Knowing how to solve problems is more important than technical skills
Last week, I wrote about what I think makes someone a good front-end developer.
In particular, I noted that I thought problem-solving was the most important skill for a developer to have:
All technical details are is the way you’ve chosen to solve a particular problem. Know how to work through the thing you’re trying to accomplish and figure out the right approach and combination of tools is the skill that helps you get there.
This is consistently the area that people who are learning JavaScript tell me the they have the hardest time with.
Finding specific technical approaches is the easy part. Knowing which one to choose, when and why to use it, and how to integrate it in the bigger picture of the problem you’re trying to solve? That’s the hard part.
And that’s why I created the Vanilla JS Academy.
Learning by doing
One of the things I found when trying to teach myself JavaScript was that things didn’t really “click” until I used them on a project or eight.
The thing that really took me from “fumbling through this” to “oh, I get it now!” was working on lots of projects over-and-over again.
I’d pick a thing I wanted to do—for example, click a checkbox to reveal or hide a password—and then try to work through how to make that happen. Most of my projects started on paper, and were just me thinking through the logic steps my code would need to take. The specific methods and APIs to use would come later.
The thing is, this is really hard to do!
Where do you even start? And what happens when you get stuck? StackOverflow can be super hostile. A lot of blog articles are incomplete or out-of-date. And what types of projects should you even work on?
I want to make this easier for you than it was for me.
A structured learning path with lots of support
The Vanilla JS Academy is an 8-week, structured online training program. Each week, you’ll…
- Watch and read video lessons around a particular topic—working with APIs, or browser storage.
- Work on two fun projects related to that week’s lessons.
- Get help when you need it. I hold weekly video office hours, and provide a private Slack channel you can use to chat with other students.
Kevin Beck, One of my students from the last session, had this to say:
I really benefited from and liked both the office hours (including code reviews) and the interaction with Chris and students on Slack (a big thing many other course do not have). It was also nice to see how other students approached the same problem. With having other students and you over a set period really helped encourage me to complete projects.
When I was learning, having someone to ask questions and get honest, thoughtful feedback from (rather than, “just use jQuery|React|Vue”) was invaluable.
I want to make sure you have that kind of support, too.
(BTW, until Sunday, you can get 40% off of Vanilla JS Academy registration as part of special early bird pricing. That special discount is only good for this week, though, so if you’re interested don’t wait!)
What do people who have taken the course think?
I’ve now had the pleasure of working with almost 40 students in the Vanilla JS Academy.
They’ve had some incredibly nice things to say about it. They’ve also provided me with some fantastic feedback I’ve used to make the program even better.
Here’s what some of my past students have to say about their experience.
Tired of tutorials? Want to really dig in and work with other developers on how to become a vanilla JS badass? I can't tell you how much I've learned from Chris Ferdinandi and his Vanilla JS Academy.- Ben Rudolph
After going through this program, I found that using vanilla JS, you can accomplish A LOT more than the larger dev community would lead you to believe.
I really liked the open-endedness of the weekly projects. I think having fewer restraints in solving the task made me focus more on the specific topic for that week and how I would apply it to the given project. Combining this with the Thursday office hour and then having your approach shared on Friday made for a well-rounded overview of the material.
Thanks for an awesome course, Chris! This truly was the best JS learning experience I’ve had—things really clicked for me during the academy and I feel much more comfortable using JavaScript and approaching problems with JS-specific solutions at the ready!- Zac Heisey
I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If it had not been for you, I would not be able to learn JavaScript.- Patricia Parker
I was not sure the level of the course. I was not looking for a 101 of JS, which the course was not. It was exactly what I was after.
I really benefited from and liked both the office hours (including code reviews) and the interaction with Chris and students on Slack (a big thing many other course do not have). It was also nice to see how other students approached the same problem. With having other students and you over a set period really helped encourage me to complete projects.
I never felt any imposter syndrome. We could ask any question and Chris was happy to help.- Kevin Beck
Having your interaction is priceless. Such added value.- Elliott Porter
I was desperately looking for a person or guided tutorial to help me understand the foundation of pure (vanilla) JavaScript. Though I have good work experience in various programming languages including JavaScript, I felt I was missing something.
I found and bought Chris's books and have gone through most of them. But I was still looking forward to to talking to someone, so I joined the Academy :-) and I'm happy that I did.- Kumar Sucom
Want to get better at solving problems with JavaScript?
The Vanilla JS Academy is the best thing I’ve ever made.
Because of how it’s structured, I’m able to have a much bigger impact on my students than I can with some of my other offerings. It’s been absolutely amazing watching people grow and learn and go on to feel so much more confident in their JS skills.
If you’d like to be one of them, ⏰🐦 Early Bird Registration is happening right now.
This week only, you can save 40% on registration. Click here to join!