Is JavaScript Hard to Learn? 12 Tips for Mastering the Language

Javascript is an extremely popular programming language, and for good reason — it’s the only scripting language that all browsers support. Master JavaScript and you’re well on your way to becoming a professional web developer. Many people wonder if JavaScript is hard to learn, and it can be, but millions of people have done it. Here is some advice for tackling the learning process.

1. Know Your Purpose

Why do you want to learn JavaScript? Do you want to become a programmer, learn a new skill just for fun, or develop your own app? Knowing your “why” will help you stay motivated when the learning process is difficult or boring. Revisit your purpose to give you a boost when you feel stuck.

2. Create Structured Learning Time

You’ll master JavaScript much faster if you make learning part of your schedule. Commit to several hours of study every week, and don’t make any plans that conflict with your learning schedule.

It’s also ideal to schedule your learning to happen at the optimal time. Whether due to biological factors or your work routine, everyone has times of the day — and even days of the week — that work best for studying. Try to identify these golden hours when creating your study schedule. 

3. Set Goals

Goals help you measure your progress. They let you see exactly how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go. Plus, they serve as a great motivator to study even when you’d really rather be binge-watching your favorite show. Set SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives — to help you stay on track as you learn JavaScript. 

4. Study in Peace

You’ll learn best if you aren’t interrupted. Find a quiet room in which to study, turn off your phone, and don a pair of noise-canceling headphones. Tell your roommates and family that you’re studying and need some time to yourself. If your household is very noisy, consider going to a local library, cafe, or even park to study. Studying in different places also helps keep the process interesting. 

5. Use Your Preferred Resources

Learning JavaScript will be much more enjoyable if you use the learning materials you like best. Love the weight of a book in your hands? Buy a book about learning JavaScript so you can read it on actual paper. Take online classes if you want structured lessons that can walk you through the learning process. 

Whichever media you choose to learn from, focus on one at a time before moving on to the next. Doing so will help you stay focused and better absorb the information. 

6. Choose Progressively Harder Learning Material

Think about how you learned your native language. You started by listening to other people talk, practiced by babbling, and eventually spoke simple phrases. It was years before anyone expected you to say or write anything cohesive. 

Of course, you’re much smarter now than you were as a baby, so you can handle tougher challenges. However, you should follow a similar process to the one you used to learn your native tongue — start small, do a lot of listening and watching other people first, and forgive yourself for making mistakes. 

Start learning JavaScript with the equivalent of the picture books you read as a child. You’ll move on to Shakespeare in due time. 

7. Practice Writing Code

Once you’ve learned the fundamentals, the best way to learn to code is to start doing it. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and get a job as a programmer — not yet, anyway. Just start building projects for the sake of learning.

At first, you may need to use tutorials to guide you. Eventually, however, you should take the training wheels off and start writing code on your own. It’s a great way to see how much of the learning material you remember and which sections you might need to revisit.

Start by building easy projects like a quote generator or rock, paper, scissors app. Then, move on to intermediate projects like building a local weather app or calculator. Finally, move on to something difficult and full-stack — something that has a front end, back end, and database — like a real-time messaging app.

Completing progressively harder projects is a great thing to put on your resume someday. It shows you have a solid track record of learning new skills! And, of course, working on your own JavaScript projects will make you much more adept at the programming language, giving you the necessary tools to become a full-fledged developer.

8. Solve Programming Challenges

Programming drills are a great tool for learning JavaScript. 

For example, edabit.com offers programming obstacles that let you hone particular skills related to coding. It lets you select a programming language you want to work on, choose a skill level ranging from very easy to expert, and then pick a specific skill you want to hone. It’s a great way to focus on and improve any areas you’re struggling with.

9. Join Online Communities

Online communities are a great way to meet other programmers. When JavaScript feels hard to learn, reach out to your online group to ask questions, get advice, or simply commiserate. Other people can certainly relate to the struggle. They can also motivate you to keep learning despite the challenges.

10. Find a Mentor

If you’re lucky enough to know someone who regularly writes in JavaScript, ask if they’d be willing to mentor you. Reading books and following online tutorials is a great start, but it can also be lonely to learn all by yourself. Having a dedicated teacher to guide you through the learning process can make mastering JavaScript much easier. 

Look for a mentor online or in person. Meet up regularly to discuss your progress and ask questions about anything you’re stuck on.

11. Expect Learning Plateaus

Learning isn’t a linear process. You’ll likely experience periods of rapid progress followed by long stretches where you feel like you’re moving very slowly or even stuck. While learning JavaScript, that might look like hours of staring at the computer screen and wondering what to do next.

Learning from a book or online course lets you see very obvious progress in the form of page numbers or quiz scores. If that’s all you’ve been doing up to this point and you’ve just started coding on your own, it can feel very frustrating. 

However, these moments — although they may seem unproductive — are a crucial part of the learning experience. Your brain is formulating new connections and working through problems. Let go of the idea that you need to see constant progress and just try to enjoy the process.

12. Celebrate Your Milestones

When you do finish a book or design your first app, reward yourself! You put in a lot of effort to get there. Go out to eat, listen to your favorite playlist, or even take a day off from studying. Celebrating your achievements will motivate you to continue the learning process.

Is JavaScript Hard to Learn? Maybe.

But it’s definitely worth it. Whether you breeze through the learning process without a hitch or take months to master the basics, the end result is the same — you learned JavaScript, one of the world’s most useful programming languages. It’s a worthy accomplishment that shows you have the patience, persistence, and problem-solving skills to become a developer. 

Don’t worry too much about whether JavaScript is hard to learn. Instead, ask yourself if you’re up for the challenge.