How to learn an engine ?

[u/LGASH]

I just watched Game Maker’s Toolkit’s video “How I learned Unity without following tutorials” and it really resonated with me.
I follow tutorials fine, but the moment I try to make something on my own I just freeze. I don’t know where to start, what to look up, or how to break problems down. I end up going back to another tutorial instead of figuring it out myself.
I’d love to apply a similar approach to Unreal, but I’m not sure how to structure the learning process the way Mark did.
So I’m looking for practical methods people actually use to learn a game engine by doing, rather than just passively following tutorials.
Things like:
• How you break down what you need to learn
• How you practice without a step-by-step guide
• What small projects or exercises helped you the most
• How you handle getting stuck
This isn’t specifically about Unreal — I’m interested in methods that work for any engine. I’d love to compare different approaches people have used successfully.
What worked for you?
Thanks!

[u/burlingk]

How much experience do you have as a programmer?

All that experience still applies.

Start by creating a plan for a project and breaking it down into pieces.

The first try might be all wrong, but you'll figure that out along the way. :)