Post #21 How do you get out of tutorial hell? -> Get some help!

Pybites

It's been several months since the last update and I had been busy! (I also had a problem with Pelican, which seemed to have resolved itself) I have been building a coding project with the help of Bob Belderbos from Pybites and enrolled in their coaching program, the Python Developer's Mindset program.

I've mentioned the Pybites podcast before in #17 Persistence. Pybites was started by Bob Belderbos and Julian Sequeira as a python blog and now has become something more. They offer bite-size python exercises similar to leetcode with pythonic answers and explanations, several python courses, a podcast, and a coaching program.

My introduction to Pybites

I think my first contact with Pybites was with a Humble Bundle 'Learn Python' software bundle that I bought in the summer of 2020.

Humble Bundle is a PC game selling website where they donate proceeds to various charities, but they also sold e-book and software bundles related to coding.

That particular bundle included Pybites "newbie bytes." It gave limited access to their leetcode style python coding exercise website. For full access to their website required a monthly subscription and I wasn't interested in it at the time.

The Podcast

Fast forward to sometime around spring of 2021, I noticed Pybites had started a podcast. I would listen to it from time to time and really liked their content and dynamic. Julian comes on as the enthusiastic one, while Bob was more monotone in speech and style (They remind me of Adam Savage and Jaime Hyneman from Mythbusters). Both are incredibly passionate about python coding and helping others achieve their goal.

The difference between the Pybites podcast with other Python podcasts is the focus on the "Developer's Mindset" instead of the technical aspects of python. I did not know how vital mindset was until more recently.

Joining PDM

Bob and Julian's podcast constantly promoted their mentoring/coaching program, the Python Developer's Mindset Program (PDM program). I initially waved it off and thought I could learn to program adequately by myself, but I was wrong. I had gotten to the point of tutorial hell where I have tried many tutorials, but had zero projects in my github repository to show for it. I had no idea what my problem was and I needed help.

Doing things by yourself, you tend to forget you can get help from other people. The PDM program is a not a coding bootcamp where you sit in a class and everyone builds the same project. You make your own goal and build your own project with the help of a coach. If you go to their website, which I linked above, you'll find what they offer in the program.

The main components of the program are two group zoom call clinics a week and one-on-one code reviews. The group zoom calls have one on mindset and the other focused on coding. Topics of those calls vary and you have a input on what is discussed by submitting questions/suggestions via Google form. You can also access past group calls on their platform and pick and choose which one catches your attention.

The one-on-one code reviews were incredibly helpful. I think this is what pair-programming looks like in the workplace (or I might be wrong). Having a person who knows more than you and go over some of the code you wrote to improve upon has been quite different than going over your own code and thinking, "Is this the best way?" This has definitely saved me a lot of time and gave me pointers about how to resolve errors through debugging and how to search for the solutions of those errors. Working with github pull requests was a first for me.

Mindset

One very large thing I overlooked has been mindset. I've listened to a lot of Pybites podcast concerning mindset, but I hadn't delibrately practiced good mindset behaviors.

A big oversight I had was on goal-setting. I realized I went through life without many clear goals. I was a go-with-the-flow kind of person, so I just went with the cards that life dealt me. It doesn't have to be that way.

Julian mentioned in a video concerning goal-setting, "If you don't plan out your goals, you could be pushed down a path you didn't want to go down. It's extremely poor form to have that happen to you because it shows you're not thinking about your future." Those words really made me think about the choices I've made and I decided to put more effort in making realistic goals.

One of those goals is to write more blogposts! Doesn't matter if no one reads them. I want to be able to explain things well through my writing and that just takes practice.

In the next couple of blogposts, I want to focus on the project I made in the program and the problems I faced. I'll start off with the FastAPI and SQLModel.