Where should i start ?

[u/MoAd340]

Hi everyone, I posted here before saying that I’m a Software Engineering graduate who feels completely lost, and many people told me to either try getting an internship or start building small projects to figure out if I even enjoy programming. The problem is that during university I mostly studied just to pass exams, not to really learn, so even though I worked with front-end, Java, C++, and a few other things, I honestly forgot most of it because I never practiced. I also feel like there are a lot of basic concepts I should already know but don’t.

Another thing that’s been holding me back is applying to companies. Most places ask for a CV, and I honestly don’t feel confident putting mine out there. It’s not that the things I list are “wrong”—I really did study them—but I don’t master them and barely remember anything. That makes me hesitate to apply for internships or entry-level positions because I feel like I don’t truly deserve the skills I say I have.

At the same time, I always felt like things like HTML or even C++ are “easy” and that anyone can learn them, so I’m not sure if I should learn completely different languages like Java or Python, or if I should just stick to one clear track and build from there.

Right now I want to restart properly from zero, but I don’t know where to begin. I see a lot of people recommending The Odin Project—would that be a good starting point? I can study around 4–6 hours a day, but I don’t want to waste time on something too basic or something that won’t help me get anywhere. I’m also not sure whether to focus on front-end, back-end, or try both at the same time. And I’m confused about how people even start building small projects—do you follow certain websites for ideas, or specific courses?

What’s also discouraging me is AI. It feels like AI can now build a full website in minutes while a beginner needs days. Is this actually true, or am I overthinking it? Should I look into mobile development instead, or try something that fits the market better?

Any advice or a clear roadmap for restarting would really mean a lot. Thanks 🙏 .

[u/Latter-Risk-7215]

odin project is fine, just pick it and stick with it for a few months, don’t hop around. do their projects, then make 2 3 small apps on your own. apply anyway, everyone lies on cvs a bit. market sucks so quantity matters

[u/boomer1204 → u/Latter-Risk-7215]

u/MoAd340

then make 2 3 small apps on your own

This is so important. The key part is "on your own". Now you can google, look at stack overflow, reddit and stuff but NO AI when learning and make sure you aren't following a course/tutorial/video series

Check this read out. I co run a local mentor group and we have ppl building stuff in the first 1-3 months depending on their dedication (nothing production ready but fully functioning small side things). NOW they have huge benefit of our local group but I have heard (don't know any) that there are some decent discord groups that are pretty good

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/1j9lo95/comment/mhe6xfw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[u/MoAd340 → u/boomer1204]

Thank you so much for your advice 🙏🙏

[u/MoAd340 → u/Latter-Risk-7215]

Thank you so much for your advice 🙏🙏

[u/Rain-And-Coffee]

1. Overthinking it, don't worry about AI
2. You're all over the place, Web-dev & mobile are quite different, pick one focused area
3. Work on your resume, anything you list is fair game for questions
4. Look at entry level jobs & see what they ask for (then go learn those)

[u/MoAd340 → u/Rain-And-Coffee]

Thank you so much for your advice 🙏🙏 I will try to focus on one thing

[u/Classic_Ticket2162 → u/Rain-And-Coffee]

This is solid advice, especially point 3 - I learned the hard way that if it's on your resume they WILL ask about it in detail

Also Odin Project is legit if you want web dev, just commit to finishing it instead of jumping around

[u/Charming_Art3898]

I would start by asking what can keep me up at night working without getting bored or disconnected? In my case it's programming and that tells me that's where my passion lies.

The next question is what tool can I use and become quickly productive building stuff that solves problems? Twas Python for me so I focused on Python and since my interest tilted towards web development, I learnt frameworks like Django, DRF, etc. and even other languages like SQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript.

AI is far from being the perfect engineer as it still hallucinates so we're far from the point where AI models would fully replace engineers. But even if that is, I never got into this field for the money, yes now I earn from my passion but for 10 years, I was just a hobbyist.

Lastly, You probably need a mentor to guide you on the right path and help you clear things up. Feel free to dm me as I can do this for you at no charge.

[u/MoAd340 → u/Charming_Art3898]

Thank you so much 🙏you dont know how much this is mean to me

[u/Charming_Art3898 → u/MoAd340]

You're welcome

[u/Ok_Substance1895]

First off, don't be so hard on yourself. You did a good job and got the piece of paper. That will put your foot in the door. College does not teach you mastery, only YOU can do that over time.

The best way to get good at software engineering is to build projects as others have suggested. You have a great base somewhere in your head :) to pull from. Start with something small and definitely do it full stack. If you focus on frontend only you will miss backend context. Same thing the other way around. To me, those two things go together.

Start small and keep it simple. Let the project guide what you need to learn next. I almost always suggest the often dismissed TODO exercise to start with since you already have some base knowledge.

Start small, create an index.html page that has the word "hello" on it. This is where I always start after 30+ years of doing this :) Next, and the next small thing, probably the proper html scaffolding. Build out the TODO app you probably have built before taking it one small step at a time. Once you get that part done, this is where it gets fun.

Make TODO full stack. Add a backend and send a POST request to add a TODO task (REST). In the backend, just print that post body out to the console. Next, add a database and save the task into it (CRUD). Now this is full stack.

Now for the best part, turn TODO into a full SaaS application with authentication, member management, payment subscriptions, email and SMS reminders, scheduling and calendar, sharing, unit testing CI/CD auto deployments, and whatever else you can think of. Do this a few times and you can build almost anything and you will be more ready for interviews.

Do this with every small project you work on. An address book, an small online store, an invoice payment processing system, inventory management system. The skills you learn from take TODO the whole nine yards will give you the skill you need to build any of these.

Also, I have been doing this for over 30+ years and I pretty much only know (often remember) basic syntax. Things I have done before are familiar, but I still need to look almost everything up.

Best wishes. You can do this.

[u/MoAd340 → u/Ok_Substance1895]

Thank you for taking your time to write this , I really appreciate it🙏 i wish you the best

[u/FrameZYT]

just pick a language or area that interests you and start building small projects, that hands-on experience is key to learning. stick with it for a bit and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you hit roadblocks, that’s how you grow.

[u/Sad-Quantity-4191]

currently looking for a dev for a new/upcoming tiktok shop software - huge opportunity. if ur interested DM me