How I learned React

About me

I am a senior frontend developer and software engineer at Prodevs. I have been a freelancer for over 6 years but I started working full-time a little over 2 years ago.
I started by converting UI designs to frontend code using HTML, CSS, and bootstrap ,until i decided to take it up a notch by learning other languages and frameworks. At this point I am good with different tools and languages/frameworks such as Javascript, React, Vue, Redux, Node js, Express Js, Mongo DB, Firebase, and so much more

Why I wanted to learn React

React was the first library I learned to use after i became good using Javascript. I decided to learn React because i could see what looked like HTML code in there - it was not HTML though it was JSX. i loved it because I felt I could catch up with it since i was already very good at using HTML and CSS.
I also learned that most Jobs required every frontend developer to know how to use at least one library/framework. This propelled me to learn React

How I approached learning React

When I decided to start learning React, I as usual went to youtube and I saw a video on React. I watched for about 3 hours and I figured i wasn't understanding most of the things i saw, so I decided to read an article titled 'What I should know before learning React'.

The article took me back to Javascript to master a lot of features and concepts in Javascript. I also understood how classes, higher order functions, and promises and others worked. I hurriedly got a Udemy course which broke down the concepts of React, so i was able to understand how everything works in React from understanding JSX, to state and lifecycles, to forms, and so much more up until the introduction of React hooks. I dedicated time to learning and building with what I learned, and if at any point felt tired, i'd rest my head for about a day or two

Challenges I faced

The first challenge i had was understanding the pool of articles out there, most of them assumed I already knew how to use React, some of them didn't really break down the articles for beginners to understand. It was also the first library I learned how to use, so it was a bit difficult to understand how libraries work generally.

Key takeaways

React is a library. I got to understand that when building large scale projects, you will definitely need to use other libraries or packages such as Redux. The most enjoyable thing about learning React was that I got to use tools I never thought I'd use, such as cloudinary, firebase etc. I could easily build a JAMStack application without necessarily having a database, It was a good feeling knowing that.

Tips and advice

My advice to everyone learning React or any other framework is to open your minds. Don't be scared of learning. If you get stuck at some point , ask questions or just rest and clear your head. You will be able to fix the bug once you're relaxed. Whatever happens, don't stop learning!

Final thoughts and next steps

I have at this point learned a lot about different libraries and frameworks, my goal is to learn more about new technologies that will help me become more enlightened as a fullstack developer.