How I didn't become a web developer in just one month!

09 September 2016

by Emma Rodriguez

Hey, I'm Emma, the first-ever coding reality show star!

A month ago, I got an offer to participate in an experiment on SoloLearn’s Public Chat on Viber. I had to learn web development using SoloLearn’s mobile classes and share my impressions with the chat followers.

Week 1

At first, learning with SoloLearn feels like a game – it's easy to get addicted, jumping from one lesson to another, unlocking levels, and getting achievements. Then it becomes more and more complicated and requires more discipline and persistence. At first, I gave it half an hour each day, read all the stuff, and did the quizzes, but I still didn't know how to apply what I learned. This was pretty frustrating, and all I could share with the chat followers was that I had completed another level.

Week 2

I made NOTHING. I lost my motivation and didn’t know where to go.

My “aha moment” came after one of SoloLearn’s developers told me I should start trying my hand in the Code Playground.

Before that, I thought I had to finish the course or have some extra achievements to feel more confident about writing my first line of code. I went to the Code Playground, where I could write codes without worrying about how trivial – or maybe bad – they were. I also looked at other people’s stuff and learned from others who had been through the course before me in the Discussions forum.

Week 3

Suddenly, I discovered that I have a solid profile! I have more than 50 codes run in the Code Playground, a lot of upvotes on my questions and answers in the Forum, and a cool certificate (although my profile shows what I can do way better than any certificate). I've heard they're even launching a new app where building your coder profile will be much easier and more fun!

One month later

I've always known that becoming a programmer is not something you can learn by just taking computer classes. Even if you have a fancy Computer Science degree, you still have to do a lot of other things, like be passionate about programming, practice, read books, watch presentations, try different languages, read code, write code, etc.

After a month, I can recreate simple websites and finally start working on my own project. I know concepts and I can even help other people understand. I feel much more confident about the future and am looking forward to continuing to learn. And I have my favorite place to come back to and have some fun coding.

Here is one of my projects: Emma's Paint Project. Check it out!

I'm looking forward to continuing my journey of learning with my peers. They're always there to help, challenge, or just hang out in my fun new world of coding with SoloLearn.