Life, they say, is not a bed of roses. Journeying into tech and continuing in it has been a battle of consistency for me. One day, I'm super pumped and excited and the next, I'm drained and short of breath. My tech journey has not been what I'd call a smooth one. In this article, I'll be sharing the problems I have encountered as a code newbie.

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

In this sub-section, I will be sharing some of the technical challenges I have faced.

Javascript OOP

Coming from an unconventional background, (you can read more about this in my last article), I actually knew little to nothing about writing code. Also, I would say that I started out by teaching myself using online resources before I started applying to and got mentorship opportunities (at GADS2020 and She Code Africa). Basically, writing code in itself was a huge challenge for me, starting out. I really enjoyed the HTML and CSS, even the Bootstrap part but getting to the Javascript OOP(Object Oriented Programming), I lost it! I was going to actually give up but I found a way. I would watch about three-four people teach the same topic on YouTube and I realized that way, I learned better. I might not have been the fastest learner but I wasn't going to give up until I had learned it well.

Data structures and Algorithms.

Learning data structures and algorithms has got to be one of my most challenging tech things yet. It just always looks like a herculean task to me no matter how much time I spend looking at it. The interesting thing is that I have to be able to understand it well enough to pass coding job interviews (what the internet tells me). I once tried learning on freecodecamp.org's platform but I still have not completed that module to date. It has really been challenging for me and leaves me wondering why they are so important after all (sigh!).

Command Line Interface (CLI)

Learning to use the command-line interface (CLI) to perform basic actions such as creating a new directory (mkdir), navigating to a directory (cd), touching files, deleting a directory and so on were such difficult things for me at some point. I got over that challenge by making it a point of duty to create and navigate folders using the CLI only. In a matter of days, I began getting used to it and now, it's one of my easiest things to do and I'm glad that I can now perform these actions without batting an eyelid (progress!). I also remember the times when creating and making git pull requests were really difficult for me. I even had to install the Git Desktop version so I could completely avoid the CLI. Things are much better now because I don't have to go through the desktop application anymore.

Bugs and Debugging

As a learner, I watch tutorials a lot. It would however be baffling that even after following a tutorial video code by code for hours, I still ended up with bugs. It is even more frustrating that you have to go through your code word for word and sometimes, letter by letter in the awful process of debugging. Debugging has taught me longsuffering and perseverance. If I don't do it, I won't get the result I want so I'd rather get to it as quickly as possible. I haven't learned how to properly use debugging softwares yet. The only tools I use for now are Visual Code Studio's console and Google Chrome's developer tools. However, when I learn to use softwares, I'll definitely write about it.

PHYSICAL CHALLENGES (LOL)

My "battery-less" laptop

I have been using my current laptop for well over five years. It surprises me that it still can perform basic coding functions without much hassle. However, sometime last year, shortly after I began learning to code, it started acting up. It would occasionally go off mid-session without reason. The control key has stopped working or let me say it toggles on and off like the toggle event in javascript. I cannot work or code whenever there's no electricity supply so you can imagine, in a country like Nigeria, it could be very challenging at times. Thank God for Visual Code's auto save feature that has saved me from days of endless premium tears. :-)

Burnouts and lack of consistency.

Consistency has been a huge problem for me. Sometimes, I get an idea to work on a project but mid-way, I get tired and leave and go unto the next one. I however learned recently that one complete project is better than a hundred unfinished ones and I'm going to make sure to live that reality this year. Whenever I feel like I'm experiencing burnout, I would take a break or sleep, wake up and try again.

Health issues

Back-aches, eye pains and frequent lack of sleep are major challenges for me. As someone who has a non-tech 9-5, I only have the rest of the day to code and work on my projects. This usually makes me have fewer hours of sleep and at times, wears me out. Don't get me wrong, I have been trying to make my big switch into tech but I cannot do that without getting a tech role first. This brings me to my last and final point.

Getting a tech role

It always seems very easy on social media to land your first tech role or internship but trust me, it's not that easy. Over the last couple of months, I have been sending out my resume to various tech companies especially those that have openings. For the ones that did not ghost, they replied that my level of experience was not enough and that it was going to be a problem. Honestly, this wears me out a lot of time but I also believe that things would get better with time. I have also started building personal projects that I can add to my portfolio to cover up for the years of experience that I do not have. I also plan to start contributing more to open source projects this year.

So... I hope I did not bore you with my tales. I just wanted you to know that it has not been so a bed of roses but we keep moving. Cheers to growth!