I wouldn't say I have accumulated all the experience in the world when it comes to programming, but I believe with my minute experience with coding I have discovered the major mistakes newbies make when learning to program, and this should help every newbie in programming know what is expected of them, and not fail where I failed. Think of this my post as a guide to becoming a great developer.

When I started off programming, I just jumped right into Html, css and javascript, without understanding what the act of programming is. I just wanted to make cool websites and dynamic or static, user friendly or nay. Initially, I progressed and did freelancing for few organisations, and then I had to up my game. I had to be comfortable writing UI and UX, creating mockups, satisfying clients, and then it hit me so bad when I failed an interview with a client, not because I couldn't deliver, but because I did not understand the concepts of datastructures and alogorithms, I could only write, codes.

LEARNING HIERARCHY.

1. start by Understanding Data Structures and Algorithms: Am I going insane? No. Before you jump into any programming language, I suggest you start by understanding data structures and algorithms. This gives a very solid background in understanding problems, debugging codes, It gives that solid background in providing solutions to problem, which is the strength of any good developer. It helps to understand Linked Lists, Heaps, Binary search, Sorting, Linear search, Graphing, Bit manipulation, Tries and many more, which is a must know to every developer, and aspiring developer.

2. Don't Be A Generalist, Be A Specialist:Every newbie faces this same problem. I also did. I wanted to be the best programmer in the world, I wanted to be master of all programming languages, and at the end, I discovered I was still a beginner in almost all languages. I only knew the surface, I never got to understand it deeply excluding my html and css, it was then I realized that I had to be focused on one, be a master in one stack, and move to the next. So, I am also advising every newbie out there to focus on one stack first. I call it the Y learning scheme. Just like letter Y, you need to have a solid background in one or two core programming languages, before you plan on branching out and stretching or advancing to other languages. What am I saying in essence. All I am saying is, its ok to dream big, but when it comes to learning to code, its one step at a time, and unlike any other area of specialization, the more advanced you get, the easier it becomes.

3. START FROM MORE COMPLEX:Most will not agree with this, but I have discovered that it is best to start with a more solid and rigid programming language. I suggest starting with C, C#, C++ or any other programming languages. These languages mentioned above gives the understanding of files, pointers, structures, variables, arrays, and so on. Then come down to languages like python, which in my opinion is the best programming language to learn because of its vast uses.

4. ATTEND MEETUPS AND BOOTCAMPS

5. PARTICIPATE IN FORUMS AND DISCUSSION RELATED TO YOUR AREA OF SPECIALIZATION

6. MAKE GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE YOUR CLOSEST COMPANIONS

AND FINALLY WHICH IS THE MOST RELEVANT, ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOUR ABILITIES, BELIEVE YOU CAN CONQUER THE WORLD. YOU CAN BE THE GREATEST ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE. STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR MIRROR EVERYDAY AND SAY TO YOUR SELF I WILL BE THE BEST PROGRAMMER. AND WHEN YOU SAY IT, BELIEVE IT.

DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL.