10 Perks of Being a Newbie Web Developer

This time may not seem enjoyable, but that’s because learning to code is hard. Add these items to your gratitude list.

Nicole Archambault
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read
There’s a reason we start small and grow over time. Nothing is made overnight. Enjoy your baby time.

Have you ever fondly remembered a relationship after the fact that you knew was messy, but ultimately enjoyable?

Perhaps the person had a lot of levels to them, and communication wasn’t great. But you learned a lot about yourself.

If you can learn to ride out the highs and the lows, you’ll be able to relax enough to enjoy the journey, rather than just wishing it were over or different.

Web development is never going to be easy to learn. It’s a mystifying creation by equally mystifying people, hell-bent on improving our communication with computers.

  • Perspective: The angles from which we view the challenge at hand
  • Perseverance: Our resistance to giving up

10 perks of being a newbie web developer

All that being said, allow me to remind you of some of the perks of being a new web developer.

  1. You have a fresh new perspective that others very likely don’t have. Leverage this, and don’t hold back!
  2. Since being overwhelmed and confused virtually all the time is the norm, it’s a fantastic feeling when something finally clicks. Being new, this happens a lot more frequently.
  3. Because nobody expects you to know a whole lot, it’s easier to surpass others’ expectations of you.
  4. You are at your lowest ego point, which means you are most receptive. When you start gaining more knowledge and opinions, those opinions can get in the way of your learning. Practice keeping this receptiveness window open, and it will treat you well your entire career.
  5. You’re also officially at your most excited and enthusiastic, because everything is new, just like in a relationship.
  6. If you’re teaching yourself especially, this is a perfect time to learn to embrace confusion and frustration. You have much less on the line, so learn to get comfortable with it!
  7. You have an opportunity to learn how to recover from your mistakes, from scratch. Watch how others fix their inevitable “oopsies”, and take with you what works best.
  8. You get to build context from the ground up. What does this language do, and how does it connect to this other language? Run with your questions, share the answers you find with others. But remember, no two people have the same context, since it relates to our personal experience.
  9. When you share what you know, you may feel like you’re not contributing anything much at all. But, it’s quite the opposite: experienced developers need your perspectives to remember what it was like being new—this is called the Curse of Knowledge. Take this opportunity to teach them.

“The expert at anything was once a beginner.”

— Helen Hayes

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La Vie en Code

Home of the La Vie en Code blog. Dedicated to the self-educated.

Nicole Archambault

Written by

Weaver of code and beautiful stories. 👩🏽‍💻✨

La Vie en Code

Home of the La Vie en Code blog. Dedicated to the self-educated.

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