This Beginner here 🙋🏻 NEEDS HELP! cuz I'm stuck in DILEMMA.. Want to study full stack online but all courses feel manipulative and sugar-coated(their marketing). Recently completed High School studies. Also need some assistance!

Posted by Harry_Eternity@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 24 comments

Hey everyone, 🙋🏻

I just finished high school, and I’m ready to dive into the deep end of tech, but I’ve hit a massive wall. I’ve been researching online full-stack courses, and frankly, I’m stuck in a dilemma.

Everything I find feels incredibly manipulative and sugar-coated. The marketing makes it sound like I'll be a senior dev in 12 weeks, but the curriculum usually lacks the "heavy" stuff I actually want to learn.

What I’m looking for: I don’t just want to learn how to center or build a basic React app. I’m looking for a path (or a single provider) that covers:

Core Full Stack: (Frontend/Backend/Databases)
DSA: I want a solid foundation in Data Structures and Algorithms from the jump.
AI/ML Integration: Not just "how to use an API," but actual integration and understanding.
Data Science: I want to understand the data layer and analytics deeply.
Credentials: Since I'm starting fresh out of high school, a respected degree or a meaningful certification is a huge plus.

Does a "one-stop shop" like this actually exist, or am I chasing a unicorn? 🦄

I’m tired of the "Get Rich Quick" bootcamp ads. I’m willing to put in the hard work; I just need a roadmap or a provider that is academically rigorous and covers the full spectrum of modern development.

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tomchant@reddit

Hey full disclosure, I work for Scrimba and I totally get that you don't need more marketing flannel in your life, but it could be what you're looking for so here's a quick rundown ☺️

Scrimba's platform combines the coding editor and video into one, so you can pause the lesson and instantly edit and run the code the teacher was working on at that moment. Hard to explain but really cool when you use it!

We have various pathways you can follow - the most relevant to you by the sounds of it would be the Full Stack Path and the AI Path. We also have dedicated Frontend and Backend paths, and a dedicated DSA course. The pathways all have lots of challenges and also Solo Projects for you to work on so it makes it hard to figure out how long it takes to complete a given path. But as an example, our Fullstack path is 108 hours of lessons and most people that do it throughly and actively take at least 6 months and probably longer.

On the credentials front, we provide certificates but I think it's only fair to warn you that when it comes to getting a job, certificates are not that important. Employers want proof of what you can do.

We do have some free course: Learn JS (9hrs), Learn HTML & CSS (5hrs), Learn React(15hrs) which you can do without a credit card.

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Old-Contribution7516@reddit

That loop happens to almost everyone. Tutorials feel good but don’t really move things forward. Building something messy helps more. Some people end up trying udacity at that point just to stay on track.

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

+1 agreed

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Humble_Warthog9711@reddit

Why are you shopping for bullshit credentials on sites you know are selling non rigorous courses?

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

I did get a CS branch, but the things they teach us here are way too old. I looked for paid courses on Udemy and Dev Clubs, but I don't need a certificate right now. I need real-world projects that lead to products and situations.

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Humble_Warthog9711@reddit

I would encourage you to play the hiring game first and the skills game second.

If you are at a decent university, your on campus placements will get determined by your gpa rather than things like this.

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

Thanks for your suggestion bro. It really means a lot. I'll consider your point

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Humble_Warthog9711@reddit

Uni placements are a legit cheat code bro. No one will ever get changes to be hired this easily again. All those people forced to make these projects to stand out - that's the impossible way to get hired

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Slottr@reddit

Where are you shopping for courses? Most sites like CBT Nuggets & Udemy have vetted instructors with good experience and a good curriculum.

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

Okay, I'll surely look into udemy courses. Thanks for your suggestion

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Humble_Warthog9711@reddit

I wouldn't suggest MOOCs. They are typically very watered down rigor wise

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Humble_Warthog9711@reddit

Paid courses that do not offer degrees have the common problem of wanting people to stay in the courses they sell to keep them paying. You don't do this by seriously challenging people - they'll drop the course.

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Feeling_Photograph_5@reddit

The Odin Project is a great resource and it's free. No sales pitches involved. Also, it covers coding adjacent topics like using the terminal and installing Linux.

Good luck!

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GrumpyOwl406@reddit

This! It is really good and it forces you te read a lot of documentation, also pages like roadmap for cs path could be good

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

Thnx Bro! It really means a lot! I'll definitely try this out

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ImprovementLoose9423@reddit

I would recommend watching freecodecamp and brocode on youtube. First watch brocode to understand the basics of the language you want to learn, and then use freecodecamp to delve deeper into your language.

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

Yep I learned Python and basic JS using these YT channels; they sure helped a lot.

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ImprovementLoose9423@reddit

Ok, so now build projects. They don't have to be fancy, they need to help you practice the fundamentals.

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0_-------_0@reddit

fullstackopen. com you won't be disappointed

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

will give this a shot too. because I'm more interested in what most people think now.

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polymorphicshade@reddit

Start with a CS degree.

Anything else in lieu of that will just keep you at the bottom of the of the resume pile.

If you're not looking for a degree, YouTube has everything you need to learn. The catch is you will need to put in the effort to practice and build things without being spoon-fed by some "online course".

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

Yep CSE degree is my top priority, but I need to catch up ASAP to discover more opportunities and skills.

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TightImagination5969@reddit

Congrats on finishing high school — and you’re not wrong to be skeptical. Most “12-week full-stack” ads oversell outcomes and undersell fundamentals.

First: the “one-stop shop” you want is rare

A single program that’s academically rigorous and covers full-stack + DSA + AI/ML + data science + respected credentials is usually a college degree (CS / Software Eng / Data Science). Bootcamps and course platforms typically specialize in job-ready dev skills, not the whole spectrum.

So you’re not chasing a unicorn… but you are combining multiple tracks that normally take 1–3+ years to build properly.

A realistic roadmap (you can actually follow) If you want depth, here’s a good sequence:

Programming fundamentals (6–10 weeks)
One language seriously (JavaScript or Python), plus problem-solving habits.
Core Full-Stack (4–8 months)
Frontend: HTML/CSS/JS → React
Backend: Node/Express (or Python/FastAPI)
Databases: SQL + basics of NoSQL
Auth, APIs, testing, deployment, Git/GitHub
DSA + CS fundamentals (ongoing, 4–8 months alongside full-stack)
Arrays/strings, hashing, stacks/queues, trees, graphs, recursion, DP
Big-O, basic system design thinking
This is what makes you “strong,” not just “framework-familiar.”
Data layer + analytics (2–4 months)
SQL deeper, analytics, data modeling
Python for data work, notebooks, stats basics
AI/ML (3–6 months, after you’re comfortable coding)
Not just calling APIs: learn training basics, evaluation, embeddings, vector DBs, RAG, deployment constraints
Then integrate into a real full-stack app.

Where Scrimba fits (honest take)

Scrimba is actually good for full-stack learning because it’s interactive and keeps you building. If your goal is to get strong at building projects and not just watching videos, that’s a big advantage.

But Scrimba alone won’t give you a fully “credentialed” path like a degree, and you’ll likely still want a separate structured DSA track + a more focused ML/data science track afterward.

If you want, Scrimba has a Full Stack Developer Career Path that can be your core “build real stuff” spine, and you can run DSA in parallel.

Transparency: I’m enrolled on Scrimba too, and I’m a Scrimbassador (affiliate). If you use my link I may earn a commission, and you’d get an extra discount. Totally optional — you can also just check Scrimba normally.

https://scrimba.com/?via=u422509e

If you want credentials

If credentials matter a lot (and you’re just out of high school), consider: - A CS/Software Eng/Data Science degree (best “credential signal”), or
- A structured online degree/credential path plus project-heavy learning like Scrimba.

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Harry_Eternity@reddit (OP)

That roadmap is a lifesaver, especially since I'm trying to move past just "framework-familiarity" and actually get into the heavy-duty stuff like DSA and system design. I love the idea of building real projects while I prep for my next steps, so I'm definitely going to use your link and dive into Scrimba. Thanks for keeping it real—it’s exactly the kind of structured "build-heavy" path I've been looking for! 💙Thnx for suggestions. I'll keep them in mind.