My Advice to New Developers

Jakub T. Jankiewicz

I'm a moderator in two communities on Twitter:

A frequent question people ask is about advice or tips for new developers. I stopped answering those questions, as they are a bit low-effort anyway. So I decided to write an article with my tips, and I will share a link when someone asks this question.

Let's dive in.

Playground Project

Learn the basics and do what I call a playground project. Test everything you learn, and every time you have an idea, "I wonder if this will work...", you should just test it. If the programming language is flexible, like JavaScript is, you can often combine syntax, like with Lego bricks.

Learn by Practice

If you want to learn anything, you need to practice. If you don't practice, you don't actually learn. You only suffer from the illusion of knowing. The best way to practice is by creating a project. You can start with small projects and, after finishing, you can tackle a bigger one. If you want an idea for a project, check this repository with a list of ideas:

A Collection of application ideas which can be used to improve your coding skills. - florinpop17/app-ideas

Learn by Teaching

Teaching can take many forms; you don't need to stand in front of a class to teach. You can write a blog post or share what you learn on social media. Before you write something, remember to do your research; you need to learn the thing you want to write about well. You need to understand it in order to teach others. That's why teaching is so powerful, because it forces you to learn something deeply.

To start a blog, you can pick one of:

Motivation

I personally never had a problem with motivation, because programming is my passion. I really love doing this and don't need an extra push in this direction.

But if you have a problem with motivation yourself, I suggest:

Feeding Your Motivation

Remember why you're doing this. If you have a goal, keep that goal in mind when you feel like quitting.

Connect With Others

If you learn with other people, you can motivate each other to keep learning.

You can start the #100DaysOfCode challenge and share what you learn on social media.

Breaking Down Your Goals

If you have a big goal, like learning programming, that may take a year or more, you should break down your goals into smaller steps, like:

When you use your learning materials, they can have chapters or modules. They can be your smaller steps.

Reward Yourself

If you reach a milestone (or a smaller step toward your goal), or finish your daily learning task, give yourself a reward. It can be anything, like:

Asking For Help

When you struggle with a problem, don't hesitate to ask for help. As soon as you don't have any new ideas to try out, ask for help. You can use AI, Google Search, StackOverflow, or Reddit to ask a question. Asking a good question is a skill that you need to learn. It takes time, just like with programming.

When you just search for the solution or you ask AI, and find a piece of code, don't just copy/paste it blindly; try to understand it first. If something is not clear, you can ask AI or the person who provides the answer to explain it.

You won’t learn if you don't understand the code you use.

Using LLMs While Learning

You can use LLMs (AI) when you're learning, but make sure that you don't fall into the trap of using them for so-called vibe coding, where AI just generates the code and you accept it blindly. You won’t learn anything if you vibe code.

You can use LLMs, but use them as a teacher, ask for help, or ask them to explain stuff. You have an amazing tool at your disposal: a personal teacher that can answer all your questions. Use them wisely.

Learning Should Be Hard

Don't try to make learning programming easier. Just like with any learning, you need to put in the effort to process information with your brain in order to learn. So don't take shortcuts, like using LLMs to make your life easier. If you want to remember what you've learned, you don't only need to understand it; you also need to process that knowledge by thinking about it, putting it all together, or by practicing and combining what you've learned with stuff you already know.

But at the same time, you need to remember that if you struggle too much, you should ask for help.

Conclusion

Learning to code is a journey, and it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Start small with playground projects, practice every day, share what you learn, and keep your motivation alive with small rewards. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you’re stuck, and use tools like AI wisely to understand, not just copy, solutions. Don’t give up when things get tough – break your goals into smaller steps and celebrate every win. You’re not just learning to code; you’re building a skill that can open so many doors. Keep going, and enjoy the process!

If you find this article interesting you may want to follow me on Twitter: @jcubic and on LinkedIn.

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