Learning new programming languages, frameworks and software can be difficult. It’s often overwhelming to start. Many times I end up feeling like the “i have no idea what I’m doing” dog.
image source (https://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/remembering-bailey-the-i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-dog-36474174.html)
For the Capstone Project, I’ve been working with several new pieces. This is my first time working with the google cloud platform for hosting & database needs. In addition to learning the new platform, it’s also my first time working with a NoSQL database. On top of that, I’ve been learning the QuantConnect service and genetic algorithms.
People take many approaches to learning new material. Personally, I’ve always found it most helpful to work through tutorials where you can follow along and see things happen on your system step by step. For example, this video on learning Flask, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1RJmh_OqeA, or this video on learning the QuantConnect platform, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joXDV5eqOoY.
No matter what your initial approach is, the most important thing is repetition. The more you work with something, the easier it becomes. And one thing I’ve noticed with programming is that each new piece is easier to learn. Mainly, because there’s so many shared concepts and many build on others.
I’ve been getting more and more comfortable as the project develops, and can feel my anxiety easing with each successful step along the way. In the end, I think we’ll end up with a great project, and I’ll have a couple new things to list on the resume. A win, win.
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