Do we have coding enthusiasts here?

I like the idea of technical creativity that all programming languages offer. I think that is a wonderful investment of time that can result in free-lance work.

I bought myself a javascript book, and while it is very wordy, I haven't regretted it, it is so good for logical thinking. I feel empowered that I can produce something and be trusted with it.

 

I have a CS degree, and I still sometimes get to pretend I'm a software engineer in my day job when there's less admin work to do. Unless you have something published in the past 12 months, if you're self learning JavaScript my advice is to ditch the books and use online tutorials and actual hands-on practical exercises building things. JS moves so quickly, and the ecosystem is so diverse it's really hard for a textbook to offer any meaningful insights worth the time investment - nor is JS complex enough to require a textbook to teach you the more technical aspects of the language.

If you're looking for direction, a great learning resource is the challenges on frontend mentor. There's a lot of tutorials online for free for the beginner projects so don't feel any pressure to pay for the pro version. Something like "How to make a to-do list in React" should come up with dozens of online solutions to help you if you're stuck. It's also a great way to practice your design chops, which a textbook won't give you.

Finally, once you feel comfortable with your skills and are ready to build a portfolio to start marketing yourself for freelance work, take a look at some public apis and just build something. Anything at all that seems interesting to you. Want to build a webapp where kids can type in their Nintendo Amiibo toy and find out all the details about it? There's an API for that. Want to build a mobile app where people can train for quiz shows every morning, but need access to hundreds of thousands of questions? There's an API for that. Browse through some APIs and see if a really interesting idea jumps out at you.

If you actually enjoy what you're programming as a hobby project that will translate really well into a portfolio for freelance gigs. And coding interviews for major tech firms too, if you ever decide to settle down and take something more stable. I built a "Marathon Lectionary" app when I was still at University, that follows a sort of Christian season type lectionary model for daily exercises and training regimes to prepare you to run an upcoming marathon. It turned out great because I actually wanted to use the app I built. Much better than a lame startup I helped build with some friends to gamify public transport (like fitbit, with points and badges and social media challenges to your friends, but for riding buses and trains), that none of us were actually passionate about.

If you're completely new to programming and haven't even started yet, feel free to message me if you have questions on where to begin your learning journey. Best of luck!