Welcome to the Treehouse Community
Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.
Looking to learn something new?
Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.
Start your free trial
Marius Posogan
11,184 PointsBeginner expectations
My name is Marius and I live in Romania. I am in my free trial and about to enroll with the basic membership.
My knowledge level on a scale from 0 to 10 I would say is 0.5; currently I have about 3-4 hours per week for study. I am a little overwhelmed with the wealth of information but I guess it's the case with all the beginners.
I know it's a silly and a common question, but I tried to look for a discussion about this in the forum but didn't find any topics. I was wondering if with this time commitment I can get to advanced level in about 2-3 years. By "advanced" I mean working in IT industry. Do you have any guidance what would be the path I will have to go if I want to get into this industry?
2 Answers
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse TeacherHi there! First, IT and programming are not exactly the same branch. If you want to go into development, then you're on the right track! If you want into go into IT/networking etc, then you should probably be looking at something else.
That being said, I think 3-4 hours a week is going to be tough, but doable if you have an extreme amount of focus and dedication. Some languages are going to feel more natural to you than others. That's just the way it goes. Everyone has their preferences.
I would check out the Treehouse blog for examples of some success stories. You can even find some articles written by myself there. I don't currently work in programming but have come a very long way in a relatively short amount of time. Ironically enough, I work in IT. 
The point is that learning is not always linear. Do not go into expecting to get out of it exactly what you put into it. Some of it is. Some things you will learn by repetition. However, some of it requires grasping bigger concepts. When that happens, it's like your learning just jumped up the side of a cliff and now you're on a whole different level. So don't be discouraged if you put in an hour but don't feel like you learned an hour's worth. One day you will sit down and hear an explanation that takes 5 minutes. But in that 5 minutes, you will finally grasp something you've been struggling with for weeks. You will eventually get out of it what you put into it, but the results might not be immediate.
Marius Posogan
11,184 PointsThanks Jennifer, very useful