My name is Joey Pedicini. I began my journey in 2010 after graduating high school, which was over 13 years ago as of writing this. My objective is to assist you on your own journey. I want to help you avoid the mistakes I made, prepare you for the obstacles you may encounter, encourage you to believe in yourself, provide clear direction for your path, and support you in reaching your fullest potential.
I enrolled at The Ohio State University to pursue a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer and Information Science. When I applied to university, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do in my career. I knew that I enjoyed working with computers and had a natural talent for it, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I was unsure if college was the right path for me, as it was simply what many of my peers were doing and what my parents and teachers encouraged me to pursue. However, I have no regrets about my decision and I mention this to provide some context for the choices I made on my journey.
During the first two years, there were multiple occasions where I seriously contemplated changing my major. I found it challenging to grasp the concepts, particularly when comparing myself to classmates who appeared to have years of coding experience. Recursion, in particular, was a source of great confusion for me. I barely managed to navigate through assembly language, finite state machines, and operating systems.
I didn’t give up, and I’m grateful I didn’t, because once I got introduced to web development, and specifically frontend development, my outlook on my career changed and I found my footing. This is why I truly believe, no matter what you are trying to learn or what career you are trying to get into, you have unique skills and interests, it’s a matter of finding a role where you can let those aspects shine brightest.
In this book, I aim to provide my own perspective and guidance that can be applied to learning any new skill and entering any new career. In my opinion, the foundations of learning remain consistent regardless of the specific skill or career you are pursuing. While I will delve into the specifics of frontend web development later in the book, there will still be plenty of tips and learning guides that can be useful for a wider range of studies. Additionally, you may find value in following the guide to building your own personal project or gaining a better understanding of what frontend web developers do.
My goal is to provide as much vital information in as few words as possible. If you are anything like me, you have a hard time focusing on reading when there are too many words, or you can’t even get yourself to start because of the wall of text in front of you. I hope to avoid that.
Learning software development is hard. There's no definitive right or wrong way to learn, but I firmly believe that anyone can learn if they're properly motivated. For some, this motivation stems from the thrill of creation—starting with an idea in their head, transforming it into physical reality, and then sharing that with the world. That's my preferred learning method, and that's how I assist my mentees.