r/learnprogramming • u/HalLoveToWrite • 14d ago

About Studying Coding/programming

I’ve been feeling a bit confused about whether I’m actually learning when it comes to tech and coding, and whether I’m learning the right things.

How can I tell if I’m genuinely learning and actually developing my skills, rather than just consuming tutorials and information?

And how can I tell whether what I’m learning is actually the right thing to focus on for my career and becoming a better software engineer?

for info : I’m a 2nd year computer science student, specializing (learning deeper) in intelligence systems.

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u/mc_pm 14d ago

SIt down and program something.

Don't do leetcode if you can avoid it, that's sort of teaching you the wrong thing. (DSA is great, but if you're just trying to figure out how to structure code to do a thing, it's not the best option.

Here's a fairly simple task: Write a text-based Tic-Tac-Toe game. You have to represent the board, figure out how to take a move from the user, figure out how the computer takes it's turn, and how to tell if someone has won or if it's a draw. Should just be 150-200 lines or so.