100 Bucket List Ideas for Programmers
Tags: programming, developer, webdev, beginners
Published: 2023-12-04 16:56:10

Technology enthusiasts often dream big, aspiring to achieve goals that push the boundaries of innovation and personal development. To help structure these ambitions, I have compiled an extensive bucket list tailored for tech aficionados. This list not only outlines various goals but also includes additional columns like "Inspiration," "How," "Year," "Status," and "Souvenir" to provide a comprehensive roadmap for your tech journey.

## What's in the List?

The list covers a wide range of goals, from developing specific skills like achieving a 150 wpm typing speed to ambitious projects like building a DIY electric skateboard or bike. It includes participating in significant events, like attending a major tech conference, and milestones in personal development, such as mentoring a junior developer. Each goal is categorized for easy reference, covering areas like DIY projects, programming, development, learning, and more.

## List

[My progress in Bucket List](https://syki.dev/bucket-list)

|goal                                                          |category        |inspiration                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |year|status|souvenir|
|--------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----|------|--------|
|Be a contributor in a large project                           |Development     |[How to Open Source Like a Pro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6M_sqAuZo)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Build a news aggregator                                       |Development     |[Feedly](https://feedly.com/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Build a physics engine                                        |Development     |[I'm Coding an Entire Physics Engine from Scratch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSMbRGTBOHU)                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |    |      |        |
|Build a recommendation system                                 |Development     |[How Recommender Systems Work (Netflix/Amazon)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3RKsY2H-NE)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Build a sentiment analysis tool                               |Development     |[How to Master AI-powered Sentiment Analysis in 2023?](https://brand24.com/blog/sentiment-analysis/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |    |      |        |
|Build an augmented reality (AR) app                           |Development     |[A GUIDE ON HOW TO BUILD AN AUGMENTED REALITY APP IN 2023](https://www.tekrevol.com/blogs/how-to-build-an-augmented-reality-apps/)                                                                                                                                                                                            |    |      |        |
|Build and deploy a chat server                                |Development     |[IRC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Create a cybersecurity tool                                   |Development     |[Kali Tools](https://www.kali.org/tools/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |    |      |        |
|Create a multiplayer online game                              |Development     |[Dani](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ze26M_Fm6g)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Create a PWA (Progressive Web App)                            |Development     |[PWA](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Create AI Influencer                                          |Development     |[AI influencers are getting filthy rich... let's build one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky5ZB-mqZKM&t=11s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Develop a blockchain application                              |Development     |[Build Your First Blockchain App Using Ethereum Smart Contracts and Solidity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coQ5dg8wM2o)                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Develop a cryptocurrency                                      |Development     |[you need to create a Cryptocurrency RIGHT NOW!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=befUVytFC80)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Develop a VR application                                      |Development     |[Tutorial - Create Your First VR App on Meta Quest Headset](https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-tutorial-hello-vr/)                                                                                                                                                                                        |    |      |        |
|Develop an e-commerce website                                 |Development     |[Next.js Commerce](https://nextjs.org/commerce)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |    |      |        |
|Develop an open-source game engine                            |Development     |[GameDev in C++](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyJkcv_rL9Y&list=PLpM-Dvs8t0Va6RoHkaLuPbRh7Fwpy4nbV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Develop browser extension                                     |Development     |[Chrome Extensions Should Scare You.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIKwkPWUgOA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |    |      |        |
|Have a project on github with 100 stars                       |Development     |[Linus Torvalds](https://github.com/torvalds?achievement=starstruck&tab=achievements)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Have your own tor page                                        |Development     |[i put a DARK WEB website on a Raspberry Pi!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bllS9tkCkaM)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Invent a Gesture-Control Interface                            |Development     |[Iron man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5k-4-OEuTk)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |    |      |        |
|Set up a continuous integration/continuous deployment pipeline|Development     |[Automate your workflow](https://github.com/features/actions) from idea to production]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |    |      |        |
|Set up a Kubernetes cluster                                   |Development     |[Why would you build a Raspberry Pi Cluster?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zXG4ySy1m8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Sponsor open source project                                   |Development     |[Invest in the software that powers your world](https://github.com/sponsors)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Write own database with query mechanism                       |Development     |[Making Our Own Database](https://acmiitr.medium.com/making-our-own-database-part-1-6cd9c49ed924)                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |    |      |        |
|Write Page in Static Site Generator                           |Development     |[Gatsby](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Write Single Page Application                                 |Development     |[React](https://react.dev/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Automate your home with Raspberry Pi project                  |DIY             |[I built a smarter smart home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rIvB3LZiKA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Build a custom keyboard                                       |DIY             |[Build your own Mechanical Keyboard… the RIGHT Way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBon6WwkdJE)                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |    |      |        |
|Build a DIY electric skateboard or bike                       |DIY             |[I built an electric skateboard!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bcvFzecg2Q)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Build a mini arcade machine with custom games                 |DIY             |[The ULTIMATE DIY Arcade Machine Guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTydZBIGAuk)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |    |      |        |
|Build a PC                                                    |DIY             |[Building a $100,000 PC for Minecraft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHR80l7od2Q)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Build a personal cloud storage system                         |DIY             |[This is my Endgame - Mother Vault Server Room Update](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLC0FUnko-M)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Build a self-watering garden system with IoT                  |DIY             |[Arduino Garden Controller - Automatic Watering and Data Logging](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Q1WKCtWiA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Build a small autonomous car or robot                         |DIY             |[Fast line follower Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnP32gzHdvI)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |    |      |        |
|Build an underwater ROV                                       |DIY             |[Building a DIY submarine](Building a DIY submarine)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |    |      |        |
|Building and flying an FPV drone                              |DIY             |[Why Should you fly Freestyle at 800mW? &#124; FPV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBb_kSO3vTo)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Design a smart mirror with interactive features               |DIY             |[DIY Smart Mirror - Full Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlloiaBINo)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |    |      |        |
|Design and print something in 3D                              |DIY             |[I Made a Robot Arm... in the Middle of my Room!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRsaf16EdNM)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Designing your own PCB                                        |DIY             |[PCB Creation for Beginners - Start to finish tutorial in 10 minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdJgEinb34)                                                                                                                                                                                                            |    |      |        |
|Fix broken electronics                                        |DIY             |[ElectroBOOM](https://www.youtube.com/@ElectroBOOM)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Have your own server locally                                  |DIY             |[Why would you build a Raspberry Pi Cluster?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zXG4ySy1m8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Implement a smart home                                        |DIY             |[I built a smarter smart home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rIvB3LZiKA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Make a robot arm                                              |DIY             |[I Made a Robot Arm... in the Middle of my Room!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRsaf16EdNM)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Open something with Flipper Zero                              |DIY             |[This Makes Hacking TOO Easy - Flipper Zero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLIp4wd0oXs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |    |      |        |
|Be the owner of the smartphone application                    |Entrepreneurship|[VoidLog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY4rxYe-jKI&list=PLN3n1USn4xllDDLwgJ4avEqgj4dWynofp)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Develop a SaaS product                                        |Entrepreneurship|[How I created a new SaaS Product in a day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_3lcqUOaOA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Have your own game in the store                               |Entrepreneurship|[Dani](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ze26M_Fm6g)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Work in startup                                               |Entrepreneurship|[a day in the life of a startup engineer working from home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLysAkFM4cA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Polyphasic sleep for a week                                   |Entrepreneurship|[How sleeping 6 times a day helped the founder of WordPress build a billion-dollar company](https://venturebeat.com/offbeat/how-sleeping-6-times-a-day-helped-the-founder-of-wordpress-build-a-billion-dollar-company/#:~:text=Mullenweg%20took%20humanity's%20polyphasic%20tendencies,time%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20told%20Ferris.)|    |      |        |
|Taking part in the Podcast                                    |Entrepreneurship|[Lex Fridman](https://www.youtube.com/lexfridman)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |    |      |        |
|Full access to the server - hack                              |Hacking         |[Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqknSms8VVI&t=16s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Get a bug bounty                                              |Hacking         |[HackerOne](https://www.hackerone.com/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |    |      |        |
|Hack in a Capture the Flag Contest                            |Hacking         |[Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MrQ-mN8HM8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Write malware                                                 |Hacking         |[Malware Development: Processes, Threads, and Handles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNEqC-U5tHM)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|150 wpm speed typing                                          |Programming     |[Monkeytype](https://github.com/monkeytypegame/monkeytype)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Automate your daily task with Python scripts                  |Programming     |[Start Automating Your Life Using Python! (File Management with Python Tutorial)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCvI-K0Gp90)                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Build a Twitter bot                                           |Programming     |[How I post banger tweets with artificial intelligence // Twitter Bot Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7LEihbOv3Y)                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Compile your own Linux Kernel                                 |Programming     |[How to compile a custom Linux kernel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APQY0wUbBow)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Create a chatbot                                              |Programming     |[Creating a Chatbot with Deep Learning, Python, and TensorFlow p.1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvOnYLDg8_Y&list=PLQVvvaa0QuDdc2k5dwtDTyT9aCja0on8j)                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Create a data visualization project using D3.js               |Programming     |[Data Visualization with D3.js - Full Tutorial Course](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8V5o2UHG0E)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Create a photo editing tool                                   |Programming     |[Full Guide on How to Make a Photo Editing App](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-photo-editing-app-like-prisma-and-make-it-thrive/)                                                                                                                                                                              |    |      |        |
|Develop a Digital Artwork Generator                           |Programming     |[How To Generate INSANE AI Art For Beginners (Midjourney V4 )](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf4z8A-OWBY)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Develop a file encryption tool                                |Programming     |[Make Your Own Encryption Program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZT7wvTeVyY)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |    |      |        |
|Develop a video editing software                              |Programming     |[I Coded a Video Editor (and it kind of sucks)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iydG-e1dQGA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Develop a voice assistant application                         |Programming     |[Creating Jarvis powered by OpenAI and Python &#124; ChatGPT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEw5EFqCCEI)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Develop smartwatch app                                        |Programming     |[Create and Run a Wearable App on WearOS using Android Studio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JO5oHRkYbk)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Develop your own Slack/Discord bot                            |Programming     |[Code a Discord Bot with Python - Host for Free in the Cloud](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPTfmiYiuok)                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Implement a facial recognition system                         |Programming     |[Build a Deep Facial Recognition App from Paper to Code](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK_k7eebGgc&list=PLgNJO2hghbmhHuhURAGbe6KWpiYZt0AMH)                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Learn a Functional Programming Language                       |Programming     |[Functional programming - A general introduction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z_bUIl_uPo)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Learn an archaic language                                     |Programming     |[COBOL in 100 seconds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d7-etf-wNI)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Learn and use Docker for containerization                     |Programming     |[Docker](https://www.docker.com/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |    |      |        |
|Learn blazing fast language                                   |Programming     |[ThePrimeagen](https://www.youtube.com/@ThePrimeagen)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Learn one unusual language (e.g. Brainfuck)                   |Programming     |[Brainf**k in 100 Seconds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdHjjBS4cs8)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |    |      |        |
|Learn quantum computing basics                                |Programming     |[Coding On A Quantum Computer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ecPsMd4tA)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |    |      |        |
|Master advanced algorithms and data structures (100 LeatCode) |Programming     |[My Brain after 569 Leetcode Problems](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wysIxzqgPI)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Program a custom voice-controlled home assistant              |Programming     |[Creating Jarvis powered by OpenAI and Python &#124; ChatGPT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEw5EFqCCEI)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Program a microcontroller                                     |Programming     |[A Hacker's Guide to Programming Microcontrollers [Tutorial]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFO5Iat178)                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |    |      |        |
|Program in Vim                                                |Programming     |[Vim As Your Editor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6AR2RMB5tE&list=PLm323Lc7iSW_wuxqmKx_xxNtJC_hJbQ7R)                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |    |      |        |
|Use Split Keyboard                                            |Programming     |[Unboxing A New Keyboard!!! (Typing Test Too!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh-BAxbithc&t=156s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Web scraper data                                              |Programming     |[Industrial-scale Web Scraping with AI & Proxy Networks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo_fUjb02ns)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Write a program in assembly                                   |Programming     |[Tsoding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnBXLmKk_qw&t=82s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Write an NPM module                                           |Programming     |[NPM](https://www.npmjs.com/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Write Server Side Application                                 |Programming     |[Next.js](https://nextjs.org/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |    |      |        |
|Write your own artificial intelligence model                  |Programming     |[Let's build GPT: from scratch, in code, spelled out.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCc8FmEb1nY)                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |    |      |        |
|Write your own operating system                               |Programming     |[Linus Torvalds](https://github.com/torvalds)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Write your own programming language                           |Programming     |[I made my own Programming Language](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgeSGBwtHW8&t=132s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Have a private blog                                           |Teaching        |[Dan Abramov](https://overreacted.io/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |    |      |        |
|Lecture to students                                           |Teaching        |[CS50 Lecture by Mark Zuckerberg - 7 December 2005](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFFs9UgOAlE&t=807s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |    |      |        |
|Mentor a Junior Dev                                           |Teaching        |[How To Properly Mentor a Junior Developer](https://stablekernel.com/article/how-to-properly-mentor-a-junior-developer/)                                                                                                                                                                                                      |    |      |        |
|Write a paper on a tech topic and publish it                  |Teaching        |[Two Minute Papers](https://www.youtube.com/@TwoMinutePapers)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Write a technical book or ebook                               |Teaching        |[Writing Technical Books](https://paulcunningham.me/writing-technical-books/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |    |      |        |
|Attend a major tech conference                                |Travel          |[CES](https://www.ces.tech/)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |    |      |        |
|Take part in a hackathon                                      |Travel          |[I Challenged Myself To Win A Hackathon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAJlZUKhOGs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit Computer History Museum                                 |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit NASA Johnson Space Center                               |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit National Air and Space Museum                           |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit The Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments     |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit The Large Hadron Collider                               |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit The MIT Museum                                          |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |
|Visit The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History        |Travel          |[The Engineer’s Travel Bucket List](https://www.mwrf.com/community/article/21848496/the-engineers-travel-bucket-list)                                                                                                                                                                                                         |    |      |        |


### Download List

[Download CSV](https://syki.dev/uploads/bucket-list.csv)

[Download JSON](https://syki.dev/uploads/bucket-list.json)

## The Additional Columns Explained

### Inspiration

This column reflects what sparked the idea or desire to pursue a particular goal. It could be a person, event, book, or even a movie that ignited the passion for a specific achievement. For example, the inspiration for building a DIY electric skateboard might be a passion for sustainable transportation or a favorite tech vlogger's project.

### Year

This column suggests a timeframe or a target year for accomplishing the goal. It helps in planning and setting realistic timelines. For example, you might aim to attend a major tech conference by 2025.

### Status

Status tracks your progress. It could be 'Not Started' 'In Progress' 'Completed' or 'On Hold' This helps in keeping track of your journey and maintaining motivation.

### Souvenir

A unique addition, this column is about commemorating the achievement. It could be a physical item, a digital badge, a blog post, or even a photo. For example, a souvenir for building a PC could be the first photo of the completed setup.

## Conclusion

The Tech Enthusiast's Bucket List is more than just a collection of goals; it's a roadmap for personal and professional growth in the realm of technology. With the additional columns providing a framework for inspiration, methodology, timing, tracking, and commemorating achievements, this list is a dynamic tool for anyone passionate about technology.

Happy tech adventures!