Hi, I'm Ahmad Ali
17 · CS Student · Gujranwala, Pakistan
I'm a first-year computer science student who got into coding because I wanted to make things that actually look good. Started with HTML and CSS, caught the bug, and haven't stopped since. Right now I'm focused on full-stack web development — learning by building real projects, breaking things, and figuring out why they broke.
Comfortable with
I'm Ahmad, 17, currently in my first year of a BS Computer Science degree. I started messing around with HTML when I was 14 because I wanted to make a website for a school project that didn't look completely terrible. It spiraled from there.
These days I spend most of my free time building web stuff, watching tutorials, and trying to understand how things actually work under the hood — not just copy-pasting from Stack Overflow (well, maybe a little). I'm really into UI design and think good-looking interfaces matter just as much as clean code.
When I'm not coding I'm either watching football, listening to music, or down a YouTube rabbit hole about something completely unrelated to CS. I believe curiosity is the most important skill in tech — more than any framework or language.
I'm not a professional yet. I'm a student. But I take it seriously, I show up every day, and I'm getting better at this. That's the honest version.
These are the things I actually use. The percentages are honest — there's plenty I'm still figuring out.
Frontend
Backend & Other
Things I'm working through at the moment. Some of these I just started, some I'm halfway through.
I can build with it but I'm pushing past the basics. Working through custom hooks, Context API, and performance patterns like memoization.
Putting MongoDB, Express, React, and Node together into real apps. Building a small project to understand how all the pieces connect end-to-end.
Doing this both in uni and on LeetCode. Arrays, linked lists, trees — honestly kind of enjoying it even though it's hard.
Going beyond the basics. Looking at file handling, OOP, and starting to explore what Python can do with data.
Watching design breakdowns on YouTube, practicing in Figma. Trying to understand spacing, typography, and what makes an interface feel right.
JWT, bcrypt, session handling — learning how to actually secure a web app instead of just guessing. Uni's security class is helping too.
A rough timeline of how a school project turned into something I actually care about.
2021 — Age 14
Made a basic webpage for a school project using a YouTube tutorial. It was ugly. But it worked, and I thought that was the coolest thing. Started messing around with CSS right after.
2022 — Age 15
Went through a full JavaScript course on Udemy. This is when things clicked — understanding that you could make things interactive and respond to users. Built some small games and form validators.
2023 — Age 16
Built a few landing pages and portfolio-style sites. Started learning React and Node.js. Started to understand the difference between "making it work" and "making it good."
2024 — Age 17
Got into a BSCS degree. Proper computer science — algorithms, data structures, databases, C++. It's a different kind of hard than web dev. But it's filling in a lot of gaps.
Now
Balancing uni coursework with personal projects. Getting better every month. Hoping to do an internship in the next year or two and eventually build something people actually use.
Formal education plus the online stuff I've worked through. This is the actual list, not a curated one.
In progress
University — Year 1
Core CS: algorithms, data structures, OOP in C++, discrete math, databases. The theory behind everything I've been doing by instinct.
Completed
Colt Steele — Udemy
Went through the whole thing. HTML, CSS, JS, Node.js, Express, MongoDB. This is what got me into full-stack properly.
In progress
Maximilian Schwarzmüller — Udemy
Going deep on React. Hooks, Redux, Next.js basics. About 60% through. Takes time but worth it.
Completed
Harvard — edX (free)
Did this before university. The problem sets are brutal in the best way. Really changed how I think about coding.
Ongoing
LeetCode + NeetCode
Slowly working through problems. Not the most exciting thing but I can already feel it making me a better thinker.
Starting soon
Andrew Ng — Coursera
Curious about ML. Plan to do this over the next few months once I solidify my Python enough to actually follow along.
Some short-term, some long-term. Writing these down keeps me honest.
— Short term
Build 2–3 real full-stack projects I'm proud of. Something with auth, a database, a proper backend — not just a static site.
— Short term
Within the next year or two. Doesn't have to be a big company — I just want real experience working on a team with people who know more than me.
— Short term
Even just fixing a small bug or improving docs somewhere. I want to stop being scared of other people's codebases and just jump in.
— Long term
A real product — not a tutorial project. Something that solves an actual problem. I don't know what yet, but that's the goal.
— Long term
Really understand what's happening in machine learning, not just use the APIs. I want to go deeper into that world eventually.
— Always
Tech moves fast. The people I look up to all say the same thing — stay curious, keep building, never think you've figured it all out.
I'm always happy to talk — whether you're a fellow student, a developer with advice, or someone who just wants to connect. I read every message.