Blog Series: The Odin Project – Learning Log #1
From Bootcamp to Open-Source: Why I’m Finally Starting TOP
Well, folks. Here we are. I'm finally getting started with The Odin Project.
Now before you ask—yes, I attended a coding bootcamp. No regrets. But if I had known about The Odin Project (TOP) beforehand? I probably would've chosen it first. Or maybe not.
See, the old me loved diving in headfirst. I thought the structure of a bootcamp, and the way it’s hyped online, was the golden ticket. I figured it would boost my job prospects and prove something to myself. That I had grit. Tenacity. Hustle.
But I was wrong.
Switching into tech after years of doing something completely different gave me anxiety attacks on the regular. I actually signed up once, backed out, got a refund (minus the two weeks I was in), then re-enrolled and started again.
If there’s one thing bootcamp taught me, it’s time management. I had to learn how to balance working during the day and coding at night. But the burnout? It was real. I did graduate, though. I learned how to read code. And enrolling in a CS degree later helped me understand both the fundamentals of scripting and how the web works under the hood.
Still, it wasn’t enough. The constant flow of information felt overwhelming.
So now, I’m here. Starting fresh. I’ve always wanted to give Odin a go. What makes it stand out—aside from being completely free compared to the $10K+ I spent—is how it teaches you to build your own projects from scratch.
If you're considering a coding bootcamp, think twice. I'm not saying don’t do it, but make sure you research thoroughly. Sometimes, the free stuff is just as solid—if not better—than the paid programs.
I did discover TOP late, but I’m not complaining. Bootcamp still gave me two things:
- A head start with the tech stack before my CS coursework
- A solid mentor who’s seriously good at what he does
Here’s why I’m excited to dive into The Odin Project:
- It’s open-source. Developers around the world contribute to it.
- It’s project-based, so I’ll actually be building everything from scratch.
- I’ll learn how to become a full-stack developer, front-end and back-end.
- I’ll get a better grasp of how the internet and my computer work.
- I’ll set up my dev environment, and finally get confident using Git and GitHub.
- I’ll start with the fundamentals—HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—before moving to the server side.
The goal isn’t to memorize everything. That’s impossible. The goal is to practice until I figure out what clicks and what doesn’t. I’ll pay attention to what stuck while building and what concepts I struggled with. Then I’ll review what needs work.
The Odin Project is designed to change how I think, not just how I code. It’s not another tutorial to passively watch. It forces me to slow down, solve problems, ask better questions, and do the research—using actual documentation, not just blog posts.
That last part takes time to appreciate. When you’re new, reading documentation feels like deciphering a foreign language. But eventually, it starts to make sense. You just have to stick with it.
One big rule with TOP? Don’t skip stuff. Every lesson builds on the last. Think of it like math—you can’t do Calculus if you skipped Pre-Algebra.
So here we go. Entry #1. I’ll lean on Google, the Odin community, and take that snowball approach—keep rolling forward and let the momentum build. Not just learning syntax, but learning how to think like a developer.