Learning in Public: Transform Your Skills and Build Your Reputation

I remember when I first started learning to code. I’d spend hours watching tutorials, reading documentation, and building tiny projects that I was too embarrassed to show anyone. Everything I created felt like it wasn’t good enough, and I was convinced everyone would laugh at my messy code and beginner mistakes.

Sound familiar?

That’s the trap many of us fall into. We think learning should happen privately, behind closed doors, until we’re “good enough” to show our work. But here’s the thing: that day never comes. There’s always someone better, and there’s always more to learn—just like there’s always one more “final” version of your project before you actually publish it.

What is Learning in Public?

Learning in public means deliberately sharing your learning journey, progress, challenges, and insights with others online. It’s about documenting what you’re learning, creating content around it, and building in the open where everyone can see.

It’s not about being perfect or positioning yourself as an expert. It’s about transparency, vulnerability, and creating value for others while you grow.

The Turning Point in My Learning Journey

Last year, I stumbled across this concept of “learning in public” as described by developers like Shawn Wang. The idea is simple but powerful: document your learning journey, share what you know (and what you don’t), and build in the open.

At first, it sounded terrifying. Share my half-baked projects? Write about concepts I barely understand? Expose my ignorance to the world? My inner perfectionist was having a full-blown panic attack.

But something about it resonated with me. I was tired of learning in isolation, with folders of unfinished projects that no one would ever see. I wanted my learning to matter beyond just myself.

So I decided to give it a try. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert at this—I’m just getting started. But even in these early days, I’m already seeing the impact.

5 Powerful Benefits of Learning in Public

The more I read about learning in public, the more it makes sense to me:

1. It creates accountability. When I share what I’m planning to learn, I’m much more likely to follow through.

2. It forces clarity. Trying to explain something I’ve learned quickly reveals if I actually understand it. This is similar to the “Feynman Technique” of learning.

3. It builds a learning trail. Each post, each project, each question becomes a marker of progress that I can look back on—creating a documented journey of growth.

4. It connects me with others. Learning doesn’t have to be a solitary activity. Public learning attracts collaborators, mentors, and fellow learners.

5. It helps others. My beginner questions and struggles might be exactly what someone else is experiencing. By sharing openly, I might help others overcome similar obstacles.

Common Fears and How to Overcome Them

I’m new into this journey, but I’ve already hit some roadblocks that many beginners face:

“I’m not an expert yet”

That’s exactly the point. Learning in public isn’t about expertise—it’s about the journey. Document your progress from beginner to advanced, and you’ll help others who are a few steps behind you.

”I’m afraid of being judged”

That voice saying “you don’t know enough to share this” is loud. Every time I publish something, I worry people will think, “Who does this person think they are?” But remember—authenticity resonates more than perfection. People appreciate seeing real learning journeys with all the ups and downs.

”What if I’m wrong about something?”

You probably will be sometimes, and that’s okay. Being wrong publicly is a powerful learning opportunity. Thank people who correct you, update your understanding, and move forward. This demonstrates intellectual honesty that builds trust.

My Journey: From Frustration to Tool Building

As I started my public learning journey, I noticed something that bothered me. I was sharing what I was learning, but there was no easy way to track my actual progress while showing it to the world.

That frustration led me to build something for myself. What started as simple widgets to track my learning habits quickly spiraled into something much bigger—a classic case of my programming addiction taking over. I couldn’t stop adding features and refining the experience.

That’s how MEMsched was born—a personal itch I scratched so thoroughly that it turned into a tool anyone can use. It’s the perfect example of how my inability to stop coding sometimes leads to unexpected creations.

How Learning in Public Impacts Your Career

Beyond the personal learning benefits, learning in public has tangible career advantages:

• It builds your personal brand and online presence
• It creates a portfolio of work that showcases your growth and abilities
• It demonstrates your communication skills and ability to explain complex topics
• It expands your professional network with like-minded individuals
• It can attract employment opportunities from people who discover your content (without having to write another cover letter—worth it for this reason alone)

Where I Am Now in My Public Learning Journey

I’m still at the beginning of this journey. Some days I wonder if I’m sharing too much, or not enough, or the wrong things entirely. Some days I forget to update my progress or get too busy to study consistently.

But overall, learning in public has transformed how I approach personal growth. It’s less about consuming knowledge in private and more about participating in a community of learners.

Building MEMsched has been part of that journey—a way for me to solve my own problem while hopefully helping others who want to learn more visibly too.

An Invitation to Learn Together

If you’ve been learning in private, I want to invite you to consider taking some of that learning public. You don’t need fancy tools or a big audience. You can start with simple tweets about what you learned today, or notes on GitHub, or conversations in Discord communities.

Here are some easy ways to get started with public learning:

• Share one insight from your learning each week on social media
• Create a personal portfolio to showcase your projects and skills
• Ask questions publicly instead of just in private messages
• Write about your struggles, not just your successes
• Contribute to open source projects, even in small ways
• Comment thoughtfully on blogs and forums in your field

And if you’re interested in tracking and sharing your learning visually, I’d love for you to check out MEMsched. It’s still evolving (like all good learning projects should), but it might be useful for your journey too.

Whatever you do, remember that your learning has value—not just to you, but to everyone else who’s a few steps behind you on the path. By sharing what you know and what you’re figuring out, you’re creating a trail that others can follow.

What’s Next in My Learning Journey

As for me, I’m going to keep learning in public. I’m going to keep building MEMsched as I discover new needs in my own learning journey. And I’m going to embrace the messy, imperfect nature of growth.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with learning in public. Have you tried it? What worked for you? What challenges did you face?

Let’s learn together—out loud, in the open, one day at a time.

If you’re curious about MEMsched and how it might help with your learning journey, feel free to check it out. It’s a tool built by a learner, for learners.