How does one become proficient in coding? Especially in real life scenarios?

I feel like I've been stuck in a loop on this for a long time (no pun intended). I've been to college for about a year and a half now studying software engineering. I've also worked on a few projects here and there, built some stuff on my own, went through coding tutorials on websites (like LeetCode, HackerRank, Real Python), and I just can't seem to get to the point where I can confidently code, and real world application is a whole different story. Some of my biggest hurdles include:<br><br>Basic syntax and mechanics: I feel like I'm constantly having to look up how to do even the most basic things. <br><br>Transitioning to real world projects: After completing tutorials and exercises, I'm not sure how to transition into actual, real-world projects. <br><br>Troubleshooting and debugging: While tutorials are great at showing you how to solve a problem, I find that when I'm doing projects on my own, I get stuck in loops of trial and error, trying out different solutions, wondering what I'm doing wrong.<br><br>Job-readiness: It would be nice to know some concrete skills or concepts that are in high demand right now. I feel like no matter who you talk to, someone's going to tell you something completely different.<br><br>It seems this is a common problem, but I don't see many solutions to it. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, as this is one of the only things holding me back.