Week 1 (01.23 to 01.29)

I decided to restart my learning of Web Development. These past few months, I was learning Data Science and Machine Learning, and I was faced with the task of making a portfolio. But I didn’t know where to start. So I made the choice to reorient myself towards Web Development. Also, companies I’m targeting have several offers for Full-Stack engineers, Front-end and Back-end developers. And I feel like it would be easier for me to make a portfolio for web development anyway.

This week was all about basics, setup for web development, and what web development is. So not much coding although I was already familiar with most of the notions that were taught.

I was getting familiar with FreeCodeCamp, by starting the Responsive Web Design module. Project-based, I feel this is an excellent way to understand new concepts. And I finished the first 2 projects: a cat photo app that used only HTML, and a cafe menu that used HTML and basic CSS. I was very proud of finishing those two.

I also finished the first 4 sections of the Udemy bootcamp, with HTML semantics last, which was my January goal. It’s something I knew already but a refresher isn’t all that bad.

Then, I could start my learning on The Odin Project as well, which uses resources from YouTube as well. The good thing is that it’s open-source and it’s very well structured, I really enjoy the way it’s been constructed. I completed the Introduction section and started the Prerequisites one, which is all about setting up your system.

Quite easy for me since I’ve been using Ubuntu daily for the past 2 years, and instead of using VS Code, which was recommended by all, I’m using Vim instead.

On that topic, I started looking at YouTube videos to learn how I can use Vim more efficiently. And it’s been an eye-opener to find out how powerful it can be without plugins.

This is the one I watched. And it’s really fascinating. Though I’d say to stick with whichever editor you’re using now instead of trying to learn Vim now. Learn it on your free time as a first-timer.

Week 2 (01.30 to 02.05)

I managed to complete all the goals for this week including the CSS Colors and the HTML forms projects from FreeCodeCamp.

Secondly, on The Odin Project, aka TOP, I completed the Working with text lesson in the HTML Foundations section. Quite easy for me as I’ve been also watching the Udemy bootcamp that dealt with that topic as well.

Quite proud of the achievement, progressing little by little each day. I still find it hard to adjust to this rhythm as I’m used to doing so much in the day. Binging on the bootcamp videos, and trying to squeeze as much as possible. This feels more sustainable.

When I wasn’t actively working on learning Web Development, I wanted to spend some time learning Django, the Python framework to develop web apps. I managed to go until tutorial 3. It’s very different from static HTML/CSS, but eventually, I believe I’ll have to work with framework such as React.js or Vue.js for Front-End, and then Back-End frameworks like Django, ExpressJS, Spring Boot or Ruby on Rails. It’s a good introduction.

I think I made amazing progress these past two weeks. I know this is because it’s relatively new. But pacing myself is definitely a great strategy, as well as planning by hand on a notebook, so I can witness my progress at a glance.

I’m going to continue to log my learning journey on this blog, and I hope this can inspire you as well.

If this post inspired you for your learning, please leave a comment below. See you in the next post.