I'm in that weird spot where the more I study programming, the more I realize I know next to nothing. I get pretty demotivated at times because it can be so overwhelming to study for hours, finally understand a topic... only to find out the next thing is even worse and there's literally thousands of things to learn, from languages themselves, to rules, best practices, paradigms and so on and so forth.

How do you guys deal with this? Do you even have the same problem?

When i was 18 I had a full-on crying breakdown as I realized i will never be able to read even 1% of all the books in the world.

Thats how this feels, too. Right after I figure out how to do something and I feel proud, i run into another problem I have no idea how to fix.

But thats kind of the thrill of it, i dont think ill ever get bored of it because theres always something new to learn!

@baeovvulf I love the thrill of finding out, of understanding. But what kills me is the feeling I don't know enough (and the industry always demands more and more)

jusr keep going on and learning, after about a month things start to click in and you will understand what you learn even better, sometimes even coming up with your own solutions without even studying about it and things will get easier.

The industry consists of a lot of someones. It will never be enough for someone, but keep learning, eventually it will be enough for someone else.

this is the paradox of knowledge. the more you learn, the more you realize you actually know very little. embrace it. accept the fact that you don't know everything but you can continue learning and learning is a very fun experience. this is better than being full of pride and claim that you are better than everybody else. cheer up! and good luck!

Wasn't it Aristotle who suggested that the more you learn, the more you realize that there is more to learn. Or something like that.

This is the reason for specialization. Find something you enjoy doing in programming then become an expert in the concepts. So, when new technologies come along, you just have to learn how to implement those concepts.

If you and you colleagues are all specialized in different thing. Then you can rely on them the help with your deficiencies. You can't be an expert in all things.

I completely understand what you mean. I don't think there's a real solution to fix this. But below is what the people in this community have thought me.

We have to accept what we know and what we don't. Be proud of what we know, and be honest of what we don't.

This is part of the learning process; fucking up is also part of the process.

We can't do everything, at least not for big projects. This is what teams are for.

Specialize, focus on a single area and cover your bases.

@ODXT you touched on a relevant point: I'm working on a rather big project for college and I'm basically doing it by myself, since my "team" doesn't seem to be interested in studying. They won't get good grades, but I don't get any help either. So lately it's like I have to learn everything in a very short time :/

@Kirk
When I was in college I usually gave small tasks to my teammates. I did most of the things and the hard stuff as well. This usually keeps peace in the group, and everyone does something.

Another approach is to set up meetings and have a notebook where you write down: Who went to the meeting, their time of arrival, tasks. If people aren't pulling their weight, write it down.

First talk with your team about this, be an adult. If that doesn't work then talk to your professor. Tell him/her that you spoke with the team and nothing changed, show your notes.

Sinking yourself helps no one.

[IF PRESENTATION]
If all else fails; divide the project into segments. Assign a task to each person. When presenting explain your part only. If they didn't do anything, well let them explain the blank slide in the PowerPoint.

I think the only actual solution is to frame it in a positive way when you think about it. I used to get demotivated the same way. But after I looked at it positively I realized it's not actually a bad thing.

If what I'm doing ever gets stale and boring there is always something new to learn and that's awesome!