u/DinoTerbang

I'm 18 years old (M), recently graduated from high school and have just started my first semester of a bachelor's degree in Information Systems.

I'm not from a wealthy family, but thankfully, I'm still able to afford college. However, I want to be realistic about my situation. I'm studying at a university that isn't particularly known (and I would say that it's not really that good), and I also live in a country where the tech industry and career opportunities are still quite limited.

Compared to countries like the US or other major tech hubs, the opportunities in my country are much smaller. Even within my own country, the opportunities in my city are very limited. There aren't many tech companies, and theres almost no tech related jobs that I can apply or look forward to in the future.

To be honest, sometimes I feel like if I stay in this city and in this country, my opportunities might not go very far. I worry that no matter how hard I try, I could end up staying in the same place because there simply aren't enough opportunities here to grow in the direction I want.

I don't want to be overly pessimistic, but I also want to be realistic about the situation I'm in. I don't want to assume that things will magically improve just because I have a degree. If I want a bigger career in tech, I feel like I may eventually need to look beyond my city and possibly even beyond my country.

I chose Information Systems because I genuinely want to build a career in tech. My university classes are held in the evening, so ideally, I'd like to work during the day. Currently, I havent found a job yet.

I've applied to several positions, but most of the available jobs are unrelated to tech and aren't really aligned with the career I want to build long-term.

For now, I've been using my free time to learn programming and full-stack development. I'm still at the beginner stage, but I'm trying to improve my skills consistently and build projects whenever I have the time.

At the moment, my plan is fairly simple: attend university in the evening, try to find some kind of job during the day, and continue learning programming and other technical skills in my spare time.

But I'm wondering if this is actually the best approach.

I understand that coming from a relatively unknown university and living in a country with limited opportunities means I probably have a harder path ahead of me. I also realize that simply having a degree probably won't be enough. I may eventually have to compete for opportunities internationally rather than relying only on the job market in my own city or country.

At the same time, I'm still only 18. I know I have a lot of time ahead of me, and I don't want to feel like my current situation defines my future. I have a long way to go, and I'm still very young.

Thanks!

I'm currently learning full-stack development and I'm about to start learning backend. Right now, I only use AI manually, mostly copy-pasting my code into ChatGPT to help me understand or fix things.

I'm really interested in AI agents, but I don't want to rush into them before I have a decent foundation. I'm also a little worried about falling behind.

So my question is, how do I know when I'm ready to start using AI agents to make my development process easier? I have a feeling they'll be really useful once I have a solid foundation. And when I am ready, where should I actually start?

For context, this is currently just a hobby for me. I only code in my free time, but if I eventually become good enough, I'd like to take it more seriously. So I'd also appreciate any advice on what I should focus on for now and what I can leave for later.

I’m currently learning full-stack development and using React with Tailwind. I understand a little bit of TypeScript, but I’ve never actually built a real project with it.

I don’t know what project I should build because I can’t seem to find any project-based tutorials using React with TypeScript.

The more I search, the more things I find, like Next.js (which I’ve heard can also be used for the backend), Express.js, databases, etc. I also don’t know when I’m supposed to be ready to start learning backend.

At this point, I’m pretty confused about what I should actually focus on. Should I stick with React + TypeScript and build projects first, or start learning Next.js/backend?

I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations you can give, especially YouTube tutorials (I prefer project-based ones). Any advice on what I should learn next would be really helpful.

I recently started coding again after about 3 years.

Back then, I learned coding with a friend and used my friend's GitHub account.

Now I've created my own personal GitHub account and a new repository. When I pushed my code, I noticed that the first commit was still associated with my friend's old account (The repository post said that its my friend's account making commit, and also he is the contributor, there is no me)

I realized this was because my Git configuration was still using the old account's identity, so I used

git config user.name

git config user.email

to my own email and name.

Github also told me to log in and authorize my account all over again.

Does this mean I'm now completely separated from the old account, and am I safe? Could that first commit cause my new account to be flagged because it was associated with my friend's account?

I'm honestly a bit confused about how Git and GitHub handle this, so any answer or explanation would really help me understand whether I'm in the clear now.

Thanks!

I’m currently learning full-stack development, I mostly just use ChatGPT when I’m stuck or need help with something.

I’m curious how you guys actually use AI while building, especially things like Cursor, AI agents, coding assistants, etc. I don’t really understand how these tools work, what they actually do, or how they’re different from just asking from ai chat directly.

Could anyone tell me how do I make good use of AI and maybe recommend some great free tools???

I'm currently learning and improving my full-stack development skills (React, Tailwind, and eventually more technologies).

I'm wondering how you guys usually manage your projects while learning.

Should I put every project I make on GitHub, even small/simple ones (like calculator, weather tracker, todo list, etc)? Or is it better to only upload projects that are actually worth showing?

And for projects that I don't think are good enough yet, would you recommend making the repository private, or just putting everything public anyway?

I'm mainly thinking about this from a learning/portfolio perspective. I don't want to end up with a GitHub full of random tiny projects, but at the same time, I feel like keeping everything could be useful to see my progress later.

What do you guys recommend?

I’m planning to get back into full-stack web development and would appreciate some advice on choosing the right tech stack.

Around three years ago, I learned the basics of JavaScript, React, and Tailwind CSS. However, since I haven’t used them consistently, and didn't use them for a long time. I’ve forgotten most of what I learned. This time, I want to start from the fundamentals again and build a much stronger understanding of JavaScript before moving on to frameworks and other technologies.

My initial plan is to learn JavaScript properly first, then move on to React and Tailwind CSS for the frontend, and Node.js (with Expressjs) for the backend.

For someone starting or restarting full-stack development, is this still a solid and relevant stack to invest time in? Or would you recommend a different approach or technology stack?

I’m particularly interested in a stack that is relevant to the current market, and widely used in real-world applications, and has good long-term prospects.

Hey everyone,

I'm currently struggling to get my second client, and honestly, it's been pretty discouraging.

I got my first client within around 3 days, which gave me a lot of confidence. However, that contract is currently paused, so I'm back to finding new opportunities and trying to generate income again.

The confusing part is that I'm pretty confident in my portfolio and the quality of my work. I don't feel like the problem is my ability to deliver, it's just that my proposals barely get viewed in the first place.

What makes it more frustrating is that since the contract is only paused, I didn't get any rating or Job Success Score from that client yet. The client didn't end the contract because of a bad experience, they just paused the work, but it also means I don't have a completed project or review to help build credibility for my profile.

I recently upgraded to Plus (with the 50% discount, of course), hoping it would improve my chances, but I'm still struggling to get attention from potential clients.

After getting my first client so quickly, I think I underestimated how difficult it would be to consistently land projects. Right now, my motivation is pretty low.

Would really appreciate any advice or experiences from people who have been in the same situation :)

Hi everyone! I have a question..

Can I use my Upwork earnings to purchase Connects/Freelancer Plus, or do I have to use my payment method?

Right now, my payment method is connected to my PayPal account, and I don't want my PayPal account to be charged.

I'd prefer to use the money I've already earned on Upwork to buy Connects/Try Freelancer Plus instead.

Has anyone done this before? Thanks in advance!