u/Far_One_1493

Hey everyone,

I figured I’d throw this out there and see if anyone might be interested.

I’m an incoming freshman at University of California, Berkeley, and this summer I’ve started doing web development work to help pay for college and get some more experience working with real clients.

I’ve been coding for over 10 years, and I code all of my websites from scratch rather than using templates. I enjoy creating sites that actually fit the business instead of looking like every other website online.

One thing I offer is a completely free demo website before you decide whether you want to move forward. It gives you a chance to see my work and get an idea of what your site could look like without any commitment.

I’m already working with a couple of local clients and would love to take on a few more projects. Whether you need a brand new website, want to modernize an old one, or just want to see what’s possible, feel free to reach out.

Even if you’re not interested, I’d appreciate it if you pointed me toward anyone who might be.

Thanks!

Hello everyone! I recently got my first client for a small web development side hustle I started on my own. It’s not a registered business or anything official, and I don’t have another job. I just turned 18 and will be starting college soon.
So far, the client paid me $200 upfront for building their website, and they now pay me $110 per month for ongoing services (only about half of that is actually profit after my expenses).
I’m still claimed as a dependent by my parents, so my dad handles our family’s taxes. Do I need to report this income, and is it something I should tell him about? Will I need to file my own tax return, or does it get handled another way?
I’m just trying to make sure I do everything correctly since this is my first time earning money from freelancing.

I’m an incoming EECS freshman at UC Berkeley this fall, and honestly I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.
This summer I’ve been taking Calc 3 to get ahead, doing LeetCode, and working on coding projects. From the outside it probably looks like I’m being productive, but I feel like I’m not actually learning anything.
With LeetCode, I almost always have to look at the solution. Even after I understand the algorithm and why it works, if I come back to the same problem a few days or a week later, it feels like I’ve forgotten everything and I’m back to square one. I understand the concepts to some degree, but when it comes to actually applying them on my own, I just can’t seem to figure out the logical steps. How are people supposed to just know what approach to take? It feels so open-ended.
The same thing happens with projects. If I have an idea, I can’t just sit down and build it. I constantly have to Google things, read documentation, or ask AI for help. I try not to have AI write my code—I mostly use it to explain things or point me in the right direction—but I still feel dependent on external resources.
How do people get to the point where they can build even relatively simple projects without constantly looking things up? And how do you become someone who can solve LeetCode problems independently instead of relying on solutions?
I’m honestly scared that this means I’m not cut out for software engineering or that I won’t be able to get a job in the future. Does everyone feel like this at the beginning, or am I already behind?

I’m an incoming EECS freshman at UC Berkeley this fall, and honestly I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.
This summer I’ve been taking Calc 3 to get ahead, doing LeetCode, and working on coding projects. From the outside it probably looks like I’m being productive, but I feel like I’m not actually learning anything.
With LeetCode, I almost always have to look at the solution. Even after I understand the algorithm and why it works, if I come back to the same problem a few days or a week later, it feels like I’ve forgotten everything and I’m back to square one. I understand the concepts to some degree, but when it comes to actually applying them on my own, I just can’t seem to figure out the logical steps. How are people supposed to just know what approach to take? It feels so open-ended.
The same thing happens with projects. If I have an idea, I can’t just sit down and build it. I constantly have to Google things, read documentation, or ask AI for help. I try not to have AI write my code—I mostly use it to explain things or point me in the right direction—but I still feel dependent on external resources.
How do people get to the point where they can build even relatively simple projects without constantly looking things up? And how do you become someone who can solve LeetCode problems independently instead of relying on solutions?
I’m honestly scared that this means I’m not cut out for software engineering or that I won’t be able to get a job in the future. Does everyone feel like this at the beginning, or am I already behind?

I’m an incoming EECS freshman at UC Berkeley this fall, and honestly I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.
This summer I’ve been taking Calc 3 to get ahead, doing LeetCode, and working on coding projects. From the outside it probably looks like I’m being productive, but I feel like I’m not actually learning anything.
With LeetCode, I almost always have to look at the solution. Even after I understand the algorithm and why it works, if I come back to the same problem a few days or a week later, it feels like I’ve forgotten everything and I’m back to square one. I understand the concepts to some degree, but when it comes to actually applying them on my own, I just can’t seem to figure out the logical steps. How are people supposed to just know what approach to take? It feels so open-ended.
The same thing happens with projects. If I have an idea, I can’t just sit down and build it. I constantly have to Google things, read documentation, or ask AI for help. I try not to have AI write my code—I mostly use it to explain things or point me in the right direction—but I still feel dependent on external resources.
How do people get to the point where they can build even relatively simple projects without constantly looking things up? And how do you become someone who can solve LeetCode problems independently instead of relying on solutions?
I’m honestly scared that this means I’m not cut out for software engineering or that I won’t be able to get a job in the future. Does everyone feel like this at the beginning, or am I already behind?