[eswat]

> I am trying with some tutorials, and books, but not sure how successful I am being.

What tutorials and books? First off I totally get you. For several years after graduating I felt a hole in the pyramid of knowledge I felt university should have provided me. Our program leaned heavily on how to use Java and Microsoft technologies to fix problems big companies had. There was little room to stretch our foundation and dive deeper into algorithms or understanding programming without a language or framework attached to the material.

I’ve been fixing this by reading books and doing simple projects to fill in that base layer of knowledge in that pyramid. These don’t really dive into frameworks or even languages, but the basic building blocks of what we do.

Being effective with languages like Java or frameworks like the Android SDK is nice. But I know for myself and many people that feel a tinge of imposter syndrome that it’s due to lacking foundational knowledge. We either rushed through this period or skipped it entirely. But it’s this through this period where we develop on confidence with our craft.

There’s plenty of Ask HN threads on what to read to develop a good baseline of programming knowledge (SICP, Code Complete 2 and Pragmatic Programmer will be mentioned a lot). What I think is important is also to have a clear goal or reason for wanting to read a tutorial or book and only follow through on material that actually helps you accomplish your goals. Assume most tutorials and books are fluff that will not actually move the needle for you.