achieving Success

Introduction

In today’s world of information technology, many aspire to become programmers, hoping for high earnings and exciting work. Programming courses promise to turn a novice into a professional in just a few months, but is this always the case? My own experience shows that without real practice, achieving success in IT is impossible.

My Path to Programming

I came to IT quite recently. Before that, I had no understanding of what code was and thought that those who dealt with it were incredibly smart people. The first step for me was taking programming courses. They were useful to a certain point, but they could have easily been the end of my programming journey.

Benefits and Limitations of Courses

Pros of Courses:

• Fundamentals and Basics: They teach you basic concepts and show you how to find information on your own.
• Step-by-step Approach: You proceed gradually, making everything seem less difficult.
• Homework Assignments: Solving tasks helps to reinforce the material.

Cons of Courses:

• Increasing Pace: Over time, the learning pace accelerates, making it hard to keep up with the mentor, and creating something on your own becomes nearly impossible.
• Lack of Practice: After building a project in the course, creating another one based on what you’ve learned is challenging, and implementing your own ideas is unclear.
• Unrealistic Expectations: Courses promise to make you a professional in six months, but this is not always realistic.

Seeking Alternatives: Foxminded

Fortunately, I found Foxminded, a company that positions itself as educational but with a different approach.

First Learning Stage:

• Individual Tasks: You receive small tasks and search for solutions independently.
• Development of Search Skills: This helps you learn how to quickly find the necessary information.

Advanced Course:

• Teamwork on a Project: The team works on a large, albeit fictional, project.
• Simulation of the Real Development Process: This helps to understand how the IT industry works from the inside.
• Self-analysis and Growth: You identify your strengths and weaknesses, which promotes professional development.

Benefits of Working on Real Projects

Learning through real projects has several significant advantages compared to fictional ones:

• Ready Portfolio: A completed real project can be a great addition to your portfolio. Unlike fictional assignments, real projects demonstrate your practical skills and the ability to create something useful and functional. This impresses potential employers because they can see that you have worked on real tasks.
• Understanding of the Final Result: When working on a real project, you always have a clear vision of the final result. You understand how the final product should look and function, allowing you to structure your work toward achieving that goal. In fictional projects, a clear end result is often missing, making learning less effective.
• Real Challenges: Unlike educational examples that may be simplified, real projects present you with complex and unpredictable problems. This allows you to learn how to solve tasks that arise in real conditions: performance optimization, handling unexpected errors, working with real users.
• Problem Solving: Working on real projects develops problem-solving skills in critical situations. You not only need to apply what you already know but also find new approaches, learn new tools, and methods to solve specific challenges that arise during the project.
• Professional Development: Real projects usually involve collaboration with other specialists or even clients. This not only fosters technical growth but also improves communication skills, teaches teamwork, defending your decisions, and timely response to changing requirements.
• Better Understanding of the Development Process: Working on a real project helps to understand all stages of product creation — from requirements analysis to the final release. This gives you a comprehensive understanding of working in IT and allows you to solve not only technical but also organizational issues.

Working on real projects is an opportunity to gain practical experience that cannot be obtained through theoretical knowledge or fictional tasks alone. It helps you grow faster and better prepares you for the challenges of the real world.

Creating My Own Platform

Based on this idea, I created my own platform. I see that it can benefit everyone:

• Real Projects: The projects will be real, not fictional, providing valuable experience.
• Team Collaboration: Launching a project with a team is easier, and productivity increases.
• Show Real Experience to Employers: This is far more effective than showcasing a portfolio filled with educational projects.

Examples of Potential Projects:

• Creating a website for the gym you attend.
• Developing a web resource for friends or acquaintances.
• Implementing your own interesting idea.

The Role of a Mentor in Learning

Benefits of Having a Mentor:

• Guidance and Support: A mentor can help you deal with complex issues and guide the development of the team.
• Code Reviews and Feedback: This improves code quality and fosters professional growth.

Challenges:

• Time and Resources: A good specialist, especially one who is employed, may not always be willing to devote a lot of time to mentoring.
• Compensation: Finding a way to motivate mentors is essential.

Possible Solutions:

• Paying Mentors: Introducing payment for mentoring services.
• Share in the Project: Offering a smaller share of the project's profit in case of success.

Practice vs. Theory

Only in practice do you realize that exercises from educational sites do not reflect real work in frontend or any other field of programming.

Why Practice is Important:

• Understanding Logic and Sequence: Practical tasks help to better absorb these aspects.
• Working with Documentation and Rules: This is essential for real development.
• Tangible Results: Practice allows you to see the fruits of your labor.

Confidence in Interviews

Having real experience and projects will make you feel much more confident during interviews:

• You Have Something to Show and Talk About: This increases your chances of success.
• Practical Skills: Employers value candidates with real experience.

Conclusion

Practice is the key to success in IT. Theory is important, but without real experience, it is of little value. By creating real projects, working in teams, and collaborating with mentors, you will be able to become a true professional and confidently move forward in your career.