How to Get Help

Learning Goals

• Know how to get help

Introduction

We don't believe in learning alone. As you make progress, expect to bump into other learners just like you, ready and willing to help each other succeed. Together, we can go further than we could ever go alone.

Remember, you are going to get stuck sometimes! As with any new skill you learn, coding can be difficult and frustrating. After a certain point, being stuck on a problem becomes counterproductive - you’re stuck and you need help getting unstuck!

If you get stuck following the instructions or grasping a coding concept, there are a few things you can do. In this lesson, we'll look at some of the options available.

Ask a Technical Coach

We offer Live 1:1 technical support to you as a Flatiron School student through the Pair with a Technical Coach service. This is challenging material and you will find yourself in situations where you don’t know how to move forward or what to try next. Learning how and when to ask for help is essential for your success and will keep you from getting stuck for too long.

We are here to:

• Help you continue moving through the curriculum
• Help you become an independent problem-solver
• Solidify the concepts that you are learning
• Build your technical communication skills
• Provide a collaborative environment in which to learn

Where can you find us?

There is a chat button in the bottom right-hand corner of your lessons. Clicking this button will connect you to a live coach.

Troubleshooting as a Skill

Troubleshooting is a critical skill for all programmers and spending time now to get better at it is time well spent. Improving your ability to troubleshoot will provide a great return on your investment as you'll be able to get yourself unstuck and learn how to better approach issues. Whenever possible, try to troubleshoot your issue independently first before seeking help.

Most issues you'll encounter are error messages in your terminal. A few things to keep in mind about error messages:

• Not all error messages are equal. Some messages are just warnings. For example, if you install a tool and it works, but produces an error when run, there is something wrong, but it shouldn't be a blocker for you completing work.
• Error messages often provide clues into what may be going wrong. Often, our first inclination when faced with an error message is to flee. We see some incomprehensible output and immediately want to do something else. Don't do this. Read the error! We'll come back to this with specific examples later on in the course.
• Carefully check your spelling and syntax if you receive errors running commands or code.
• Getting a different error message after trying something is often good. A new message can give different information to help you figure out what's wrong.

Use the Resources Available to You

Sometimes, common issues are noted in lesson materials. Other times, errors occur when an essential step is missed. For these reasons, we recommend reviewing the resources available to you through Flatiron School:

• Re-read the lesson you're on thoroughly to make sure you didn't miss relevant details or accidentally skip a step.
• Review previous lessons that may apply to the error or issue you’re experiencing, retracing your steps.
• Check out Flatiron's help articles. These articles include advice and answers to frequently asked questions from the Flatiron School Team.

Use External Resources

If you can't find a solution in the internal resources, the best next step is often to turn to Google. Some things to note regarding searching:

• How you search yields different results, so it's worth attempting a few slightly different searches.
• Copying and pasting an error message is a great search to start with. Try to identify the main part of an error message, often around the beginning or end.
• Refine your search based on the results you're getting. Sometimes, you may need to be more specific (e.g., you're using a Mac and need to specify because all search results are referring to Windows). Sometimes, being too specific will yield too few results. Avoid copying anything that may be specific to your system, such as a username.

When looking through solutions on the internet, always be very careful of commands that alter system files. If you see a command you're not familiar with, you can always google that command to better understand what it does before running it.

Even if you aren't able to find an answer on your own, taking the time to try the options above can help you clarify the question you're asking and eliminate unsuccessful solutions to the problem. Troubleshooting on your own means that when you do reach out, you'll be able to ask better, more specific questions.

Reach Out via Slack

There is a good chance that fellow students have encountered similar challenges to yours. Use the Slack channels available to you to get help:

• You can post in any public channel (e.g., #general).
• Shortly before you start with a cohort you will be given access to a cohort-specific Slack channel.
• While you're completing Software Engineering Prep, you can post questions in the #js-prework-support channel. There will be other students there who may be able to help, and this channel is also staffed by Flatiron School instructors from 11am to 7pm eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Equally, if you find someone else asking a question on Slack that you can provide insight on, please do! One of the best ways to confirm your own understanding of a concept is to try and help someone else understand it.

Conclusion

Seeking out help when you're stuck can be intimidating! But we all get stuck sometimes and there's nothing wrong with asking for help. Reaching out to a coach or instructor, a fellow student, or the internet can get you moving again and maybe give you a fresh perspective on what you're trying to do. You'll also be practicing an essential skill for learning to code!