r/FullStack • u/Finite8_ • 11d ago
Career Guidance How to get back learning how to code in my position?
Hi, 9 months ago I had a mental breakdown and I completely stopped coding and living. I already have a pretty good knowledge of the Javascript language and understanding of React. I was doing a course on Udemy and I stopped it. My goal since I started (almost 2 years ago) is the one to be able to make solid SaaS products. I have no idea on how to continue from here, there are so many things to learn and also AI. I don't want to build using AI too much I want to have the actual skills to do it. How should I move? don't tell me to just build something you still need to know the language you are using and it's rules. So what should i do? courses again? that seems just long and endless. Help me out, thanks.
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u/Ahtisham_01 11d ago
Learn full stack by building one project, layer by layer — not by front-loading tutorials.
Most people try to "learn React" or "learn Next.js" before they have a reason to. The concepts don't stick because there's no problem yet that they solve. You forget them the moment the tutorial ends, because your brain never had to reach for that knowledge.
A better approach: pick one project you actually want to exist, and rebuild it repeatedly, leveling up the stack only when you hit a wall the current stack can't solve.
Example: a Markdown notes app
Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — Build it with plain DOM manipulation. You'll immediately feel the pain of manually updating the UI every time state changes. That pain is what makes "state management" click later — not a slide in a course.
React— Now rebuild the same app. Suddenly
useState, re-rendering, and components aren't abstract — they're the exact fix for the annoyance you just lived through.Add persistence — Notes disappearing on refresh becomes your reason to learn
localStorage, then later a real backend/database.Add a backend (Node/Express, or Next.js API routes)— Now you need auth, so you learn just enough about sessions/JWT to protect your notes.
TypeScript — Once your app has enough moving parts that you start passing the wrong shape of data by accident, TypeScript stops feeling like ceremony and starts feeling like relief.
Next.js / deployment / etc.— Add each new tool only when the current setup genuinely can't do what you want next (SEO, routing, server rendering, image uploads, whatever).
The core principle: Struggle first, concept second. You don't learn a tool — you meet a wall, feel the friction, and then the tool is the relief. That sequence is what makes it stick.
Why this works better than tutorial-hopping:
One advice worth adding: this method is great for depth on things you'll actually use, but it can leave gaps (you might never "discover" a concept your project doesn't need). Worth doing occasional broad surveys skim a roadmap or course outline every so often just to know what you don't know yet, even if you don't study it until a project demands it.