Get out of Tutorial Hell
What is tutorial hell? How does it affect you? How can you get out?
The Internet has millions of resources for anything and everything. A developer who wants to learn Javascript today can start with any of those resources. These resources include blogs, forums, FreeCodeCamp, Codecademy, Udemy, Coursera, Youtube, Skillshare, Upgrad, LinkedIn learning, etc.
Everything, from writing the “Hello World” code to completing a diploma in computer science, is possible on the Internet.
In the process of learning, most of us tend to get stuck in Tutorial Purgatory or Tutorial Hell. Being stuck there makes us feel productive, but it doesn’t add value to our skills in the long run.
In this week’s post, I’ll talk about tutorial purgatory, its effects on developers, and how to get out of it.
What is Tutorial Purgatory / Tutorial Hell?
You are stuck in tutorial purgatory if you depend on Tutorials and Courses to work on any project but struggle to do it independently.
You will feel good completing course after course and acquiring multiple certificates, but the skills gained slowly start to fade.
How does it affect you?
Being stuck in tutorial purgatory is dangerous because it won’t feel destructive at first. You will realize this only after facing some challenges getting things done on your own.
- Getting used to hand-holding
Since courses have a lot of hand-holding, you will feel like you have phenomenal progress when you finish a project along with them.
You might feel clueless when you attempt to create a similar project independently.
At the first sign of trouble, you fall back to a tutorial video to find the solution instead of trying to figure it out.
- Quantity becomes more than quality
After finishing multiple tutorials, you would have completed several projects in tutorials, but you will have very little understanding of the “how and why.”
Your resume will have 10-20 projects, but you’ll find it hard to implement a new feature on your own.
Imagine 1000s of people going through the same tutorial, building the same project, and updating the same in their resumes. Your resume will not stand out.
- Struggling in the work environment
The projects built in tutorials and courses will mostly be generic that try to cover as many topics as possible to keep it crisp.
Developing the fake sense of confidence that you’ve mastered a language after a course will put you in a dangerous position in your work environment.
The features or issues you tackle at work will be unique, and no tutorial will be able to hand-hold you through them. You will require a knack for analyzing and debugging, that in turn, needs a deeper understanding of the programming language.
I was stuck there!
At this point, you might be wondering how I know so much about Tutorial Hell. It’s because I was stuck there. It took 18 months to realise that I was in an endless loop of tutorials and courses with minimal skill acquisition.
I thought I was learning so much and becoming one of the best programmers in the world.
Reality hit hard when I struggled to implement a feature on my own that I’d done at least ten times in courses.
I had to start from scratch and re-learn everything PROPERLY! I wish someone had put some sense in me back then.
How to get out?
Acknowledge the loop
The first step is to give up your ego and acknowledge you might be dependent on tutorials to get the job done.
Take notes during tutorials and courses
This is the most critical step of all. Taking notes will help you remember key concepts. Taking notes will also help you when you’re trying to implement what you learned.
Start building projects on your own
When you start building projects on your own, you’ll face challenges that require debugging. It will improve your skill in finding solutions. Step 2 will come in handy here.
Go through documentation
The official documentation of a framework or a language gives you an understanding of its nuances. It helps you dig deeper to understand the “how and why.”
Be consistent
You cannot master a language in a 20-hour course. It is impossible! Trust the process, and continue to work on your coding skills.
You will face multiple challenges along the way, and each challenge will make you a better developer.
Should you stop watching tutorials?
Absolutely not!
The resources on the Internet is helpful to upskill yourself. Make sure you put them to good use and gain as much knowledge as possible.
Pursue #LifeLongLearning.
Make sure you retain the knowledge gained by building something out of it. It doesn’t have to be a big project. Do read my post about side projects, where I’ve talked a lot about side projects.
Being stuck in tutorial purgatory will give you a false sense of confidence and will eventually lead to severe imposter syndrome.
What do I mean by IMPOSTER SYNDROME? My upcoming newsletter will cover everything you’ll need to know about that.
Until next time!