Hi there, I've been inconsistent this week due to forces beyond my control, by next week normalcy should be restored😊. Today we'll be looking at an issue that plagues junior developers, something they may overlook but is quite detrimental to their education. A lot of people who have tried to learn how to code (and gave up) are most likely also victims of this problem and its one that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. However, being aware of this trap will save you stress and hours of blaming yourself.
A RELATABLE EXPLANATION
The average software engineer (self-taught or not), leverages tutorial videos and other written content in order to refresh our memory (there's so much we forget) and to extend our skill. While written content is great for refreshers, people use videos a lot more now. Video tutorials are great because they help you learn in a way that feels as if you're beside the tutor. Because there are several mistakes one can make when learning new things in code, video tutorials can sometimes reduce the odds of this because you're coding along.
WHERE THINGS FALL APART
The problem with video tutorials however is that you may invest a bit of time and not get what you want, this is unlike written content where you can scan through the pages to quickly get a feel of the educational content and determine if it's for you. A lot of these tutorials that can potentially frustrate developers are sometimes short and promise so much education within that small period of time, technically they deliver the content, however, the manner of delivery isn't beneficial to newbies.
HOW TO DETECT RED FLAGS IN TUTORIAL VIDEOS
As a rule of thumb, it's important to avoid video tutorials where the tutor constantly copies huge amounts of code from somewhere and pastes it into the code you're watching, sometimes you have access to the copied code, other times you don't and this is bad. There are two types of code that define how you learn; dummy data and actual code. In tutorials that have to do with manipulating data, copying and pasting dummy data isn't really a red flag. The code you should worry about is the logic code, they should be written and not copied.
TYPING CODE IS PART OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
The major part of learning is having to type the code yourself as it reinforces learning consciously and subconsciously, you develop muscle memory and even subconscious memory that when coding some things, you're typically on autopilot due to practice. Coding along with a video tutor is highly encouraged because of this. In tutorials where the tutor is copying and pasting code, you're also most likely to copy and paste too, you're also unlikely to understand what's going on if the code is quite logic intensive.
THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS TO START FROM SCRATCH
Following tutorials that build from scratch is the best way to learn, two other video tutorials to stay away from are the tutorials where all the code has been written and the tutor is simply explaining, that and tutorials where the tutor codes and doesn't explain. A lot of video tutorials that are built from scratch will have both you and the tutor making mistakes and having to debug mistakes, you don't just learn how to code, you learn how to find and fix bugs. Debugging is one of the major skills of a developer and it's key.
WHERE DEBUGGING COMES IN HANDY
In the work environment, you won't always be handed new projects; there will be times you will be handed legacy projects or existing codebases and be asked to fix bugs in those projects and/or update/extend the features of the project, the skill of debugging can be literally priceless in these cases as such the earlier you learn it, the better. There aren't exactly tutorials videos for all types of bugs so the best way to learn is to make mistakes on projects you're working on and find a way to fix them.
FINALLY
A lot of people that struggle with code and some who have given up simply consume the right content, getting this right at the beginning will largely determine how much you learn as a developer and how well you learn. Avoid copy and paste coding tutorials at the beginning. Copy and paste tutorials aren't beginner-friendly, they're convenient for the tutor as it saves them time, however, it can be overwhelming for people who have no idea what's going on. This is why many developers and enthusiasts have so many unfinished code tutorials video.