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Valeriia O
Courses Plus Student 17,625 PointsHow proficient are you after reaching 10,000 points and how long did it take you to reach that milestone?
I'm working on developing focused, consistent study habits. Lately I've been clocking 6-8 hours a day studying and began coding my first portfolio project. Now that I'm at 7000+ points, I feel like I am nowhere near where I thought I would be. Expectations > reality.
I know that these points don't really matter as much as having a firm understanding of the material and maybe this question is too much of a generalization, but how confident did you feel as a coder at 10,000 points (assuming you were a complete newbie prior) and how consistent were your study habits? How long did it take you to dive in and start coding your first project?
I had a frustrating moment with JavaScript yesterday (one of many more to come, I'm sure) after which I may or may not have punched my computer (poor thing). It was one of those moments where you want to cry and curse the world, and then you catch yourself, and quickly have to remind yourself that everyone that has studied coding before you has been to this pit of despair. And they kept going. So, fueled by determination and about a liter of coffee, your tears of confusion turn to laughter (mostly at yourself), and you get back to working on your functions... Right?
1 Answer
Steven Parker
231,127 PointsDon't put too much stock in "points".
They can be fun as a learning incentive and possibly even a comparative measure of learning but only with people you know are starting from a similar level of experience. But on their own it's hard to attach a meaning to them directly. For example, if you look at the Leaderboards today, the top student this week has acquired over 30,000 points. In one week! But I doubt that represents new learning.
Also, I think you're on the right track that a firm understanding of the material and confidence in your abilities are the real milestones of progress. And people learn at different rates, so time is also not an accurate way to assess progress.
Remember the forum as a resource for those "frustrating moments". Ask a question here and someone (perhaps even I) will likely be happy to provide an answer. Otherwise pace yourself, avoid too much coffee, and happy coding.
nico dev
20,364 Pointsnico dev
20,364 PointsHa ha! Welcome aboard! Well, I (and I guess almost everyone else here) share your distress, but also that great moments when we can do or create something that seemed impossible a short while ago. Isn't that awesome? Worth sweating, crying and bleeding for, right? :)
I'd like to recommend you this video of Craig (especially the part about the imposter syndrome) and this one of Dave that I found super-upbuilding and encouraging... and so absolutely true! And if you can, even take a little time to follow their respective links and read them a little.
Ah, about your question of the points, there is no point in having more or less points (pardon the pun). It's just pure gamification, they're there to keep you running after them if you want to, but honestly, they show no proficiency at all. To show you what I mean: in my case, I just reached the 10k points, but sure, that's easier for someone like me, who started last year and didn't know how in the world to write a tag, or what did JavaScript do for a website. I thought it was impossible but made a trial, learned a great deal and said, 'hey, I like this' and stayed here, trying to do my own projects with the things I learn here. But I made a lot of points learning things that other people already know from the get-go. :) Do I feel proficient by now? I don't know how to define that, because honestly, the more I learn, the more I see how many things I still don't know, and the greater the challenges feel, and I still continue to get stuck often, but the important thing is to keep on learning and practicing, using what we learn. That is the best measure of our proficiency.
One more thing to comment here: like Steven said, when you hit those walls (and we all do!) that you feel frustrated and can't solve it, go to the source documentations (they frequently help) and by all means don't restrain from asking your specific questions here, too. This is an awesome community, and most of the people who tries to help you here do it politely and in an upbuilding manner. They/We will just give you a little push in those moments, and then you will continue going far on your own with that tip. Happens often to me, too.
Keep it up and happy coding!!