Example Profile - This shows what a completed profile looks like
Date Created: October 20, 2025 Last Updated: October 20, 2025
Name: Sam Johnson
Current Role/Title: Business Analyst at mid-size tech company
Location/Timezone: Austin, TX / Central Time
Time Availability:
- Hours per week for learning: 10-12 hours (weeknights + weekends)
- Preferred learning times: Evenings 7-10pm weekdays, Saturday mornings
- Deadline/Timeline: Want to be job-ready for full-stack role in 6 months
My honest assessment:
- Prompt-based developer - Built things with AI prompts (Lovable, Bolt, v0, etc.) but minimal code understanding
What I've used before:
- No-code tools: Lovable for 4 months (built 3 internal tools), Bubble for 6 months (2 years ago)
- Low-code tools: v0 for UI prototypes, Claude Artifacts for quick demos
- Programming languages: Only HTML/CSS from college (10 years ago, very rusty)
- Frameworks/libraries: None
- Other: Advanced Excel with formulas/VBA macros, SQL for basic queries
I'm COMFORTABLE with:
- HTML/CSS basics (rusty but can read it)
- JavaScript fundamentals
- Git basics (commit, push, pull)
- Command line / terminal
- Databases (SQL for queries, but don't understand design)
- APIs (calling, consuming - can use API docs)
- Frontend frameworks (React, Vue, etc.)
- Backend (Node, Python, etc.)
- Deployment/hosting
- Testing
- Data structures & algorithms
- Other: Business logic, user stories, requirements gathering
I'm STRUGGLING with:
- Understanding code (can't read what's happening beyond HTML)
- Translating ideas → code (can prompt but don't understand output)
- Debugging errors (just keep re-prompting AI)
- Project structure / architecture (no idea how files relate)
- Version control (Git is intimidating)
- Deployment / going live (did it with Lovable but don't understand how)
- Performance / optimization
- Security / best practices
- Specific technology: React - everyone mentions it but I don't get it
I've NEVER touched:
- Any programming language (have done HTML/CSS basics)
- Git / version control (used GUI once, confused)
- Command line (terrified of terminal)
- IDEs (only used online editors)
- Databases (used SQL, but not NoSQL)
- Backend development (everything I've built is frontend-only)
- Frontend frameworks (heard of React, never used)
- Cloud services (AWS/GCP - only used Vercel deploy button)
- Testing (never written a test)
In 2-3 sentences, what do I want to achieve?
YOUR GOAL:
I want to build and maintain custom internal tools for my team without
relying on expensive agencies or being limited by no-code platforms.
I need to understand how code works so I can customize features, fix
bugs myself, and eventually transition into a developer role.
By the end of my learning journey, I will have:
- Built: A custom CRM for my team that I can maintain and extend independently
- Deployed: At least 3 production apps that my colleagues actually use
- Learned: React, Next.js, and Supabase well enough to build full-stack apps without constant AI prompting
- Achieved: Confidence to interview for junior full-stack developer roles
- Accomplished: Understanding code well enough to review and give feedback to contractors
Why am I doing this?
Hit major limitations with Lovable - need custom features that no-code can't handle.
Also, spending $10k/project on contractors when I could build it myself.
Plus, I enjoy the problem-solving aspect and want to make a career change into
development. I'm 32, it's now or never.
What happens if I DON'T do this?
Stay stuck in business analyst role, continue wasting company budget on contractors,
feel the regret of not pursuing what I actually enjoy. My team's productivity
suffers because I can't build the custom tools they need.
What am I building?
- Web applications (SaaS, dashboards, internal tools)
- Mobile apps (iOS/Android)
- Data science / ML / AI
- Games
- DevOps / Infrastructure
- Desktop applications
- APIs / Backend services (to support my web apps)
- Creative tools / Design
What I WANT to learn: [Prioritize 1-3 to start]
- React and Next.js (modern web development, seems to be industry standard)
- Supabase (backend/database - heard it's easier than building from scratch)
- TypeScript (keep hearing it's better than JavaScript, want to learn it right)
Why these specific technologies?
React/Next.js: Most job postings mention them, great AI tool support, Lovable uses React
so I can understand my existing projects. Next.js seems to handle both frontend and backend.
Supabase: Don't want to deal with complex backend setup, but need database and auth.
Supabase is PostgreSQL which I already know SQL for.
TypeScript: Rather learn it now than have to relearn later. Helps catch errors which
I struggle with.
Technologies I DON'T want to focus on:
- Angular - prefer React ecosystem, seems less popular
- PHP/WordPress - feels outdated for what I want to build
- Vue - would rather go deep on React than spread thin
- Native mobile - web-first for now, maybe React Native later
My preferred learning approach:
- Learning by doing - Jump in and build, learn as I go
- Structured tutorials - Step-by-step guides help when starting
- Reading documentation - Prefer examples over dense docs
- Video tutorials - Too slow, I zone out
- Interactive practice - Love coding challenges
- Project-based - Must be building real things, hate contrived examples
- Social learning - Would love accountability partner or community
My typical approach:
- Deep focus - Hard with full-time job
- Short bursts - 45-60 min focused sessions work best
- Weekend warrior - Saturday mornings 3-4 hour blocks
- Night owl - Best focus 8-10pm after work
When I get stuck, I typically:
- Keep trying different things (sometimes too long - spent 2 hours on CSS once)
- Give up too quickly
- Ask for help easily
- Avoid asking for help (feel like I should figure it out myself)
- Get frustrated and take breaks (need to work on this)
- Enjoy the debugging process (want to get here eventually)
My accountability:
- Self-motivated (need improvement)
- Need external accountability (deadlines, tracking, community)
- Somewhere in between
Which AI tools do I currently use?
- ChatGPT (Plus subscription)
- Claude Chat (Free tier, willing to upgrade)
- Claude Code (never tried)
- Perplexity (Free tier)
- Cursor (downloading today)
- GitHub Copilot
- Gemini (Google AI - rarely use)
- Grok
- Other: Lovable (for comparison/understanding)
Which AI am I MOST comfortable with?
ChatGPT - used it daily for a year for everything from writing emails to
generating code. Super comfortable with prompting it.
Which AI am I LEAST comfortable with?
Claude Code and Cursor - never used IDE-based AI. The whole IDE thing is
intimidating. Also Git commands scare me.
Budget for AI tools:
- Free tools only
- Willing to pay for 1 subscription (~$20/mo)
- Willing to pay for 2-3 subscriptions (~$60/mo) - see it as investment
- No budget constraints
Do I have an existing project I want to improve/understand?
- Yes - Customer Dashboard (built with Lovable)
Project details:
Project name: Customer Dashboard
What it does: Tracks customer orders, shows analytics, generates weekly reports
How it was built: Generated with Lovable over 2 weeks, deployed on Vercel
Tech stack (if known): React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, some database (Supabase?),
not sure what else - need to run Prompt 2!
What I want to do with it: Add custom export formats, integrate with our Slack,
understand the codebase so I can maintain it myself
when Lovable hits limits
What do I want to build FIRST?
Understand my existing Customer Dashboard well enough to:
1. Read through the code and know what each file does
2. Make a simple modification (add a new column to a table)
3. Fix a small bug without just re-prompting Lovable
Then build a simpler project from scratch (todo app with auth) to
validate I actually understand the concepts.
What might prevent me from succeeding?
- Time constraints (full-time job, family commitments)
- Imposter syndrome (feel too old, not "naturally technical")
- Previous failed attempts (tried freeCodeCamp twice, got stuck, quit)
- Perfectionism (project must be perfect before moving on)
- Analysis paralysis (spent 2 weeks choosing between React and Vue)
- Lack of accountability (easy to skip learning when tired)
- Unclear goals
- Financial constraints
- Technical challenges
My biggest fear about this journey:
That I'll invest 6 months and hundreds of hours, still not understand
how things actually work, and remain stuck in the same role just more
frustrated. Also fear that I'm too old to make this career transition.
How I plan to overcome it:
1. Follow the system step-by-step, no skipping ahead to "advanced" stuff
2. Set up weekly accountability check-ins with colleague also learning
3. Use the escalation ladder - escalate after 30 min stuck, not 2 hours
4. Remember: I successfully learned SQL, Excel VBA, Tableau - I CAN learn complex tools
5. Focus on building real, useful things - not getting perfect scores on tutorials
6. Join a community (find Discord or study group)
Week 4 Goal:
- Understand my Customer Dashboard codebase completely
- Successfully made 3 small modifications without AI
- Set up dev environment (VSCode/Cursor, Git, local development)
- Completed simple todo app following a tutorial
Week 8 Goal:
- Built first feature from scratch (Slack integration for dashboard)
- Can debug 80% of issues independently
- Comfortable with React components and state management
- Know when to use which AI tool instinctively
3-Month Goal:
- Rebuilt Customer Dashboard from scratch with better architecture
- Deployed 2 new internal tools my team is actively using
- Contributing to open source (small PRs, fixing bugs)
- Ready to interview for junior developer roles
How will I know I'm making progress?
- Can read and understand code in my projects (check weekly)
- Can make small changes without AI help (track in log)
- Can debug simple errors independently (time to solution decreasing)
- Know which AI to use for which task (intuitive, not checking chart)
- Completed 3 projects from roadmap (tangible proof)
- Feel confident, not overwhelmed (mood check weekly)
- Other: Colleagues asking ME for help with simple tech questions
What changed:
Initial profile creation. Excited and nervous. Committed to 10 hours/week.
- Personal information
- Honest experience level assessment
- All three "comfortable/struggling/never touched" sections
- Primary goal clearly stated
- 3-5 specific outcomes defined
- Tech stack preferences
- Learning style preferences
- AI tools access
- Current project details
- Known blockers/challenges
- Week 4, 8, and 3-month goals
✅ Profile complete! Ready to use with Prompt 1.
This is an example. Create your own by copying USER-PROFILE.md!