Let's start with self-study. Fortunately, today on the Internet there is a huge amount of free information of very good quality. It happens that the quality is even better than on paid courses.
So, there is a lot of information, it is free, but, unfortunately, not everyone can use it effectively. In my time I had to collect everything bit by bit. I studied extremely incorrectly and still get rid of negative habits. Therefore, let's learn to learn correctly
Six common mistakes in learning
But first, let's look at 6 common mistakes in learning that prevent us from achieving our goal:
- The first is jumping over: uncertainty about your choice. How does it usually work? We decided to study, say, site layout. We got together, tuned in, walked part of the way, and then our neighbor Vasya says: "Listen, who needs this HTML CSS, learn PHP." And Petya objects: “PHP? Why, if there are constructors ”. But Oleg interrupted everyone and said: "All these are children's toys, Python is in vogue now." As a result, we rush from course to course, from technology to technology, which will most likely make us out of us except for the non-rewriting of python and sub-php constructors? What?
- The second mistake is haste. We always want everything at once. “And I'll watch the whole course in a week and go to work!” - think many of us. As a result, knowledge is very superficial and crude. And how it comes to real practice - it turns out that we know to know, but we cannot do anything
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So, if you find yourself making mistakes like this, don't despair. Now I will give specific tips that, in my opinion, will help to avoid them.
Tips for choosing a specialty
Take your choice of specialty seriously. If the exact sciences are difficult for you, choose creative directions such as design or management. Or simple development, for example, as site layout. No need to chase the ratings of programming languages, listen to the opinion of dubious neighbors. You need to do what you like and the easiest thing to do Having mastered a simple specialty well, if necessary, you can always get involved in something else, and it will be much easier to do this. The key point is to master the specialty well. Otherwise, it will be a jump, and will not lead to anything good.
Here is a list of IT specialties by category.
Intensity (graph) of training
And here we smoothly move on to the second problem - this is haste. The reality is that it is necessary to allocate and spend a certain amount of time for adequate study, even of a relatively simple specialty. Say hello to all courses "Any programming language in three weeks"!
So how long does it take? The exact figure depends on the specific student, someone needs more time, someone less, we are all different and this is great, but I have a specific plan, following which you can get at least approximate figures.
So, if we study on our own, then we have an excellent advantage - this is the ability to form our own personal comfortable training schedule.
For example, a "twice a week" schedule. What does it mean? This means that twice a week you watch a new lesson, that is, you receive new information.
The intensity of classes depends on many factors: your busyness with other things, financial situation, the amount of time you can devote to training, etc. It will be correct, having felt that there is not enough time to master the topic, to move to a slower pace.
It is important that there is no rush, so that you look forward to each new lesson, a little tired of practicing the same thing, and not load new information on a fragile foundation. Ideally, we move on only when there is a confident practical understanding of the current topic. Otherwise, our knowledge will collapse like a house of cards under the load of new, more voluminous topics.
What to do in between lessons? Practice the information received!
Practice tips
During practice, return to theory: revise lessons, re-read articles, use cheat sheets and reference books.
Work in small volumes during practice. It is always easier to refine it. And not only physically, but also morally. A large volume does not press on you, does not force you to accelerate. Moreover, most likely, you are unlikely to be able to do something big normally. This fact will hit self-esteem and motivation. And we definitely don't need it. It is much better to practice on small volumes while learning, but do them well.
If we are talking about layout, then do not make up entire layouts, attack individual blocks, working out the current topic on them. Here's an example from martial arts. Masters can stand still for a long time, practicing a single blow, bringing it to automatism.
Experiment as you practice! In addition to explicit tasks like homework, work on non-existent tasks. Write the question “What if?” On a piece of paper and stick it on the monitor. And every time you work with a particular topic, ask yourself this question and experiment!
For example, you are passing pseudo elements. They brought out the picture on the left with their help. Don't stop there. Place on the right, bottom, top. Remove the property "display", understand why it does not work. Remember that the pseudo-element is an inline object, and a number of CSS properties etc. do not work for it by default, etc.
Turn the topic inside out. This is how the brain trains itself to solve non-standard problems, and the technology is assimilated at a deep level. Well, with a good command of technology, you can do anything!
Strongholds of technology
It should be noted that in each technology there are basic themes, masterly mastering which you can easily achieve success. I advise you to identify these strong points and work them out especially well.
In layout, these are inline / block structure, positioning, structure builders (flexbox and grid), responsive layout and, of course, basic JavaScript.
Don't learn all tags and properties at once. It is important to get a base, but reinforced concrete, and only then it will be possible to layer anything on it. Smooth and comfortable development.
How to deal with laziness and fear
What to do about laziness, procrastination, etc.? Well, first you need to admit to yourself that it is our laziness, and not look for reasons from the outside that treacherously prevent you from achieving success. It happens that for our failures we blame our relatives, friends, circumstances beyond our control, etc. Bullshit. Take it and do it.
At the same time, you need to agree with family and friends in advance. Explain that you need time and peace to learn. But at this time, do not count the crows, but study hard.
Regarding fear, I will say this: as soon as you realize that you are beginning to master technology, as soon as you feel that you are looking at the task, as Neo looked at the matrix, that is, not at all the way you looked at it a month ago, then the fear will go away by itself. After all, the master's work is afraid, and not vice versa.
I will add that the content should be taken seriously, even if it was just a gift to you. Treat it as if you paid money for it. There is even a saying: there is nothing more expensive than free.
The main problem of self-learning
The main problem of self-study, which still remains, is the lack of feedback about one's development.
But there is a way out - this is consultation, or the mentoring of a certain specialist in the field that you are studying. As a rule, they will not be free, but in this way for little money you can get information about the current state of your knowledge, get a review of your work, and so on.
There are also various communities and chats for communication and exchange of experience, where you can, being in the circle of the same guys, get at least some kind of feedback.
How to choose a paid course
Of course, most of the previously mentioned mistakes can be avoided by purchasing paid courses. And this is great, but you need to understand which of all the courses to choose. And you need to start by learning how to separate courses for the sake of business from training courses.
Courses - as a business - are very popular today. There are a lot of people who want to become super programmers in three weeks and earn hundreds of millions per minute. Therefore, entrepreneurs open various IT schools, sell all kinds of intensive courses, and so on. Children with far from always real experience and ability to teach teach in such schools.
Therefore, for a start, I advise you to try to study on your own in order to have at least some idea about the technology that you want to study for money. After making sure that this is yours, you should pay attention to the presentation of the material by one or another teacher. It is important. Even if the material is presented the right one, but there is some annoying feature or tediousness in the presentation - this can make the training ineffective. On the other hand, a clear and pleasant presentation of the material, accompanied by humor and motivation, will make the learning process a fun adventure. In a comfortable environment, knowledge will be absorbed much better.
And, of course, it is very important to learn from practitioners. This way, you will only have the up-to-date set of knowledge and practice required to work within a specific course. You will not waste time on obtaining unnecessary or non-priority knowledge, which later you will be able to get yourself, putting it on a powerful necessary base.
Choose courses that don't teach you how to do something. "At the end of the course, we will make up such a site." Look for courses that teach technology. And as I mentioned, once you learn the technology, you can do anything.
Here's an example: if the goal of the course is to learn how to carve a circle out of wood, that will not make you a wood master. But having learned to own a tool, techniques and think like a woodworker, you can cut anything you want, solve non-standard problems and develop successfully on your own.
At the same time, everyone needs to understand that while studying, even for money, you still learn yourself, just a little help with this. There is a certain schedule, control, certain volumes of information, etc. I mean, everything also needs to be sick and burning with what you decide to study. And, whatever the course, you will need to work a lot on your own: both during and after its completion.
Should I go to university?
A few words about education at institutes and universities. Yes, many say that no one needs a diploma. But you need to enter and attend a university not for the sake of a diploma and not even for the sake of knowledge. Unfortunately, the educational system in most of these institutions is poor. It is worth doing for the sake of life experience and incredibly useful acquaintances. Surely there will be a couple of smart teachers and talented guys for the whole university. It is with them that you need to "hang out", develop, absorbing the experience. By the way, very often acquaintances and experience of student years help to find the first job.
Should you read books?
What about books, you ask? This is a personal matter. If it is easier for you to get information from printed publications - do so, but books on narrow technical topics have the ability to lose relevance. There it is impossible to ask a question, read clarifying comments, and so on. In this regard, digital information looks more acceptable.
It is necessary and important to read, but I would advise you to read something general that develops logical thinking or a sense of taste, something that will always be relevant. A good example would probably be the well-known book "Grock Algorithms", which is read by most novice programmers. ( https://habr.com/ru/company/piter/blog/323310/ )
How to take notes on material?
Let's talk about taking notes of the material. And, since we remembered about the information on paper, I strongly recommend that you take notes both during training and during work - with a pen, pencil, felt-tip pen - it doesn't matter, but write, draw, paint. Transfer thoughts from your head to paper, board, wall. This way, information will be absorbed much better, and tasks will be solved more clearly.
Paper notebooks are great for digesting material, but poorly suited for storing cheat sheets, as searching can take time. For these purposes, you can create screenshots of one action or another and store it, distributing it into folders.
What programs and tools to use?
What about programs and tools? Many of you are asking which editor to choose? Which collector to use, etc. I hasten to inform you that no sublimes , sun codes , galps, webpacks and photoshops with figs will make us specialists. These are all tools that should be used only when they are needed - to help solve or optimize a particular problem. And the choice of this or that tool should correspond to this task. You should not go to BelAZ for bread, but to carry potatoes on a Porsche. This is inconvenient and ridiculous.
Focus on the important, and the choice of the right tool will come by itself at the moment when you know exactly what you want to get out of it.
What will you focus on while learning?
So what's most important? What to focus on while learning? To do this, you need to understand what exactly makes us specialists. My opinion is that a specialist is not the one who has studied a certain programming language the best, or remembers all HTML tags; and definitely not someone who is fluent in three code editors or collectors at once. All these are just tools for the implementation of tasks that are solved in our heads. And the faster, more correctly and better we are able to solve them, the more demanded and more expensive our work is.
A good layout designer perfectly understands the principles of high-quality layout and its purpose. Quickly builds structure in your head just by looking at the layout. And he needs knowledge of HTML and CSS in order to record his vision for display in a browser.
A good programmer can quickly and correctly design a program. Since he developed the ability to abstract design. And again, he only needs a certain programming language to communicate with the machine.
A good designer makes a design that solves a problem, not because he knows how to use Photoshop, but because he constantly develops a sense of beauty and is studying trends, the influence of certain design elements on human perception.
As a result, already at the stage of training, we must understand what is basic and what is secondary in this profession.
Soft Skills
Also today it is worth paying a lot of attention to the so-called soft skills. Here are some of the skills to develop in the IT field:
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- A responsibility. This is one of the most important qualities to develop if you are working as a freelancer. Yes, responsibility is also important in the company, but the schedule, the boss, the team always help you. And, working independently, it will be difficult to build a career without this quality.
And, of course, it is very, very important to understand that it is never too late to learn and develop. And all this is available to absolutely everyone who follows their dreams!
Learn, develop and remember - live and work in your free time!
Based on the release " How to study correctly in the IT sphere. TOP mistakes in learning. " On the YouTube channel " Freelancer for life "