[simonw]

Don't underestimate how much what you can learn building small apps will scale up to bigger ones.

The great thing about smaller projects is that you can take risks with them.

Build something small that uses a message queue. Then do a project that integrates with some web APIs. Then try building something that implements GraphQL. Then try integrating full text search.

When you get the chance to work on something bigger I guarantee you'll find this experience incredibly valuable. Larger systems tend to look a lot like smaller systems, but messier and more complicated because more people have been involved in helping grow them as their requirements have changed over time.