The insane amount of frameworks and packages in web development is freaking me out with deciding to jump in or not.

I believe you picked up on the meaning of OP's comment but just to reiterate everything.

Learn the basics first. Just learn. I know C, Python, PHP, Javascript, CSS, a few databases and all the other languages / frameworks and build utilities that come along with that. And, I would say with the exception of PHP I've only touched the surface of most of those despite being able to actively contribute in a conversation with a Computer Science major or someone with 10 years experience.

The point is just learn. You're new. Don't get caught up in the fancy hype of any framework. Just learn. Pick a problem then execute it. Once you start getting familiar with something (say CSS) see how fast you can spin up a static site with Bootstrap. But make sure every step you take you think about and learn about what's going on behind the scenes.

Any competent programmer will pick up a new language and start making references to what they already know. That part is your foundation. The bigger your foundation the easier the learning curve. Build the foundation, lay your stone mess with sand later.

I spent months spinning up Digital Ocean droplets, configuring, securing them, adding different build utilities deploying different sites to just tear them down at the end of the day. I write stupid calculators in C just to mess with a lower level language. Don't pigeonhole yourself. Just learn. Even if you don't use it professionally it'll never hurt to learn.

/ slightly beer induced stream of consciousness

/r/learnprogramming Thread Parent