Biggest Beginner's Mistake in IT

Hard is a subjective term. What's hard for beginner programmers, is very easy and obvious for experienced ones.

That's why Seniors make x5-20 of what Juniors make. Companies pay for years of experience that allow you to solve problems faster.

I've been helping beginners for a while, and I don't have the exact %, but personally, I feel like 80-90% of beginners make the SAME BEGINNER MISTAKE!

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Why so many people are making the same mistake?

Before we gonna jump into covering the mistake itself, I wanted to explain why people are making the same mistake.

If it's so common, why does nobody teach it on YouTube or in colleges and universities? - you might ask.

And to be honest I don't know.

It feels like most of the online teachers got their jobs in 2015, and they still teach what was working back then.

That's what I call an "old developer" approach.

Universities are even worse. Most of them don't even teach how to get a job in the industry, as rules are changing quite often and they are too lazy to update their program every other year.

But that's why I'm here for you 😉, so let's now break down the actual mistake that so many beginners make.

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The Old Developer

Most beginners fail because they use the "old developer" approach.

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Let’s get back to the 2019, 2020, 2021.

IT market blew up due to the covid.

A lot of IT companies doubled, tripled or even quadrupled their revenue.

And if you knew how to create a movie website like the one below, companies would have happily hired you.

Now the websites have become more advanced and the requirements changed. And it’s a good thing. It means that the market is live and constantly growing.

But there are still a lot of people who use old tutorials, and old approaches from 2020, and then they complain that they can’t get a job.

I call those people "old developers".

And don’t take it wrong, I’m not hating those people. They just read online articles, watch older YouTube videos, and think that building a movie app will help them get a job.

Movie App is a great project for learning, but for your portfolio, you need to build something way better.

Another problem with "old developers" is that they think that you can get a job, by just clicking the apply button on the job boards.

And although it might work, the chances of that are extremely low.

So how can you be not an “old developer”?

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The Modern Developer

The Modern Developer is the term that I personally created.

But it's not something that came out of thin air.

It's just a concise combination of best practices on how to go from 0 to a successful developer in 2024.

To make it simpler to understand, I’ve broken down it into 3 sequential steps:

• 📖 Learning
• 🏗️ Building
• 💸 Working

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📖 Learning

The modern developer has to learn modern technologies.

It's not enough to just learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript in 2024.

You need to know popular frameworks, libraries, technologies and systems.

So whenever you'll be learning things try to use modern materials and ALWAYS CHECK OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATIONS!

In the docs, you'll be able to find the most modern suggested approaches and learn a lot from them.

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🏗️ Building

This is one of the most important steps for modern developers.

This is where a lot of beginners fail.

You need to understand that:

The only thing that proves what are you capable of IS NOT your diploma, certificate or CV.

IT IS YOUR PORTFOLIO of projects. So make it as good as it freaking possible!

You can create yet another movie or recipe app for studying.

But for your portfolio, you need to spend a couple of months to come up with something really professional and good.

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💸 Working

The modern developer isn't just clicking the 'Apply' button on job boards.

• The modern developer looks for creative ways to build connections, and apply for jobs through referrals or personal reachouts instead.

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The modern developer doesn't go into depression mode when sees that most job openings require experience.

• The modern developer goes and gets the first experience BEFORE the job by creating startups or working freelance. And then applies for jobs as an EXPERIENCED DEVELOPER instead!

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The modern developer doesn't do the minimal required amount of work on the first job.

• The modern developer works really hard to build a good reputation, learn as much as possible and grow through a career ladder as fast as possible instead.
• The modern developer tries to understand all business aspects to be a valuable part of the team instead.
• The modern developer constantly improves communication skills to make a good impression on the team instead.

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Conclusion

The main idea of this article is:

• Do not be an "old developer", become "The Modern Developer".

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