How I learned Django
About me
I'm a sophomore studying B-Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at LNMIIT, Jaipur.
I have 8 months of experience in Web development and now I'm getting my hands on Machine Learning (specifically Deep Learning), because its future prospects excite me.
I work as an open-source developer with FOSSASIA and strongly believe in using and providing free software to people like me.
Why I Wanted to Learn Django
When I entered college, web development was a hot field to be in. I was quite excited to get into it to know how such awesome pieces that bring people millions are built.
Then, my love for Python brought me to Django and other Python frameworks.
Believe me, they are literally awesome and enhance the beauty of Python.
How I Approached Learning Django
Same as everyone's first thought — I googled Django tutorials, got a lot of video lecture series, and started with one of them by Coding Entrepreneurs.
The tutorial series was good, but I soon realized that videos were not my cup of tea. From then on, official docs and books held my hand.
I started with Django book and Tango with Django, referencing official docs in parallel.
What I believe is that books give you much more in-depth knowledge than video courses.
Challenges I Faced
I lost motivation very quickly and wanted to start with easier technologies that everyone around me was doing, like PHP, etc. But soon I realized that there was a lot more competition in that. Considering future prospects, PHP is in decline. I picked myself up and started again with the Django book and soon completed my first tutorial project.
The mistake I made was that I thought that this much was enough, that I could now take up professional work. But I realized that I could not independently make any projects.
I then started making my own small projects and I gained some serious knowledge about Django.
Key takeaways
- I got to know how people self-learn and make a fortune.
- Learned the Django Web Framework and a lot of Python libraries.
- Landed multiple summer internship offers by just the end of my first year.
- Could start open source development and met some very good developers.
Tips and advice
- Please don't focus on what the world is doing. Recognize your own interests.
- If you lose interest, think of why you started and buck-up again.
- Also try other sources of learning. Things vary from person to person.
- Don't forget to make your own projects, which you can showcase.
Final thoughts and next steps
This process of learning is very generic and helps for almost all things.
Just remember why you started and keep your goals in mind.
Even if someone near you is progressing faster than you, don't stress because
slow and steady wins the race.
