You may be a self-described noob at whatever you're learning, but it's clear from your outlook that you've had substantial work or life experience to understand

You may be a self-described noob at whatever you're learning, but it's clear from your outlook that you've had substantial work or life experience to understand complexity as a general phenomenon (i.e. expecting unexpected errors, requiring depth of learning in yourself). Incremental custom projects is a good way to learn -- not everything has to be "useful for others", especially where learning and practice is concerned.