*Beyond the code: A web dev confession

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January 15, 2025

Beyond the code: A web dev confession

No hopes, totally delusional, no friend circle inclined toward tech — starting a career in a 3-tier college. How did this still make him land his first internship, first freelance work, and first gig?

Wandering, asking, doubting, practicing, and talking to myself — from nightmare to reality.

How It Started

In my first year, I jumped into HTML, CSS, and JS. And that's where I entered the biggest trap of all —

Tutorial Hell.

I kept watching videos, copying the same code, typing the same syntax, and relying heavily on AI to fix errors I didn't even try to understand. All I wanted was to finish a project and call myself a "developer."

But this came with a price. A price of 6+ months of confusion and stagnation.

Mistakes I Made (Don't repeat them — or fix them if you already did):

  • Falling into endless tutorial hell — worst phase ever.
  • Copying others' code without context (felt smart, learned nothing).
  • Not understanding errors — just patching them with AI.
  • Using AI for every tiny thing instead of thinking.
  • Sticking to others' comfort zones (frameworks/languages they prefer).
  • Believing I knew React when I didn't even know the basics.
  • Ignoring DSA — it's not compulsory, but basic DSA shapes your logic.

(Learn it for yourself, not for interviews.)

What I Learned

Web dev is not about finishing tutorials. It's about struggling, breaking things, fixing them, reading docs, making your own logic, and thinking independently.

And once I stopped being afraid of errors and started understanding what I was doing — everything changed.

Internship. Freelance. First client. All followed naturally.

Tips That Will Help

  • Follow the old method of learning — read docs, practice, understand.
  • Use AI for learning, not as a labour tool — let it teach you, not do the work.
  • Follow documentation — it's your best friend.
  • Build a circle of friends or even rivals that push you beyond limits (online/offline).
  • Build connections (join hackathons / get your hands dirty).
  • Fake it till you make it

(Not for everyone — but if you're good at this, share your work and build your network).

If you're stuck right now — trust me, I've been there. Keep going. But stop repeating the mistakes I made.

Beyond the code: A web dev confession | Ritik Kharya